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Fri, July 26 2024, 19:57 [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, [7], 8, 9 ]

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Date Posted: - Wednesday - 08/20/08 - 12:31am
Author: Randall, Murre, M31
Subject: Or Paint
In reply to: Steve Burge hull #55 's message, "Mast maintenance" on - Tuesday - 08/19/08 - 2:05pm

To your specific questions:

-Don’t know how much sanding you were anticipating, but regardless of the finish you choose, I think you’ll need to sand down to clean, yellow wood. You will likely have some remaining dark spots; as long as they are surface, I’m not sure it’s worth grinding them out. I’ve not gone below 120 or 220 grit (which ever is at hand) and have not had a problem with adhesion or finish “perfection”.
-As to aluminum masts, one thing to consider is that you don’t need necessarily to replace both masts. I’ve seen a couple mariners with an aluminum main and the old spruce mizzen. I think aluminum could stiffen the boat considerably by reducing weight aloft, but could be an expensive and relatively technical transition whereas recoating what you have is tedious but easy.


A note on my experience (not by way of a recommendation, but to add color to the above posts):

-When I acquired Murre, her spars were painted white. Two years ago I removed all the hardware from the main and took it down to bare wood so as to assess its condition. I found the finish was paint over varnish and, beside a few surface dark spots, the exterior was sound. I sealed the mast with three coats of Smiths and topped that with three coats of single part “urethane”. When reinstalling the hardware I was especially focused on generously gooping all hardware fasteners and feel confident the seals are sound. Two years later (this last winter) I had the masts out for the bulkhead job and found the paint was marked and dirty from halyard wear, had flattened a bit, but was otherwise unchecked—could likely have gone another year or two without maintenance. I sanded off the dirt and the flat and applied another coat.

Which is to say, I think varnish superior to paint for the reasons listed above (it allows you to see trouble spots otherwise painted over—and, hell, it looks great if kept up), but it’s not the only good option, and if time and money are an issue, paint works.

Given my druthers, I would varnish. I too have heard lots of good about Bristol; I’d check it out. I use Cetol Light extensively on Murre’s exterior wood and have grown to like its rich, redish tint—I’ve even Cetoled over the bow sprit’s traditional varnish finish, which makes the spruce look, from a distance, more like fir. Though Cetol is dead simple to use and long lasting (finish once a year in full sun climates), it’s an acquired taste.

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[> [> Paint over Varnish -- Gitano, - Wednesday - 08/20/08 - 1:52pm

I highly recommend that if you are considering painting the mast, that you varnish it first. That way the paint does not get into the grain, and if you ever want to convert it back to varnish, its easy to strip off the outer layer.


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