Flat Black – Is It the New Black?
Bara så ingen gör misstaget att blank-lacka sin kolfibermast. Enligt Hall Spars är det nu matt som gäller. Bara så ni vet.
Flat Black – Is It the New Black?
Fashion trends come and go, and we’re not talking about the latest style your teenager is wearing. Custom mast paint colors and styles evolve according to personal preferences too, keeping our painters on their toes.
Flat black is the latest in “America’s Cup chic.” It developed over the past few years, starting with Cup masts treated with a layer of custom epoxy that left them a flat, non-reflective black. TP 52 sailors picked up on the trend, using a more-widely available Awlgrip product to match the flat black. The latest flat black project to leave our shop is the Wally 130, scheduled to launch this spring.
Does that mean clear-coat is “so over”? Not at all. Its light weight will always be popular with race boats. Clear coat is a lightweight top coat that’s applied without a layer of primer. The lack of primer means the clear paint might not last as long, but race boat owners accept the increased maintenance as a trade-off for the lightest weight option.
Metallic paints are also popular, particularly on super yachts. The finish is spectacular, but impractical for the average owner. Repairing a scratch to metallic paint is a difficult and expensive project. We’ve even applied a “faux wood” finish for boats styled after vintage wooden boats.
Why paint the mast at all? Paint protects the resin in the carbon. Even though it’s been cured to 250ø during our autoclave processing, the epoxy in the carbon is still susceptible to UV degradation. While the mast won’t fall apart if left in the sun, the surface will lose its nice, smooth finish and become pitted. Many A Class Catamaran masts are unpainted but they are easily de-rigged and stored out of the sun.
The most reliable and longest-lasting finish is still white paint. White keeps the mast cool, especially in the Caribbean where the sun can heat a black mast to the point where you can’t even touch it. We haven’t tried “flat white” yet, but you never know what the new season will bring.
