Duckboat paint

[stayman79]

OK, I know this has been discussed before, but I want to know the BEST product to use to prep my aluminum boat for paint. It's painted already (maroon and gray, not too "ducky"), but some spots and the side rails are bare metal. It's been sprayed out and scrubbed to get the dirt and grime out, next I'll rough it up and then what? I've heard to use denatured alcohol, tri-sodium phosphate, carbisol...but I want to know if someone knows what works best, pros and cons etc. Also, should I prime over the old paint or just do a couple of coats of the tan I plan to use as a base? Thanks, and hopefully this will help a few others also.

[fishkid]

i paint my dads boat every year. just from you walking in it all the time and wear and tear will scrape the paint off ever year. i think are boat has like 7 shades of browns blacks greens just from me painting it and getting rid of the shinny aluminum. if i were you i would spray in one color then add in some lines of different colors to break it up a little bit.then as years go by it should be good.