sanding sail slot

[mdidomenico]

I've gotten most of the paint off my mast readying it for repainting in the next few weeks.  i need to get the paint out the slot.  does anyone have any thoughts or tricks that might make the chore a little less so.  at this point the best i can come up with is some folded up sandpaper, but a 50ft mast is a long way to sand by hand.  i haven't been able to google much, i might not be using the right terms though.

[KWKloeber]

A pic of what you're attempting would help.  The face? The slot?  The tee?

  Would a sanding sponge help do what you want? 
Gritty 3m pad? It comes in thick n thin.

[mdidomenico]

A pic of what you're attempting would help.  The face? The slot?  The tee?
Would a sanding sponge help do what you want? 
Gritty 3m pad? It comes in thick n thin.

the slot i'm referring to is the slot in the mast where the sail slides run up with the sail.  a sponge probably wont work here, the slot is shaped like an inverted T.  a 3m pad probably would, but it'd be no different then sand paper, i'm hoping i can find an electrically enhanced method of removal

i fear a wire wheel might be my only choice, but i hate running those in an angle grinder

[KWKloeber]

I'd be afraid of chewing it up with an angle grinder  I'd try a vari speed drill first. And that would primarily hit the slit and bottom, not the tee so much.
You need a small cylinder shaped grit tool for a drill or Dremel. Like a sanding drum or flapper wheel but have no idea if there's anything that small. Check specialty tool and abrasives catalogs??

[Noah]

Use a paint stripper then unfortunately, lots of hand sanding. Make a slide/plug/jig wrapped with sandpaper and work it up the track.  Once the paint is removed, are you using a conversion primer/wash and/or zinc chromate primer and what topcoat product are you using?

[mdidomenico]

Use a paint stripper then unfortunately, lots of hand sanding. Make a slide/plug/jig wrapped with sandpaper and work it up the track.  Once the paint is removed, are you using a conversion primer/wash and/or zinc chromate primer and what topcoat product are you using?

i'm trying to avoid chemical strippers if i can.  i'd rather hand sand then have to be around that stuff and clean it up afterwards.  as for paint, i think i'm going to go with the totalboat chromate primer, followed by epoxy primer then topcoat with epoxy paint.

[tommyt]

You should be able to get a dremel bit with a wire brush on it. Feed it into the slot and press it out into the T. Should work

[Jon W]

These may be a dumb questions so my apologies in advance. If you will be repainting the mast, why do you want to strip the track to bare metal? Why not just blend the edge of the track with the surface of the mast? If you strip the track to bare metal, how do you repaint, ensure complete coverage, and the right thickness so the sail slides move freely?

[KWKloeber]

Use a paint stripper then unfortunately, lots of hand sanding. Make a slide/plug/jig wrapped with sandpaper and work it up the track.  Once the paint is removed, are you using a conversion primer/wash and/or zinc chromate primer and what topcoat product are you using?

The original finish may be Imron, not a lot touches that. I had to mechanically remove my finish before repainting the spars (a 5 step process).

[mdidomenico]

These may be a dumb questions so my apologies in advance. If you will be repainting the mast, why do you want to strip the track to bare metal? Why not just blend the edge of the track with the surface of the mast? If you strip the track to bare metal, how do you repaint, ensure complete coverage, and the right thickness so the sail slides move freely?

i have flakey paint in sections of track.  so nothing really slides well in there now.  as for repainting, honestly, dunno.  this is the first time i've repainted a mast.  though as i'm told by the boat yard where i'm at and numerous online sources.   if i can get the paint to thin properly, it'll just lay down smooth as glass with a roller/brush

whether i can pull that off, remains to be seen...

[mdidomenico]

Use a paint stripper then unfortunately, lots of hand sanding. Make a slide/plug/jig wrapped with sandpaper and work it up the track.  Once the paint is removed, are you using a conversion primer/wash and/or zinc chromate primer and what topcoat product are you using?

The original finish may be Imron, not a lot touches that. I had to mechanically remove my finish before repainting the spars (a 5 step process).

i found this out too, i tried wire brushes and various other things on the outer sections of the mast to remove the paint.  the only thing that touched it was 60grit or less and in my case I used a Porter Cable Restorer sander instead of an angle grinder (keeps the dust down and vibrates a lot less).  everything else i tried the paint that was still adhering well just laughed at me.  only took me 5-6hrs (non contiguous) to get all 50ft sanded down to semi-clean aluminum

once i get the slot cleaned out, i plan to hit it with 180 on DA sander, then acid wash and chromate primer

[KWKloeber]

IIRC the process recommended by a client who manufactured industructable alum truck bodies was

Acid wash
Etching primer
2nd primer
Two finish coats.

He offered to paint it in their HVLP paint booth if I could get it there!  LOL.
He ordered the supplies from his distributor, so I can't say exactly each product.

As it turns out a boat yard mate (who did this for a living) and I did it, working very quickly on a Sat am. So the whole project cost me only sweat time.