Refinishing My Mast

[Bark]

I'm pulling my main mast this spring to refinish it. Varnish is failing; it's definitely in need. I know this has been covered in the past, but I'd appreciate some clarification on a few things:

1. Sail Track Screws. Someone previously mentioned that it's a good idea to replace them. Can someone expand on that a little, i.e. should holes be filled/redrilled, etc.? What's the rationale?

2. Wood Bleach. Once I get the mast stripped, is it okay to use oxylic acid/wood bleach to lighten any dark areas prior to revarnishing? I have heard that bleaching isn't a good idea on masts because it weakens the wood.

3. Varnish. I like the idea of trying some kind of 2-part system like Bristol Finish or Smith's Five Year Clear on the mast. Any recommendations? (From what I've read, Bristol Finish seems much easier to use, especially if the work is to be done outside of a climate-controlled facility).

Any other words of wisdom + tricks of the trade are most welcome.

Thanks.

[Ian McColgin]

It's been a long while since I had a lot to do with varnished spars, though that's changing as the Thistle 'Il Pipi' is getting a mast rebuild now. Goblin (Alden 43' schooner) had varnished masts and booms. That worked out to a bit over 400 square feet to varnish just in spars.

Back then I never had luck with epoxies in spar applications. They were too brittle so when damaged, which sooner or later they would be, it was a mess to repair. CPES, on the other hand, makes a nice sealer in many applications. I've happily used it on cabin soles and plan to use it on Il Pipi's bright hull. I think, however, that I will stick to simply real varnish for the spars. It stands up and can be fixed. Harder finishes are nice for a year maybe but are then a pain to repair.

G'luck

[Dale Genther]

When the new mast for Boreal was built back in 1994 the builder gave it three coats of West System epoxy. I applied about 6 coats of varnish over it then one or two coats per year. It held up fine until we had a hail storm two years ago. I don't realize until later, but the hail cracked the finish thru the epoxy. After a year you could actually see a small black dot on the west facing side of the mast where each hail ball hit. This winter my wife stripped it back to bare wood and sanded off the black dots. We then coated it in CPES and are in the process of applying varnish. I'm hoping the CPES will not be as brittle as the West System so it will hold up better if this happens again. BTW my wife tells me the epoxy was a real bitch to get off. Glad I didn't have to do it.

[rrowlands]

In my experience maintaining wooden mast for 20+ years I would recomend 8-10 coats of a good spar varnish.

In my experience it is problematic to work with the two part coating systems out of doors. Changes in temp and humidity during the extended cure time needed to get good cure over a large surface can cause all sorts of problems. If you can get indoors it's a different story.

I would suggest you pull the mast each year, repair any damaged area with miltiple coats and put on a complete refresher coat or two. You won't have to completely refinish for a long time when the coating gets too dark.

You might check into Practical Sailor magazine to see their ongoing test results on varnish and similar coatings.

Quality sandpaper, scrapers and brushes will make the job more enjoyable and less work.

Good luck and have fun with it.

[Hedzer]

HI there,

I know the problem of varnished masts, it never works is it. It looks good for a year or two and then the song and dance starts all over again. Elbow-steam and all that. Over the past 20 odd years I used a few different products, raw linseed oil, two and one components and more of that. The last few years I use a compound called "perkoleum" by Koopmans, a paint-factary in Holland. It is a finish bases on linseed oil with a few additions like UV-filters and colloring, you can get it in a few different colours (teak, mahogany or clear). It works very wel because it is flexible and will bent with your mast. Any damage over the season is easaly repaired in the winter bij sanding it and applying a new coat on the damaged spots. Any black markings will be covered by the colouring so I would not worry about that. is replacing the screws in the sail-rail necaserry? if so use the same screws in the same holes and preglue the hole with a tiny drop of polyurethane glue. It sticks like mad but you can unscrew when needed.

Hedzer

[Dave Hadfield]

I'm a complete heretic. Four years ago I stripped the layers of white paint off mine and used house-grade Sikkens Cetol 1 (big groan from the audience!) followed by 3 coats of Cetol 2,3+.

It isn't varnish but it sure looks good to me. It never bubbles off either. I give it one coat per year (from a bosun's chair) and I'm quite happy with it.

It hasn't darkened anywhere, at all.

[Concordia..41]

1. If there's movement in the screws/track I guess you could drill out, dowel, and redrill the holes, but that seems really extreme - even for someone as into punishment as a varnished mast tongue.gif Maybe someone else will have a better idea or second my "if it ain't broke..."

2. I haven't heard that before. The oxylic acid barely penetrates the surface. Maybe there's something to using the process - bleaching, rinsing, heavy sanding, etc. right on a glued seam? It'd take a hell of a chemical to weaken otherwise good mast wood.

2b. If you can help it, try not to worry about spots greater than 10' off the deck. No one but you will notice them and since they were probably caused by hardware or your halyards banging into the mast and they're just going to come right back.

3. I'm currently doing the mast, spreaders, boom, and club foot off a 34' Hinkley. The Smith's Five Year Clear idea is appealing (and I think I'm going to try that on Sarah's toe rail), but I have a firm rule against "experiments" on something like a mast :eek: :eek: The plan is two coats CPES (a big part of the Smith's system) then a good dozen coats of Epifanes.

Happy sanding, scraping & varnishing :D

[Bob Cleek]

It's all been said before... listen to those who have learned from their own mistakes. Steve Smith has been trying to get me to use his Five Year Clear for ages now, but my jury is still out. I've seen some nice jobs with it, and it does stand up well, but I'm waiting to watch what happens to it in the sixth, seventh and eighth year! Epoxy is a mutha to get off when you want to refinish.

My varnished mast has been holding up beautifully for about eleven years now, with a good soaking of CPES and maybe eight coats of Captain's on it to start. I lay on another coat or two about once a year. I let it go for maybe two and a half years because I was just too busy doing other stuff and it is looking too funky for my taste, although still sticking. It is beginning to crack a bit on the sunny side and since I'm doing a big haul this spring (I hope) I'll yank the stick when I have her under the crane and refinish the whole shebang. Still, I can't complain about CPES and decent varnish. It works for me and everybody else I know and has for years and years.

[Bark]

Thanks for all the input. I gather the screw replacement idea isn't standard operating procedure unless there is a specific problem, then. Anyone have experience with Bristol Finish, or are all the 2-parts the same? Thanks.

[Dan McCosh]

I used Bristol Finish on the toerail a couple of years ago and discovered that it is quite prone to lifting when any small crack develops. This is problematic on any area that takes physical abuse, and is one reason why I wouldn't use any of the two-part finishes on a mast. Traditional spar varnish is soft, easy to repair. I put on two coats a season anyway, because of the dings it gets from halyards, etc. --takes a weekend. I am about to refinish this year, and intend to use spar varnish once again.

[Dale Genther]

Because of my own experience (see above), and what others have said, my opinion is that the best thing is CPES, followed by a bunch of coats of varnish, then a coat of two every year thereafter

[Keith Wilson]

If you don't mind the color, Cetol or the West Marine knockoff over CPES is probably as close to a long-lasting bright finish as you can get. It's flexible and not too hard, and recoating is much easier than with varnish. Not as pretty, though.

I wouldn't use "normal" epoxy (West, System 3, anything other than CPES) under varnish for precisely the reason Bob said; it's very very unpleasant to get off once it fails, and it does fail eventually.

Paint is good too - a couple of coats of buff with white ends, maybe a blue band between the white and tan - not at all bad-looking and considerably more durable than even the best varnish.

[Ian McColgin]

Nothing wrong with cetol or sikkens or any of the good waterbase "varnishies".

Screw holes. I've more than a couple of times taken every bit of stuff off wooden masts. Much easier to do the varnish and all right without stuff in the way and it's worth looking under everything once in a while. I filled all the screw holes with epoxy prior to the varnishing. When I went to put stuff back, I adjusted the order of the track segments such that the holes were in new places. Tangs and cheeks and such got their screw holes in the original places, carefully drilled into the epoxy. Works fine.

If your track has a wooden stand-off piece running between the mast and the track, it's probably just attached with brads as the real strength will be long screws from the track going right through into the mast. Take it up carefully, maybe replace parts as needed, and varnish it seperatly from the mast. As you get to your last couple of coats, put the stand-off strip back on and complete varnishing before hanging the rest of the metal bits.

G'luck

[Bark]

Thanks a lot, everybody. CPES + traditional varnish seems to be the method of choice. Bristol Finish had aroused my curiosity, however, because its website specifically addresses the issues of flexibility, impact resistance, ease of repair/removal, etc., (BF is described as an acrylic urethane, as opposed to an epoxy--I am sure I don't know the difference). In any event, thanks again for the good info.

[Buddy Sharpton]

Did my boat with either epoxy or CPES, then Bristol. But the finish is new, and lives under a boat cover, not in the sun. No long term success story hear. I have Bristol on the teak trim of my dad's boat for 2 1/2 years in the Gulf Coast sun, and it needs a neww coat this spring to refresh the gloss and cover a few edges where it has lifted. Still looks great, but I have to keep ahead of widespread failures. It's not as impervious to the elements or a little maintenance needy as the 32 year old white gelcoat. That's why glass took over the market I suppose, not strength and weight issues, but less manhours in building and maintenance. But something human in us will add back the work in "enough" wood to satisfy ourselves it looks good.