Glossy Masts?

If I had to guess, that spar is a jib-boom, like as not.  

If only from the lack of fittings (for cheeks, trestle-trees, etc.), and for what looks to be one sheave set into the white-painted portion.

Could be a mast for a gaff rig, but, there's no shelf for jaws nor gooseneck for a boom.

Probably not a boom, either, for not having stops for sheets, in and out hauls, lifts and the like.

Probably not a topmast, either, if for lack of a hoisting sheave near the heel (and that doublings are almost always painted).

In model form, I find a full gloss best for depicting a metal mast (that an and under-coat of silver.

For wooden masts, only a semi-gloss, and then on unpainted surfaces, to represent the finishes used to protect the unpainted wood.  

Don's observations on how finish would weather are, as always, apt.  To add to that, the unpainted portions of masts were left that way as the movement of the parrels of the yards up and down the masts would wear away paint.

That, and scale effect, are both reasons to tone-down any gloss used.

Now, an exception to that is in painted iron.  Ironwork was given a glossy black mixture to protect the iron and to inhibit rust.  This is glossy are quite large distances (and can look like a flood of Future or Acrylic resin up close).

That is a sailboat mast.

Anyway, here's a couple of pics of the mast I saw...in case anybody's interested...I thought it was cool!

Thanks for the info, Don!  Maybe I'l just leave my masts the way they are....

Yes, they originally were glossy, either gloss paint or varnish (really old ones may have just been oiled).  But they only stayed that way for a short period, as sunlight has a bad effect on paints and varnishes used on period ships.  Even most paints today go dull and chalk in sunlight, except for fancy catalyzed paints.  Once built, ships are exposed to elements all day every day.