Continued analogy logic........ Krylon paint your SS Rails, so you don't have to polish them? Although I think most of us are talking about an 8' VHF antenna, so the amount of shrink wrap is much less and the masking of the area in order to paint is eliminated completely. I don't know about your antennas, but mine is an hour long project to disconnect at the radio, unsolder the connector, feed the wire backwards in order to take it to an area where overspray doesn't ruin things. Perhaps masking 46' of antenna is easier on some boats than others. I can just imagine the look on the yacht crew next to me with their highly polished blue hull, as I break out the white Krylon can and start spraying into the air. Your experience may vary. If painting is easy for you, cool. If not, perhaps heat shrink tubing is a good alternative. ken The antenna tapers from the base to the top on a 23 ft HF SSB Antenna as well on a VHF matching Antenna. That is 46 ft of Heat Shrink, two different sizes. Time and Material Wasted. Krylon Plastic Paint aerosol can less than $5.00 at Walmart. No mess, no fuse and Dries very fast. I will go with the Manufacturers suggestion. Analogy: Heat Shrink your SS Rails, so you don't have to polish them.

It goes without saying, one does not want to have collateral damage in any painting event aboard, and spaying ANYTHING with paint was something I never did aboard. I never found the need to recoat an antenna, but if I were going to paint one, I would spend a couple of minutes sanding it to knock off the fuzz and then use a small foam roller to carefully apply some Awlgrip Snow White or other suitable paint. I painted all sorts of items on the Calypso this way while standing over uncovered teak deck without collateral damage. Rich Gano FROLIC 2005 Mainship 30 Pilot II Panama City, FL > I don't know about your antennas, but mine > is an hour long project to disconnect at the radio, unsolder the connector, > feed the wire backwards in order to take it to an area where overspray > doesn't ruin things.