painting a 1953 johnson

[njsavelli]

just recently began working on my old Johnson 25 horse and I've got it all stripped and sanded to bare metal and plan on using a self etching primer then, using my air brush, putting some paint on it. The problem i'm running into is finding a heat and gas resistant paint, as well as water too, but i cant find any. Ive checked all local paint stores (about 3 not including lowes, auto stores, and home depot which definitely don't have any thing), and cant find hardly anything online except for North York Marine but theres now way i could pay $35 for 8 ounces of paint. Any leads on this topic would be greatly appreciated, or if you can help point me to a company that has a paint with the characteristics im looking for and might be able to match a similar color that would be great. Thank you.

 

[nwcove]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

any automotive paint and clearcoat combo should work for you. and with modern technology, you can take a piece of the motor to the shop and they can match things up quite well! ( thats if you have a piece thats not been stripped and is not sun faded)

 

[gm280]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

just recently began working on my old Johnson 25 horse and I've got it all stripped and sanded to bare metal and plan on using a self etching primer then, using my air brush, putting some paint on it. The problem i'm running into is finding a heat and gas resistant paint, as well as water too, but i cant find any. Ive checked all local paint stores (about 3 not including lowes, auto stores, and home depot which definitely don't have any thing), and cant find hardly anything online except for North York Marine but theres now way i could pay $35 for 8 ounces of paint. Any leads on this topic would be greatly appreciated, or if you can help point me to a company that has a paint with the characteristics im looking for and might be able to match a similar color that would be great. Thank you.

It just so happens that I just finished painting my 1976 Johnson 40 HP outboard after stripping and sand blasting it to the metal. I totally disassembled it and sanded and sand blasted every part and then I bought Zinc Chromate Primer and primed all the bare aluminum parts next. Then I sprayed on a PPG K36 high build sandable catalyst primer. Next I sanded that primer in preparation for PPG Shop Line Base coat paint. Then finished it off with PPG Multi-panel Clear coat catalyst clear...a few coats. That PPG Shop Line paint and clear coat is fuel resistant and most any type fuel or oil doesn?t even faze it one bit. The Shop Line paint I sprayed cost around $35 dollars a quart. So unless you can find another fuel resistant paint, it is a real bargain and will last as long or longer than the original finish too... Here are the befoe and after finished cowling...



You cab see more at my rebuild thread; http://forums.iboats.com/johnson-ev...40-hp-outboard-complete-rebuild-586876-3.html

 

[njsavelli]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

gm, thats a beautiful paint job! Where did you get the PPG primer and paints at? or was it an online custom order or something?

 

[gm280]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

gm, thats a beautiful paint job! Where did you get the PPG primer and paints at? or was it an online custom order or something?

Good morning njsavelli. I purchased all the paint supplies at a PPG auto paint shop in my area. This Paint shop supplies a lot of the auto body repair shops in the area (you could ask them where they get their supplies too) and were extremely helpful in their products and how to use them. However, you don't need PPG to get your finish you want, there are other auto paints you can get for doing the same thing as well...DuPont, Sherwin Williams...just to list a few. Just try to get catalyst type paints because they will get harder and be impervious to fuels and oils. Don't use Lacquers because while they have been used for auto painting in the past and a lot of auto part stores carry those paints, they are not as resistant to fuel spills and will dissolve off and/or peel if you spill certain fuels or oils on them... The paint is the exact same finish you get on vehicles. And they are pretty tuff finishes... Hope this helped.

 

[82rude]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

though i totally agree with gm280 thought id show you my 53 painted with dupi-color laqure and then sprayed with laq clear that i found at local auto store.now for the purists they will have appoletic fits as i didnt stick with the original paint scheme but it was better than nothing at the time.has held up excellent for 4 years now.1953 estart 25hp evinrude.starts between 1/2 to 2 pulls.the only thing i hate about the 53 is the cowling being bolted instead of clam shell style like the latter ones.

 

[carholme]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

Antique and Classic Outboard Motor Paint & Decals

Contact this guy who is more than helpful, especially if you are looking for original colours.

Gerry

 

[gm280]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

though i totally agree with gm280 thought id show you my 53 painted with dupi-color laqure and then sprayed with laq clear that i found at local auto store.now for the purists they will have appoletic fits as i didnt stick with the original paint scheme but it was better than nothing at the time.has held up excellent for 4 years now.1953 estart 25hp evinrude.starts between 1/2 to 2 pulls.the only thing i hate about the 53 is the cowling being bolted instead of clam shell style like the latter ones.

This is a very nice finish as well. You did that motor good... I was wondering if you have spilt any fuels or oils on the finish during those years (I'm guessing so) and how it affected the paint. I know Lacquers are so easy to remove with some simple products like Lacquer thinner (of course) and Acetone and the like. Those solvent don?t seem to affect the PPG paints after they are dried and cured... I was just trying to inform the OP what types of paints could stand up to the different solvents. But for sure you did a very nice respectable finish on your project... :joyous:

 

[njsavelli]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

Thank you both, they are both exceptional finishes. And 82 rude, i know what your talking about with that cowl, its a true pain. I have to take off the shifting lever just in order to get the one side on. I went down to Colours today to see what they had there, unfortunately they are closed till monday, and I've checked the local Sherwin Williams store and they didn't have anything. So ill go back to sanding and prepping the surface and banking on Colours having a paint that i could use. If worst comes to worst i could probably use a John Deere paint since they are both gas and heat resistant although coloring might be a little off.. ill try and upload pics soon. thanks for your help guys!

 

[njsavelli]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

this is as far as i've gotten so far, on the lower unit theres a good bit of corrosion i guess you could call it. its a pain to get that stuff off

 

[gm280]

Re: painting a 1953 johnson

this is as far as i've gotten so far, on the lower unit theres a good bit of corrosion i guess you could call it. its a pain to get that stuff off


View attachment 191195View attachment 191196

Looks like you are on your way now. Yes those pitted areas are a pain to get clean. I used a sandblaster but I still had a lot of pitting on my engine too. I first used Zinc Chromate primer because it is used just for bare aluminum like that. Zinc Chromate primer grips the bare aluminum and also gives your sandable primer a tooth to adhere to also. Then I used the PPG K36 sandable primer. It is a catalyst type primer and not very cheap either. But it does fill in those pits and allows you to sand the surface smooth. I also used body fillers like Z-Grip put out by Evercoat products. It is an auto body two part body filler and works great on filling the pits too. Make sure you sand those areas using a block sander and not just your fingers or you will get finger grooves in the areas that will show up later on. Once you get all the pits filled in and smooth move on to your finish. And that can be whatever you like. Just try to use a good two part catalyst (hardener) type paint for a really strong and tuff finish... Keep posting your steps with pictures. I'd like to watch... :joyous: