Spar Paint & Servicing

Ensuring your spar finish is up to snuff is about more than just a shiny mast and boom. Whether we are talking about wood, carbon fiber, or aluminum, the finish of your spar needs to be maintained in order to preserve the structural integrity of your mast. The Rigging Company has developed and refined its processes through many years of experience, and as a result we are able to offer uniquely effective treatments, especially when it comes to wooden spars.

The primary purpose of painting or repainting a spar is not for good looks, but to chemically seal and protect the spar itself from deterioration or failure due to corrosion. In order to achieve this, several critical steps must be a part of the overall process, otherwise you end up spending a lot of money for a final product that will only last for a couple of years.

Our general process starts with stripping every fitting off the mast until we get down to just the spar itself. It is critical to remove all stainless steel, as a single stainless rivet or fastener left in place can rapidly accelerate the rate of corrosion and reduce the life of the “seal.” Next, all of the old finish is removed, and any corroded areas are spot-treated with sand-blasting and closely inspected for structural deficiencies. Any unused holes are filled in and the mast is dry-fitted with whatever fittings are being re-used and/or newly installed (this critical and often overlooked step ensures that the inside of all mounting holes are painted, leaving a layer of paint between the spar and the stainless fastener as an inhibitor for dissimilar metals corrosion). For aluminum spars, a final acid wash is applied to chemically remove any remaining corrosion at the molecular level.
Once the preparation of the spar has been completed, it is hung in the paint booth and sprayed with multiple coats of specialized, multi-part epoxy primer (Awlgrip is our preferred brand for this application). The primer layer is designed to both chemically bond to the bare spar – this keeps the final topcoat from blistering – as well as to form a hard, protective, corrosion-proof shell around the spar.
The final finishing color is sprayed over the top of the primer, typically with a layer of clear UV protectant over the final color, and the final product is allowed to sit for several days unperturbed while the paint finishes curing. Finally all the fittings and fixtures are reinstalled using new 316 stainless fasteners, wires and halyards are fished in, rigging is hung & dressed, and the mast is ready to step.

To get on our list to receive an estimate to have your mast refinished please fill out our Service Request Forms or simply give us a call, we’d be glad to help.