Flagpole Repair, Painting, Maintenance, Rope Replacement
& CLEANING those dark rings
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2 anodized aluminum poles changed to high gloss white at the Music Center in Los Angeles after the poles started looking dull and ugly.
Anodized aluminum poles are newer types of flagpoles that have been around for a number of years now. The installation of them is fairly simple and since aluminum is light, cheap and does not rust they are what most new poles up to around 80 feet are made of. The popular colors are silver and bronze, although bronze is still even newer than silver. The anodized aluminum pole in the picture on the right has been up for 5 years and still looks new. Still, over time the anodization will wear off and oxidation to the aluminum will occur. Even though its not as harmful as rust is on steel, oxidation will dull the pole and make its appearance look dull and sometimes even brown or black. The purpose of the bronze flagpoles is so that it is not as noticeable when the oxidation takes place. Next time you’re at an older Mc Donalds or Carls Jr you will notice that the flagpoles there are pretty dull and almost brown looking. When in turn you will see some of the newer location have nice shiny poles or even bronze which is like a brown chocolate color. If looks is an important factor in the presentation of your flagpole then once the brilliance starts to fade and all the oxidation starts to make your flagpole look dull and worn you only have 2 options to go with to make your pole look new again.
- 1. Painting the pole. Yes you can paint aluminum. Although since aluminum does not rust like metal does you don’t really “need” to paint it but if you have it in a prime location then painting is a must. Locations like the Music Center in Los Angeles and The Universal Hilton at Universal Studios are prime examples of aluminum poles that are painted white so that they look nice for the tourist that are constantly taking pictures around the area. The Mission Viejo Water District HQ has their pole painted green to match the building. Notice we mentioned that you can paint aluminum. That is because unless you use the correct primer that is specifically for aluminum if you try to paint aluminum with regular primer first or no primer at all it will most certainly peel off. There is a few that we have tried and narrowed it down to one of the best aluminum primers in the market and we will not paint an aluminum pole without it. Even if you were to ask us not to, it will look really bad on us because it will start to peel off in a year and no matter how much sanding or prepping you do it just will not work without the primer. Once you have the primer and the top coat on with the color of your choosing then like all things painted you have to keep a reg interval painting schedule in order for your pole to look amazing all year long.
- 2. Clean the pole. Yes we can clean the flagpole with a special cleanser that strips away all the oxidation so good that when the pole is all cleaning it almost looks white. The picture on the right shows a pretty beat up pole that we cleaned a portion of it just for comparison purposes. It is not good to only do a portion of the pole so since this pole was going to be taken down it was perfect for the picture to show how much cleaner the pole can get compared to what it used to look like. Not all poles can be cleaned and will have to be inspected to see if it is a candidate for the cleaning but the cleaning is an advantage because since you did not paint it you don’t have to do the regular painting schedule that you have to do on a painted pole. A recommended 4 year interval plan includes the following:
a. Labor to climb pole
b. Inspection of top ball and truck assembly for safety & operation or replacement if necessary
c. Inspection or replacement of axil pins
d. Inspection and replacement of ropes
e. Installation of lock boxes (if vandalism is a problem)
If this plan is executed every 4 years then you will never have any issues with your flagpole.
80’ anodized flagpole at Mentone RV & Storage. Halyard replacment service.
Aluminum anodized pole changed to high gloss white in San Diego with truck painted green for accent.
On the left you can see obvious dark lines and stains throughout the flagpole. On the right the flagpole almost looks white its so clean.
Aluminum Anodized flagpoles are by far the most common flagpole if not the only type of new flag sold in the market these days. If you are looking into getting a new pole or perhaps replacing an old rusted metal pole, sometimes it’s a better option than trying to restore a really corroded metal pole. If you are interested in an Aluminum pole please feel free to call and we can set you in the right direction based on your area for qualified installers. If it is a smaller pole 30 feet and under we can install those ourselves. The poles are so light that they don’t even need a crane to install them when they are that short.