[Public-list] Mast Finish Question

[Don Campbell]

Andrew;
I have used soda blasting on the hull and it is really very good. The crystal size is about 10X that which you have in the box of sodium bicarbonate in the fridge and the mode of action is that the energy for paint removal is obtained from the exploding crystal rather than abrasion. There was no apparent abrasion on the gelcoat when I did the bottom of #528 and I had to sand the area to get an abraided surface for adherance of the barrier layer. It is a fairly clean process as the volume of material is about 60 lbs an hour. The most obvious place to find soda blasting personel is in the yellow pages  under fire damage repairs or sand blasting, (but you do not want to use sand)or your fire insurance company to see who they use for damage
mop-up. I would think it should take no more than 1 hour to clean the mast completely, including all the tiny cracks and crevices.
Don #528

"Cole, Andrew L" wrote:

> Our mast was painted white at some point, however the paint wearing thin
> or missing in many places, resulting in a splotchy appearance.  I'm
> thinking about pulling the stick in the spring to fix a couple things.
> While it is down, I would like to do something to clean up the
> appearance.  Any suggestions?
>
> I don't have any preference between bare aluminum and painted, but I'd
> like it to be fairly clean and low maintenance once it is finished, so
> I'm leaning toward bare aluminum.  Are there any decent, easy to use,
> strippers out there that will leave a bare aluminum surface to gently
> oxidize and stabilize?  Any corrosion problems to worry about (we're in
> Annapolis if it makes a difference)?  If I decide not to pull the stick
> yet, is the process something I can do piecemeal from the chair?
>
> If I have to paint it, I prefer to do it by hand, as I'm not planning on
> stripping all the fittings at once if I can help it.  Any suggestions
> for a good surface prep or paint?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew Cole
> Andante - #152
>
> Cole, Andrew L
> Admitted in Maryland, Virginia & Florida
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> 10451 Mill Run Circle, Suite 1000
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>
>
> tel: 410 581-7408
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>
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