How to paint a boat....

[CALVINIST]

I have a 16' aluminum boat I would like to paint next spring, above and below the water line. It does have old paint above the water line now. What materials will I need, how do I do it, and what will be the approximate cost?

Thanks.

[PierBridge]

Here are some post to get you going..... page 2 and 3 have some good info..... PAINT

[CALVINIST]

Thanks Pierbridge, I knew there had to be something previously posted.

[PierBridge]

I going to be painting my Alluminum boat also.

I guess the prepration is the key first we have to remove any old paint then wipe with solvent.

Then me must use a self etching primer for aluminum followed by a good high quality poly paint with hardner.

I'm wondering if spray paint "canned" or a spray gun would be better.....

[CALVINIST]

I wonder too. Touching up scratches or wear would be a breeze, eh? My boat is just going to be a river-type boat with neutral colors; can't tell you how much I hate the fire engine red that is on there! Let me know what you decide to do; maybe I'll do the same.

[PierBridge]

I was hoping you'd go first....

[danfall]

Hey All,

I did a Lund boat 14' this summer. Its for sale in the for sale forums, but no buyers so far.

Here is what I did...

1. Sand boat paint using rotary sander. Be careful around rivets not to hit them much. After thorough sanding, use paint stripper and a brass brush for tough spots. Resand by hand after stripping any areas that are glossy for surface abrasion. Wash thoroughly with water, boat must sit in dry area afterwards. I spent about 3 weeks trying to manage weather before I garaged the boat and planned to paint inside.

1. Tip boat upside down and off trailer. Using varying degrees of steel wool, all old alum oxide and any algae or other discoloration can be removed and the boat can be polished to like new. During this process, you can repaint the trailer. Sand, use rusty metal primer and topcoat. This can be skipped if you don't want to polish the bottom and paint the trailer, etc.

2. Tip the boat up onto the trailer and plastic over your freshly painted trailer.

3. Plastic over polished hull areas.

4. Use aluminum filler and resand any dents.

4. I used interlux metal etch primer and an air sprayer. Before spraying, make sure the air compressor has been drained of the water the normally builds up inside, or you'll need a water catcher in your line ahead of the paint gun. I put on one nice coat of the stuff, it goes on translucent, so you see 1/2 hull and 1/2 paint when done.

5. Follow application instructions, but typically apply 2 coats of primer. I used Interlux Primekote. It was nice paint to work with. I didn't want to sand in between coats, but I did and was glad I did.

6. Follow up with 2 coats of topcoat, or follow application instructions for one coat application systems. I used 2 coats of interlux toplac. I consider this almost the top of the line normal paint, but a catalyst paint will finish a bit harder. Sand afer the first coat.

My boat came out great. Usage was under one pint of metal etch primer and under one quart each of the primer and topcoat. I did the inside as well using some acrylic paint with skidtex added. Really came out nice.