painting my boat project

[jwmiller33]

i am about to buy a 1983 16 foot lund and i am looking at sanding it down and repainting it to give it a way nicer look. i was wondering waht kind of paint and primer one should use when doing a task like this. a buddy of mine did hte say thing to his 14 ft lund last year, and he did a nice job sanding, priming, and painting it, but it seems the paint chips and scratches off wayyyy easier than it did on the original paint the boat came with. is there a special kind of paint your supposed to use for boats? can you use a clear coat finish to give it more protection? how do you keep it from chipping off?

[DonBo]

The biggest problem is the bare aluminum. It needs to be etched and primed with special products made for aluminum. Talk to someone at a local marina ships store. I know there are many in the Duluth area.

The products they sell will be expensive, but you get what you pay for and the final job will be worth it.

Also, look up a local sign shop as they can redo the graphics to make it look like new.

I'm sure marine man will chime in with some good suggestions also.

Good luck.

[jwmiller33]

how expensive are you talking? so is it just like a special primer coat i would put on first before the paint? or would i need a special/expensive paint also?

[rodmaker]

You can always contact Lund about paint. But I hear it isn't cheap.

[jwmiller33]

ya i bet it isnt cheap. im not looking to spend too much thats the thing. i bought a kind of fixer upper and just want it to look nice and be nice to fish in. dont want to go overboard and spend more on the paint than i did on the boat ($1400)

[DonBo]

In that case, just go to a harware or paint store and get an aluminum etch. This is very important, DON'T SKIMP HERE. Then just about any primer/paint you want to put on should work.

You just want to use Rustoleum to save $$$? Knock yourself out.

[jwmiller33]

so is the etch like a "pre primer" or what is it? im not too familiar with it. after i sand the aluminum down, the first step is the aluminum etch, correct?

[1900_LE]

jwmiller33 let me throw an idea your way. Several years a go (about 10) I was redoing a old Sylvan boat I owned. Here is what I did. I bought some appliance paint from walmart. I sanded the transom to bare metal, sprayed the aluminum with the appliance paint. That boat sat for almost ten years outside and the paint never peeled,cracked or anything. What I am going to do, with the boat I just bought, is exactly that. Sand it, spray it with the appliance paint, spray it again with a good primer, and paint it. That special aluminum primer paint was expensive 10 years ago, I hate to think what it might cost today. This is just another option you may want to try. Could save you a bucket load of money. Good Luck

[sparcebag]

If theres paint on the boat now there's your primer coat.

I found epoxie enamel to work best so far,then coated with a couple clear coats.

Primer for autos works on bare alum.read the label it will state what materials its used on.

I just did one and yes its softer than the baked on finishes from a factory! But the epoxie enamel dries hardest of all my attempts,Its also for appliances then the clear coats protect it more.

A 16.5 boat 6'4" beam took around 16 cans for 2 coats of paint then 8 cans for 2 coats of clear coat,Menards was paint supplier at less than 3 bucks a can.

[jwmiller33]

1900 LE---so you used the appliance paint in place of the aluminum etch?

sparcebag---"if there is painton the boat now there's your primer coat"... so your saying i shouldnt sand all the way down to the aluminum to repaint the boat if the boat is already painted?

thanks for your help guys!

[marine_man]

Here's a good thread regarding paining an aluminum boat done by our very own Cheffrey:

Painting an Aluminum Boat

marine_man

[rodmaker]

See if Cabela's carries any.

[sparcebag]

1900 LE---so you used the appliance paint in place of the aluminum etch?

sparcebag---"if there is painton the boat now there's your primer coat"... so your saying i shouldnt sand all the way down to the aluminum to repaint the boat if the boat is already painted?

thanks for your help guys!

A few places I went down to bare aluminum where it was scratched from dock posts,Thats where I used the auto primer as first coat,then thin coats of epoxie enamel (appliance paint) But the original paint I used as primer,As no worries if the paint will adhere to aluminum,its already there.

[DonBo]

Yeah, if you don't have any bare aluminum you won't need any primer.

[Tom Linderholm]

I would definately recomend talking with Russ at Marine General, he gave me a fair amount of guidance on mine a couple years back.

[Steve Bakken]

Not sanding it all down to aluminum is kind of a double edged sword. First off, the new paint will illuminate any chips and scratches in the original paint. Second, if you do sand through in some spots, the new paint will have a tendency to create bullseyes over the repaired area. When we paint a boat here, we usually find it quicker in the long run to just take it all down to bare aluminum. that way, at least you know what your going to end up with. There are short cuts in the painting process, and most will work to different degrees, but the best way is to use an acid etch primer, followed by a coat of sealer, finishing up with the topcoat.

Steve at Bakken's Boat Shop

[Fish to Win]

This is some great info and I plan on tackling my 18 foot blufin this spring with what I have learned in this thread. I have done my homework on this subject and I can't wait till we hit some warmer weather to start!!

[Tyler23]

show us some before and after pics. i think we would all like to see how it turned out like.

[DTro]

Here's what I did on a very small budget. Has held up very well since:

Paint Job

[Coach1310]

I did my 16' Alumacraft last year. I used some heat and Goo-Gone to get rid of the decals and all the sticky stuff they left behind. The paint wasn't chipping or peeling just faded really bad so I just gave it a decent scuff and then cleaned it with ....can't think of the name of it now, but it evaporates pretty quick. Put one coat of primer on and about 3 coats of paint. I rolled it on and "tipped" with a brush to get the bubbles out. If you research some stuff on painting it will explain what "tipping" is. I used Brightside products from West Marine. They are spendy, but I am very pleased with how it turned out. I am going to add a clear coat of some kind this year to finish it off. I also ordered some new decals from Alumacraft. The new decals really make the finished product in my opinion.

[jwmiller33]

coach--put some pics up

[Coach1310]

I'll see if I still have some. I did take some before and after shots, I'll see what I can find.

[jwmiller33]

how much was a sheet of their marine plywood?

[chris63]

Steve,wouldn't it be best(longevity)to finish up with acrylic and bake it on like the factory's do?c63

[Steve Bakken]

Acrylic is kind of an old school term. Anything that is a two part catylized product will last a lot longer than something like a laquer which just "dries". As far as baking goes, this just accellerates the curing process. In a week, the baked product vs. the unbaked product will be of the same level of durability, so I wouldn't get too worried about it unless you have easy access to a paint booth. If not, you'll be fine without it