Is the sun hard on Merc paint? Looks like I wasted a lot of time!

hotrod53

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
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A year ago this spring I pulled the top off of my 1977 Merc 500, the paint has started to flake after 37 years in the sun. I stripped it in some places, feathered other spots, and primed it with green rustoleum self etching aluminum primer. I then coated it with Merc black and Merc clear followed by a wet sand and a buff. The end product looked like a new motor top with a brilliant shine.

Last year it looked great, I covered it with a motor cover all winter, this year it looked great as well. I took the boat out about a month ago, everything looked great. After about a month of HOT, HUMID, miserable weather, I finally got the chance to take the boat out on Friday. To my surprise, the paint on the entire top of the motor looks like a checkerboard! I can only assume that this horrible hot weather took a toll on the paint like it did me! I will probably have to strip the entire thing and start over.

Did I do something wrong? Is Merc paint not the answer? Should I be covering the top of the motor all summer too?

 
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