"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 16 May 2006 08:25:36 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:

Powder coating is tougher. It is melted onto the surface and almost
becomes part of it. Paint is...paint.

Could be but if 2 part LPU is tough enough for a sailboat mast (and it
is), it is certainly tough enough for a trawler mast. Powder coating
is a specialty hard to locate in some areas but there is usually no
problem finding a competent painter.


Also, I think powder coating requires high temperature baking of the
substrate to be coated. Finding a shop that could fit a mast in an oven
might be tough.

I'd probably go for anodizing, which is basically building up a layer of
aluminum oxide. Fresh cut or sanded aluminum oxidizes very rapidly to about
50 angstroms in thickness, then slows down because of the protective
oxidized layer. Anodizing increases the thickness to several mils, can be
dyed and can even be specified in terms of Rockwell surface hardness,
ranging up to that of hardened steel. Metal finishing shops usually have
large tanks and can handle big objects.

RCE