Restoring Hobie Masts

You cannot "re-anodize" aluminum and expect to get any sort of an even finish. The whole mast would have to be acid dipped, then dipped in an anodizing tank. The anodizing process is an electro-chemical process that changes the molecular structure of the exterior of the aluminum. If you want to refinish it, paint, and a REALLY good paint would be your best option (like Imron). Alternatively, you could have it powder coated...but even that will have a hard time holding up as any future corrosion will cause big blisters.

^ in the meantime, rustoleum spray paint would work.

Sure it wont last, but then again its inexpensive and easy to touch up.

I'd just leave it alone personally.

I usually wipe mine down with Penetrol at the begining of the season. It brings back a lot of the color/darkness to the finish.

Okay, I'll get in this too:

I have a 1990 Hobie TheMightyHobie18 Magnum and I found some cheap, black wax that I put on at the beginning of the season on the mast and crossbars. Be very careful that the mast is cool when you do this because the sun makes that thing so hot, you can't touch it.

I've had my wings repaired a few times and I've primed them, then used satin finish rustoleum. It doesn't rub off.

It is a used boat, you know.

Wyatt

Penetrol is the stuff! It will work wonders on your mast. Give it a shot before you do anything else. I have restored many older masts that way, and they stay gleaming for quite a while. You can get it at most any hardware store.
Trey - the "yute"
N20 314
Layline Rigging
www.velocitysailing.com

I wanted to let everyone that the Penetrol worked. It looks great! It worked so well, I used it on the cross beams, tiller arms and the tramp assembly.

Thanks for the tip.

Bill

It works on the hulls to bring back the gelcoat and the sun faded trampoline.Good with Muesli too!

Turns out it's really not that difficult:

http://www.warpig.com/paintball/technical/anodize.shtml

One possible snag is the need for an immersion tank the length of a mast. I had to solve this problem once for a 40' long chromate conversion coating tank. We simply bought four 10' long pieces of 6" PVC pipe at Home Depot along with two caps and three couplers, glued it all together then sawed a long chunk out of the top to make an open top tank. Put it in cradles on a long bench and went at it. I even put in a drain valve at one end cap by drilling a hole and tapping it for pipe thread.

I need to re-annodize my crossbeams and mast as well since tiny flecks of corrosion are starting to pop up.
I know if it sees more saltwater now, the corrosion will really take off and scrap the mast.

Jimbo

Nice info jimbo.

This is to Jimbo

You can do it but be very careful. Gold Chromic acid conversion is a lot less hazardous than sulfuric acid anodizing. Also figure out what you are going to do with chemicals after you have finished. Pouring them out in the back yard is a very bad idea.

They used to sell chemical home anodizing kits. I bought one on the "closeout" table of a marine dealer in Atlanta for a couple of dollars. I did not really look at the labels until I was moving. I discovered I had 1 gallon of high concentration sulfuric acid with toxic additives and a quart of highly toxic metallic dye. I ended up having to pay ~$50 to dispose of it.

There are websites on home anodizing aluminum. You will notice there are very few people who have been doing this for years. They usually get hurt and quit.

Now titanium you can anodize with soapy water or Coca-Cola

I'm an airplane painter at work, so I know a thing or two about chromic acid conversion (Alodine 1201) having handled several thousand gallons over the years. Just did a big parts batch today, in fact. You are right that Alodine does not present much of an immediate worker safety problem as the acidity is low. But it contains heavy metals (hexavalent chromium) and cyannide so poisoning is an issue if it's mis-handled. Waste product can be economically disposed of by evaporating down to the solid state and getting it hauled as dry waste. Much cheaper that way. It must NEVER be dumped on the ground or poured into ANY drain as it is a serious ground water pollutant. That's one reason why so many airports and military bases are superfund sites; that's exactly what they did for decades.

Also, Alodine is not itself a weather coating the way anodizing is. Neither Parker/Amchem nor Henkel ever advertised it that way. It is far too fragile. It is however the very best coating to use if you intend to paint or powdercoat. Then the tough paint can protect the fragile alodine which is in turn stopping the corrosion. Henkel advertises 14 year durability for the conversion. But all bets are off if it's not properly primed and painted as it is only a few microns thick and scratches off very easily. It is never recommended for unpainted parts that will be handled. It must be painted within 3-5 days or else removed and re-applied before painting, else the paint will not stick at all. Alodine is much finickier and will not 'take' if the slightest bit of contamination is present. It takes some practice to get right, especially on old metal.

Anodizing OTOH is an ideal weather coating, impervious as it is to both environmental attack and highly scratch/abrasion resistant. The actual anodized aluminum molecules are almost as hard as a diamond which accounts for the coating's toughness. Also it is much thicker than Alodine and can be .001" or more, about 10-20 times thicker than Alodine. You can also make it virtually any color you like. Alodine is either gold (1201) or clear (1001). Anodizing has theoretically indefinite life.

The major safety issue with the sulphuric acid dip for anodizing is that the acidity is much higher and presents an immediate danger of acid burns. Proper handling proceedures and safety habits can alleviate the danger. Sulphuric acid is a simple acid without any nasty heavy metals, so carefully diluting/neutralizing can take it to 'gray water' status so it can be at best legally dumped or at worst disposed of very cheaply. No heavy metals to muck up the groundwater. There are numerous web pages to describe the proceedures for this if anyone is interested. If you are contemplating any of this I recommend you familiarize yourself with some of this info first.

Lack of knowledge is how people get into trouble with these products, like attempting straight dilution of acid instead of reverse dilution. Ditto for when you decide to neutralize; you don't just throw baking soda in the bucket and hope for the best

Jimbo