Painting The Mast, Boom, & Crossarms

Does anyone know what kind of paint is the best to use when redoing the paint job on the mast, boom & crossarms? I found my 84' Hobie 18 in an old barn and it has been a blast putting it back in the water. The hulls are solid and I replaced all the rigging, tramp, and etc... So I am almost ready to go sailing. This forum has been great as it has helped me get famliar with the Hobie 18. Thank you for any input.

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I rescued a 84 Hobie 18 from a barn and have begun the process of getting it back in the water.

Powder coating them is the best paint option. Reanodizing is the long term fix. You might also try cleaning them with penetrol I believe. Leaves a nice shiny finish that lasts a season or so. Might not be called penetrol, can't remember.

Have you actually powder coated a mast?

What would the benefits be?

Seen it done, but not by me. No advantages to painting it other than looks.

I went through this last year. Some suggest getting Krylon black spray paint for a couple bucks a can. I ended up buying black spray paint that is used as flexible trim paint for automobiles. It dries very quickly and has held up great. As with any paint job, prep work is important.

I lightly scuffed the parts. Then I cleaned with acetone, sprayed with an etching primmer, and finally sprayed one coat of the trim black.

It looks like new and the black is flat with no high gloss which is what I wanted. This is year two and the item that has a few chips is the rear crossbar from the blocks falling/rubbing on it. I could repaint this area in 10- 15 minutes but I'll wait until next season.

I believe Hobie powder coated the extrusions for a year or two and it was not very successful. Someone on this forum will be better able to discuss this in detail.

In other applications, powder coating is messy and chips off easily. You also need a big enough oven to cure the coating.

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Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO