Looking for opinions

We have spent many hours stripping and prepping the mast for new paint this winter. Last weekend we applied our first coat of Perfection(1 more coat to be applied after wet sanding with 400) and it looks great. In fact, it may look too good. It is very glossy as you can see from the photo. You can see the reflection of me taking the photo with the window to my backyard in the background.

The question is this: Should we stay with the high gloss or flatten it? Will the mast and boom reflect every bit of light and blind us? I was thinking of adding 1 part for 1 part flattening agent which states will give me a low semi gloss; One step up from satin.

My mast an boom are recently painted with a high gloss an I don't recall having any reflection problem out here in sunny So Cal. Personally I like the gloss and it's very easy to clean.

Man you must have a huge basement to have that mast down there.

Similarly, my mast is painted navy/royal blue, is quite shiny, looks great and hasn't caused any problems due to reflection.
Frank.

Glossy

Although we stripped the mast of hardware (and later re-installed it), we let the yard spray our mast last year. I talked with the painter guy who seemed pretty knowledgeable. He guessed our mast was originally painted with a black semi-gloss, but suggested for longevity to use a full gloss, saying it would hold out against the UV longer.

That being said, while we were very happy with the finish, the gloss will show any flaw in the prep (or mast), and where the mast tapers near the top there are some barely noticeable ripples. Glare hasn't been an issue, but it is one of the shiniest masts in the marina.

- Cory

Tim,
I'm in process of doing ours right now (etching, then priming boom today), any tips with the perfection? Yours looks great! I'm going with Snow White and leaving the gloss. Is the Perfection similiar to the primer in flow and characteristics? I stripped, etched and primed the spreaders for my learning curve.

I wanted to match the navy blue trim on our hull, I got a big "N-O" from the skipper. My father suggested racing stripes...:nerd:

Hi Cory,

sounds like your mast came out nicely - in fact, sounds like all of you are doing some nice work. Of note, dark colors often show flaws more than light colors. Black is one of the hardest colors to work with when it comes to revealing imperfections in the surface. On the flip side, it's one of the easiest to blend repairs with. Black is black, unlike white, which doesn't show dirt or dings as much, but can be very hard to match. Just like our boat's design, trade offs one way or the other.

.

Hi Chris. The trick to getting a great looking job are as follows:

Do 2 coats of the epoxy primecoat(roll and tip). I thinned mine about 20% in a 50 degree basement. Wet sand in between coats with 220 after filling any holes. Wet sand after 2nd coat with 320. This is where you want the surface to be very smooth because every little imperfection will come through to the paint layer. Mine felt like satin and had no brush marks.

Thinning the paint properly is huge. Do not skip this step or your will have brush marks or runs and sags. Get a piece of glass and clean it and wipe it will 2333N. Set it up vertically. Roll and tip your paint onto the glass and give it a few minutes to flow out. All brush marks should disappear and the paint should not run. If you get brush marks, add a very little 2333n(1/4 ounce). Repeat this process until you like what you see. You can wipe off the glass with a paper towel. Be carefull not to add too much 2333n because it is harder to go the other way.

Clean the area in which you will be painting and wet the floor to decrease any possibility of dust getting on the finished product.

I am in the process of writing a technical article that I plan to submit to either GOB or Boatworks.

BTW, do not try and paint outdoors unless you can absolutely predict 24 hours of no dew or moisture.

thanks, Tim...
I don't have a choice about outdoors- my 57' stick isn't leaving the yard.

For anyone contemplating this project- 2 words: Aircraft Remover--- it's stripper made for taking 2 part paints off of aluminum. Works like a charm.

High gloss mast finish.

Tim and all, There's one problem I can shink of when painting your own mast using a high gloss finish. If you photograph a glossy mast on a sunny day with the slightest flaw in the finish, you run the risk of having it reflect poorly on you. ; - ) Seriously Tim, it looks great but man, you must have a darned big basement to be able to sail the boat down there. Thanks for sharing, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

hey Tim- one other question...
How did you tackle the sail track?

As far as remover, I used some cheap stuff from Home Depot. Comes in an orange(metallic) gallon can for $20. It took 2 gallons to do mast, boom and spreaders with some left over.

My sail track came out fairly easily if that is what you mean. I only removed the paint from the 1/8 inch edge that is 90 degrees from the trailing edge of the mast. I used a Dremel with a 150 grit sanding drum. I masked everything inside of that edge and am applying paint.