Mast Cleaning & Opening Ports

[RV61]

First season on the hard and have more projects to do. Currently have the mast down and want to know best way to clean or possibbly paint. The mast & Boom currently is not painted and this black stuff rubs off on the sail and sailors and would like to take care of it as well as look good. I do not want to harm the aluminum with abrasives or wrong chemical. Who made the boom and mast for a 1986 Catalina or where can I find?

The second project is I have the 6 opening ports out and have decided to replace them as some are damaged. Looking for feedback from anyone that has replaced with stainless from  New Found Metals, Lewmar or anyone else.
Thanks
Rick

Rick

[Roc]

Rick,
Exactly what is damaged on the ports??  If it's because they are cloudy and scratched, I would try buffing out the scratches.  I've used NOVUS and had good success.  They have a cleaner, #2 light scratch remover and #3 heavy scratch remover.  I believe NOVUS is highly rated by PS.

Roc-

[SteveLyle]

Don Casey covers mast painting in one of his books - can't remember the title, but it's something like 'Refinishing Sailboats', or some such.

I had a painted mast that needed repainting.  I read Don's book, then paid the yard to do it.  They sanded it down, primed over the previous paint, and sprayed it with Imron 2-part poly.  Cost me $1000 for the mast, boom, and spreaders.

As for the ports, parts are available from Beckson, see:

http://www.beckson.com/replace.html

Can't help you with replacing them, I've not heard of anyone that's tried that.

Steve

[Stu Jackson]

Beckson Ports

Rich

Now that you have them out and know how they are built, why would you want to replace them with something else?

Newer ones MAY have a slightly different size.

Given the information about Beckson ports, and the fact that they are still being made and supported, I'm not sure I understand.

References are:

Mainsheet leaky Beckson ports

http://c34.org/mainsheet/pdf/1989_no4.pdf

FAQs

http://www.c34.org/faq-pages/faq-leakyports.html

Stu

[Stu Jackson]

Painting Mast

Rich

Steve responded about his mast.  He had a good reason to make changes.  

I'm not sure about why you'd want to paint a clear anodized mast, if I understand your condition.

I've seen white, black (and Steve's blue) masts, and then the basic unpainted aluminum masts.

When our mast was out of the boat a few years ago, (it is white), I cleaned and waxed it, and rebedded the fittings.  I'm not sure what more you would want to do.  

Why try making an anodized aluminum mast into a zebra buffalo heffalump?  Why change?

Consider staying with what you have, avoid making any changes that woud intensify surface issues on the metal of the mast [whatever its material], clean it up thoroughly based on what surface material it is that you currently already have, and go from there.

Clean, wax, wax, and clean and wax.  Research cleaning anodized aluminum (not sure there's much on our 'site) and wax and clean and wax.

Best wax?  Fleetwax from my recent experiences.

Stu

[jentine]

I have to agree with Stu.  Why paint an aluminum mast.  You complain  about the mess from rubbing against it.  Should you decide to paint to eliminate that problem, your problems are just beginning.  Aluminum is a very difficult metal to paint.  It oxidizes rapidly and requires special primers and paint.  Typically, two part epoxies are used with their respective primers.  These products are designed for use by experts.  If this is your goal, consult your yard.  Should you desire to clean the aluminum, go to NAPA and buy a spray bottle of ALUMINUM BRIGHTENER.  It is in a spray bottle and will remove corrosion, imbedded dirt and if you don't wear protective gloves, your finger tips.  It is caustic but works like a charm.  I have used it on 30 year old motorcycle engines and they look like new.
If you want to spray something on the mast after that, you can clear coat it with lacquer as is done with most other hard duty aluminum products such as aluminum automobile wheels.
Jim Kane

[beang]

I had much the same problem with aluminum "tarnish" on my old C22's mast.  Years of salt spray and chaffing took their toll and I couldn't keep enough wax on it to fully eliminate the tarnish and oxidation problems. Repainting was a big chore.  We took off everything, sanded away all oxidation and remnants of the original anodization.  We cleaned, using the recommended solvent and a special two part aluminum primer.  We then applied marine enamel paint as the top coat.  Use plenty of lanocote and silicone to bed and seal the screws and SS fittings.  I would go so far as drill out the old pop rivets and re-bed new ones.  If the prep work isn't done perfectly, the paint will soon "bubble up" as the result of galvanic corrosion.   I would recommend spraying instead of brushing to get that professional look and go to a two part epoxy for the top coat as it is more durable than the enamel.  Unfortunately, painted masts require the same amount of care as bare ones so still count on waxing regularly

[RV61]

Thanks for all of the feedback.
I will be cleaning up the mast best I can and spend the time sailing. As for the ports I still am looking at replacing as a couple have broken hinges on the frame,another cracked lens and on two other PO used some chemical that made the plastic bubble. I will be shopping at the Chicago Show coming up. Still would like feedback from anyone who has replaced with different ports. Based on what I have seen out there the Stainless from Newfound appear to fit right in the current cut outs.

Rick

[jim flynn]

Rick
We had the same problem finding a method to remove the oxidation from our mast. I seached the internet, called 3M regarding their aluminum cleaner, read all the lables of every metal and/or aluminum cleaner at West Marine and Boat US, and searched this website, all to no avail.  We could not find any cleaning product suitable for use on anodized aluminum. We did find many that specifcally noted they were not intended for use on anodized aluminum.  We wanted to be especially careful not to use a product that might damage the anodized finish or we would be forced to paint the mast; and that has its own maintenance problems (chips and more chips).

We decided to wash the mast thoughoughly and then simply apply a plain wax (no abrasives) with an electric buffer. This brightened the mast conciderably but it also damaged the anodized finish.  It seems the oxidized material on the surface  combined with the wax and acted as an abrasive.  Luckily we spotted that problem before going very far.

Ultimately, I asked a neighboring boat owner and I followed his recommendation.  Use any metal polish or softscrub kitchen cleanser; apply it to a wetScotchbrite fine textured pad and rub very gently.  Keep the area very wet and resist any temptation to apply any pressure.  I worked slowly during a light rain shower and the results were amazing.  No discernable damage to the anodized finish and a mast that looks 10 shades lighter. We next applied two coats of Woody Wax which is available at West marine or Boat Us.  It is a liquid, applies very easily, dries quickly and provides a very slick finish of Low luster.  Now we simply apply Woody Wax at the beginning of the season and forget it. The wax is advertized as lasting 6 months because it "bonds" with the metal.  Result: we purchased new sails last year because we stopped seeing that black residue on the mast.  Our new sails looked like new at the end of the season.  Best of luck with whatever method you use.
Jim

 Jim Flynn, #812
"Anam Chairde" '88