To paint or not to paint

adam
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2022 5:46 pm

Re: To paint or not to paint

Post by adam »

these masts are slowly degraded by heat and uv which causes the cracking, the outer regular fiberglass wrapping was not structural , but put in place to protect the inner carbon fiber layup ,if the cracking is pronounced then the only remedy is to use the sock referbishment method , if there is superficial light cracking or none at all is is a good idea to paint the mast to prevent further exposure. if you use a hard paint you will have cracks because the mast is old and is constantly flexing , there is a paint that will remain flexible and last indefinitely that is laytex elastomeric paint usually used to seal concrete inexpensive and availible at box stores , make sure to clean mast thoroughly and use compatalible primer. it is thick and can be applied with a roller , the only downside is that it only comes in a matt finish and is not "yacht like" hope this helps A

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newt2u
Posts: 236
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:24 am
Location: UK

Re: To paint or not to paint

Post by newt2u »

:lol: Hi Adam, thanks for the tip but at this stage I have decided against paint and will just give the mast a good waxing before next season. I plan to maintain a regimen of pulling the mast, inspecting and waxing. I am not sure where you live but here in the UK heat and lots of sunshine are not as often a problem and are usually a welcome break from the norm. As I sit here writing this at 8.30am local, after sunup, it is still dark, windy and raining, so not much UV damage today ;) .

The cracks on my mast are superficial and look like the result of stress in the gelcoat due to mast bend, I have noticed gelcoat crazing in stress points in other boats I have owned, usually at the deck/hull join. Also my hull suffers the same oxidisation of the resins and I just polish and wax that. I know the mast gelcoat is not so thick as that on the hull, hence I will not use any abrasive polishing so just an annual waxing.
Rockin - F21 twin drop keels - located Whitehaven, Cumbria, UK

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