what's required to paint aluminum?

[brunolund]

i'm in the process of taking my boat down to bare aluminum to remove some sort of crap. anyway, is there any special steps required to paint alum? or is it the same as a car? can i just get the correct primer and paint? also can i roll the paint on? i don't have a way to roll the boat, and it's only below the water line that i'm painting. my cousin just did his 12 footer with a foam brush, and the finish is very good. thinking i'll try the same, as it will be done on the trailer, but thought i'd ask first.

1850 lund tyee i/o

 

[45Auto]

Re: what's required to paint aluminum?

If you're down to bare aluminum you need to apply some sort of conversion coating (Alodine) before priming:

http://www.rci-products.com/ALODINE.html

After that, it's just like painting a car. Use a good epoxy primer and good paint and it'll last a long time.

Any automotive paint supplier will have the aluminum conversion coating.

 

[brunolund]

Re: what's required to paint aluminum?

thanks.
i'll look for it tommorow

 

[45Auto]

Re: what's required to paint aluminum?

If you're not going to spray the boat, lots of people have done great paint jobs using the "roll-and-tip" method. Basically you roll the paint on and another person comes behind with a brush "tipping" the roller marks away. There's a pretty good explanation of it in Section 5 here:

http://www.acbsphl.org/Tips_and_hints/Topside_Painting_Rolling_and_Tipping.htm

Good luck with your paint job!