Too Hot to Handle

The crossbeams , wings & Mast ; their too hot to handle
in the summer, (here in Las Vegas)when the outside temp
is usually 110-F + .

What kind of White paint , and how should i prep that black
anodized aluminum ? I'm tired of wearing gloves ! gurrrrrr

Bille

I remember setup day in Sarasota F18's a couple of years ago. It was about 98 degrees, the humidity was through the roof, and there was hardly a stitch of breeze. It was impossible to touch any of the black aluminum bits on the boat with bare skin.

IMHO, to have half a chance for anything to adhere properly to the aluminum, look at the aircraft painting industry. Dupont Imron is pretty much their standard but it's EXPENSIVE and nasty from a health and well being standpoint. It's about the only thing that has half a chance to withstand what's asked of it on an anodized sailboat part.

I have seen a few boats out this way with painted spars. We don't get the super high temps that you do, of course.

If I were in your situation, I'd pick up a phone and call a mast manufacturer (Hall spars, etc.) for advice. Whomever you call, be sure that they have experience with customers in your environment.

Hopefully you can stay with a marine product. That would be expensive enough, I'd hate to think what "aviation" on a label does to the price!

I wouldn't talk to a paint company or worse, a marine store, until you talk to someone who's actually used the product in that environment.

Hope this helps.

Mike

since it's black already, I suspect it's been anodized or powder coated already? Could you just get a can of silver spray paint and try that?

Imron is used quite a lot in the marine industry too. I just pointed out aviation as an example where they have aluminum structures that need to withstand some very extreme conditions.

Do you know any commercial aviation mechanics? Maybe they could slip in your spars, when they are re-painting an airliner. I used to know some Northwest Airline employees, but then they merged with Delta and closed our local maintenance facilities.

In situations regarding resins, paints, when you are in doubt, its best to try out something first on a sample.

So in your case I would search for a piece of a broken mast from the same sort. (f.i. in the shop of a cat-dealer on the coast). Or from an unlucky catsailor in your neighbourhood.

P.S. And even if you are an expert in resins and paints, that still is a wise method....

Good to know, thanks for the clarification.

By all means, cheaper may not be better, but in any event, I stand by my recommendation to call a professional user before making a purchase.

No offense to anyone's opinion/experience here; rather, this is something you're only going to want to do once and not experiment with multiple gallons. Trying out a small sample is a great idea if you can do that.

Mike

I have Imron on my mast and beams (and tiller arms)
besides marine, it is used on locomotives, planes and big-rig trucks
It is pretty tough stuff... but of course ... it's just paint

the proccess of painting spars includes media blasting, acid washing (etching), priming and painting.

As mentioned this is pretty toxic stuff (2 part paint) and full resperation gear is recommended for painting and required for removing

PS the stuff costs around 300 per gal plus 100 for the catylist

Having second thoughts yet? - just spray some white rustolium on it and call it a day

it's already black, so it must have been prepped and painted already... Can't you prime the painted surface without stripping it all the way back to the original metal?

It was anodized. Chemical process.

What about an automotive style vinyl wrap?

so nothing will stick to it? Seems odd since teenagers with spray cans tag just about anything standing still for more than 10 minutes...

Yes, it can be sanded, primed and painted.