Re: Painting inside of aluminum boat
Heres how I would do it (I paint planes for a living), made of aluminum of coarse
1) Strip all finishes from interior from areas to be painted. Use aluminum foil and aluminum duct tape to protect the rest. Easiest way is to use aircraft stripper. You can buy it in any Home Chepot. Agitate between coats with a brass wire brush. Buy the good stuff or you'll regret it...
2) Using a brass wire wheel on a drill, hit all the rivets and seems. Also use it to remove any corrosion. Don't stay too long in one place or it will gall up the alum.
2) Sand everything else with a DA (dual action) round sander. I would go with like 220 grit. Stay off the rivets or you will flatten the head (bad thing). This is what the brass wire wheel was for. Even where there is no corrosion or paint hit it anyway.
3) Blow out the dust and wipe down with a good pre paint degreaser.
4) (Optional) Any one of these steps will help with the quality of the job.
A) Use a aluminum cleaner. This will prep the alum for paint and make it stick better.
B) Buy some anodizing. Usually red in color but dries yellow. This will get under the rivets and into the seems as well as protect the rest of the metal if the paint gets scratched. (this is where the corrosion will eventually come back first) All ya do is wipe or spray this stuff all over the place, let site as long as directed, then rinse with water.
5) Find a paint system you have the equipment and fundage to use. ALWAYS use a 2 part epoxy primer! The paint needs to be compatable with it. You can use anything from Sherman Williams Polyurothane to the different systems sold at West Marine etc. Zinc oxide is excellent to protect alum. but paint doesn't stick to it very well.
Its best to do the inside and outside all at the same time. Eventually the corrosion will return from outside thru the seems and rivets if not. All this really depends on how far ya wanna go of coarse. Or you could just buy some Dutch Boy and a roller
Hope this helps
