Painting my outboard engine cover

[massimofinance]

Hi, I would like to paint my engine cover that is plastic. I am planning on sanding JUST THE chips and scratches, removing the decals, priming the entire cover, then painting it. <br /><br />1) What kind of primer and paint should I use? (Do I need to use Marine paint?)<br />2) How many coats should I use?<br />3) Do I need to fill or otherwise bondo the chips, or will it look smooth after painting?<br />4) Do I need to apply a final clearcoat?<br /><br />Thanks.

 

[Sherman]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

When I did my 115 I used omc paint and some sandable primer from k-mart. I would fill the chips, sand with 100 then 600 grit wet sandpaper between coats. I gave mine two coats.<br />The omc paint gave a great finish with no clear coat.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

Kinda depends on how well you want the finished cover to look. I did much what you describe to mine for years and they did not last (paint bubbled) and looked like painted chips and scratches. A couple of months back I decided that I was going to spend the time and try to do a decent job. I removed the decals and sanded ALL the paint off of the covers. for the rest of the motors I sanded the surface only as I did not want to remove the factory undercoat. I used one coat of automotive primer and one coat of automotive synthetic enamel. They came out like this:<br /><br />

<br /><br />I am quite pleased with the result and think they run much better too. Welllllll - -

 

[massimofinance]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

Thanks for the advice and your motor looks real good!

 

[cowboyup]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

hey, i can see myself in the reflection. Man, what a fantastic job...that's really awesome. I hope mine turn out half that nice. If you haven't already got one, get an engine cover and cover that baby up.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

Small warning.<br /><br />Many synthetics and two-packs are carcinogenic. Wear a mask - preferably one that's force-fed from external air source.<br /><br />We'd like to hear from you again, after all.<br /><br />Ciao

 

[Solittle]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

Thanks for the feedback. I kinda expect some remarks from the Mercury fans.<br /><br />If you go this route be prepared to spend a bunch of time sanding the old stuff off the cowls - - and it ALL must come off. I used a sander powered by compressed air. The big time burner was my air compresser did not put out enough air to run the sander continuously. So I spent a slug of time waiting for the pressure to build up. What you see in the photo is one of the two motors. The other is hidden behind the one in the pic.

 

[BillP]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

SoLittle, FYI...Your motor is kinda sorta painted like an OMC Johnson commercial motor of that vintage. They had black paint from the bottom of the cowl down. The cover was white with decals.

 

[McGR]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

I have found the OMC (BMC) of touch up paint is exceptionally good. I have both completely painted and touched up motors with this paint with great results. My surface prep for this paint is usually as follows:<br /><br />- For bare aluminum - sand, prep with eching primer then paint.<br /><br />- For painting over existing paint - prep surface with abrasive pad (Scotchbrite etc.) and rubbing alcohol - then paint.<br /><br />While I'm not sure this is the "official" way to do it. I've had good results. In my case I think much credit is due to the OMC paint, it's really good stuff. Usually, when I paint something, you can tell it's a weekend warrior job. With the OMC paint my results look like I might have actually paid someone to do it. My .02....

 

[artherm]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

I have had mixed results with spray bombs. The OMC brand does seem to be of better quality. I just couldn't seem to get a good match for my 1988 Evinrude, Silver Blue. The factory match came out with a lot of silver and not enough blue. I am leaning toward a body shop doing it with a Dupont Urethane and clearcoat. I am told this will be real durable and look nice. This is not cheap, will consider as Christmas present to my wife.

 

[llfish]

Re: Painting my outboard engine cover

I have had good luck using Dupont's Emron with good results.