Ham Radio Help Desk

If you have been reading this web site you will recall I have paid much attention to the 43 foot antenna manufactured by DX Engineering and Zero Five Antennas.

After much simulation and trading the benefits against pitfalls, I purchased the DX Engineering 43 foot antenna kit with the balun.

However, a shiny aluminum antenna in the back yard would attract the kind attention I just don’t need. Research on the Internet reveals several solutions including:

• Paint the antenna camouflage
• Wrap the antenna with black electrical tape
• Just spray some black Krylon on the aluminum and when it flakes off, it will be a kind of camouflage…!??!
• Paint the antenna flat black

Flat black objects do seem to hide themselves quite well so this is the color I decided for my 43 foot antenna.

However, I know all too well for a paint job to last you really need to do your homework. Despite advice to the contrary, priming first is absolutely necessary.

What primer paint is best for bare aluminum?

After researching this question for three weeks, the most popular answer is to use Zinc Chromate primer paint for bare aluminum. Zinc Chromate dates back to before WWII and was used extensively for all aluminum aircraft parts.

If you might be wondering if the Chromate in Zinc Chromate is dangerous, it is. It is hexavalent chromium (Chromium VI), a known carcinogen. This is the chemical of Erin Brockovich fame. As such the availability of products containing Chromium has waned in recent years. Substitutes for Zinc Chromate are readily available. However, after three weeks research, it became clear that nothing beats real Zinc Chromate for priming bare aluminum.

I went to a local aircraft repair shop thinking they have to paint aluminum often. A quick call revealed they carried Zinc Chromate primer. I went up to the counter and thay rang my up one can of Zinc Chromate primer paint in a spray can. When they handed me the product, I carefully read the label for the usual warning related to exposure to Chromium VI. There were no warnings. Sure enough, the product they list in their very own SKU system as Zinc Chromate Primer has no Zinc Chromate. I kindly returned the can to the sales desk and left.

No local source of Zinc Chromate could be found. I wound up ordering two cans online. I was not sure about that second can, but I wanted to get a bit more for just a little more shipping costs. It turned out we needed the second can.

You might be wondering why I am going to such bother to paint my new 43 foot aluminum antenna with so many steps: wash, sand, wipe, prime once, prime twice, paint. That’s a fair question since hams are notoriously cheap in their purchasing.

I am not that kind of ham.

While I do not have an Orion II and SteppIR DB, I don’t try to short change things I really can afford to do. If applying this much energy to painting yields an antenna paint job that will hold up longer than just spray and pray, then I think I have actually found the better value in the long run.

I have learned much during this research…

• Zinc Chromate has been the primer of choice for bare aluminum since before WWII
• Zinc Chromate is dangerous and a breathing mask is essential
• Sanding dried Zinc Chromate primer is also dangerous
• Zinc Chromate is paint with Chromium VI – watch out for fakes
• Zinc Chromate is NOT a paint color – depending on the formulation, it might be green, yellow, dark red and other colors
• Sanding or similarly prepping the metal surface is essential for good priming
• Access to a paint booth is a big advantage
• Making the pipe holding frame allows you to spray many smaller pipes at once thus wasting much less paint

I will let the primer cure for the full 48 hours suggested on the can and then apply two coats of flat black paint from the local home store when I get a chance.

Tags: 43 foot, aluminum, paint, primer, zinc chromate