Aluminum Boat Paint

JimS123 · Tuesday at 11:31 AM

I'm restoring an old tinny and want to paint the deck (aluminum floor). It's a little dingy and is down to bare metal in a lot of places due to foot traffic over the past 61 years.

I see there are a lot of options out there, but I thought I would see if anyone has any real world experience.

Brand, oil or water base, non-skid?

Mc Tool · Tuesday at 12:06 PM

Ally can be hard to re paint . Its not so much the painting but the prep work needed to get a good durable finish . If that were me Id be havin another look with the idea that its a nice looking used retro dinghy and talk myself into leaving it as is

.
Otherwise its scotchbrite pads ( preferably some powered version ) clean , etch prime and paint

Ifishmuskie2 · Tuesday at 12:13 PM

I’ve had good luck with brushed on tremclad.

Scott Danforth · Tuesday at 12:17 PM

I used moeller rattle can of zinc dichromate primer followed by green rustoleum rattle can. sprinkeled on some pumice granules and another layer of green rustoleum in the canoe a few years back. been holding up to even the dog claws and tossing in the gear.

for prep, all I did was chuck up a wire brush in the drill, hit all the old paint, then fire up the pressure washer. once dried, I wiped with acetone, then painted.

JimS123 · Tuesday at 3:07 PM

Mc Tool said:
Ally can be hard to re paint . Its not so much the painting but the prep work needed to get a good durable finish . If that were me Id be havin another look with the idea that its a nice looking used retro dinghy and talk myself into leaving it as is .
Otherwise its scotchbrite pads ( preferably some powered version ) clean , etch prime and paint

I guess I knew the answer ahead of time, but was hoping for an easy way out.

We've owned the boat for 40+ years. My sons grew up in her. My youngest moved to TN and wants to build a waterfront house. I told him I would restore it and the other day he was in town and said what a good job I did. But why not repaint the floor?

I've been restoring aluminum outboard motors for 40 years as well. I DO the right steps and they all turn out OK.

JimS123 · Tuesday at 3:10 PM

Scott Danforth said:
I used moeller rattle can of zinc dichromate primer followed by green rustoleum rattle can. sprinkeled on some pumice granules and another layer of green rustoleum in the canoe a few years back. been holding up to even the dog claws and tossing in the gear.

for prep, all I did was chuck up a wire brush in the drill, hit all the old paint, then fire up the pressure washer. once dried, I wiped with acetone, then painted.

Back in the 1960's I used the zinc stuff on a few motors and they are still pristine today. Unfortunately, it's not available any more. (EPA you know, at least not in NY). Acid etching primer is OK, but the long term durability won't match the old stuff.

Mc Tool · Tuesday at 3:26 PM

JimS123 said:
the other day he was in town and said what a good job I did. But why not repaint the floor?

I been fixin a wee dinghy I ( stupidly ....I think Gilligan would have passed it up ) bought and I was thinking about some of that stone chip paint used on car sills for the floor.

MikeSchinlaub · Tuesday at 3:29 PM

JimS123 said:
Acid etching primer is OK, but the long term durability won't match the old stuff.

I'm pretty sure you can't get that anymore either, or at least we don't. Direct To Metal (DTM) primer is what we use now.

If you use a wire wheel, just be sure to use the non twisted kind. Use fine, loose bristle cups.

Jeff J · Tuesday at 3:30 PM

Zinc Chromate is available. Zinc phosphate works too.

Jeff J · Tuesday at 3:38 PM

If you use a wire wheel, it’s best it is stainless and never been used on anything else. We used “rivet cleaning discs” chucked into a drill motor to prep airplanes. Harbor Freight has a pretty good fiber wheel that should work but I haven’t tried it on aluminum yet.

JimS123 · Tuesday at 5:47 PM

Zinc Chromate is not available in NY, and hasn't been for 25+ years.

What I use is Rustoleum Acid Etching Primer, or NAPA Acid Etching Primer.

I use brass wire wheels.

My "Toy Boat" is really not a dinghy. It's a semi V Sea Nymph 14R, which has a deep freeboard. It used to handle 2 fat adults and 2 pre-teens quite well. We didn't go very fast with the 9.5 'Rude, but we always made it there.

Current state of progress:

arks · Tuesday at 10:26 PM

I painted my 14’ jonboat 16 years ago.
Original flat green was in poor shape so I scuffed everything with Scotchbrite pads, then rinsed the whole boat down and let it dry for a week.
Built and installed the console, then painted it with a 2 part acrylic enamel. Roller and brush, no spray. Since then, only yearly touch ups.
Here‘s some pics:

Jeff J · Wednesday at 9:22 AM

Zinc Chromate is not banned in NY. There are some stringent regulations governing it. Most seem to revolve around the VOC’s. I don’t know if the rattle cans have the correct mix or not but if Amazon or other supplier will ship it to NY then I would think they do. Otherwise there are spray gun options. I am not going to dig into NY law anymore than that.

As pointed out, there are other good options with fewer legal and health concerns too.

Bottom Mapping · Thursday at 10:37 AM

JimS123 said:
I'm restoring an old tinny and want to paint the deck (aluminum floor). It's a little dingy and is down to bare metal in a lot of places due to foot traffic over the past 61 years.

I see there are a lot of options out there, but I thought I would see if anyone has any real world experience.

Brand, oil or water base, non-skid?

View attachment 413283

We had a dealer Rhino- line a 1972 Smoker Craft that had never been painted. The shop went into a song and dance about custom work and xx $ per s.f. The pricing is irrelevant, as it was a number of years ago. But the initial quote far exceeded the value of the boat (perceived or otherwise). I didn't have the time to DIY. I ran some numbers and determined it was less total area than a long bed pickup truck. They had a "buy one, get the next for 50% off" special at the time. They agreed to do one of my trucks and the boat for the special deal. They wire-brushed it and did an alcohol wash (expired vodka that the owner purchased at an estate sale) to prep. They even did the seats. I jumped from dock to boat often, with nary a slip. Unanticipated consequence; much quieter ride and a heightened level of comfort with bare feet on the floor. Very happy with the result .... gave it away last summer and the floor was still in great shape. Way better plan than paint!

MikeSchinlaub · Thursday at 12:42 PM

Bottom Mapping said:
expired vodka

What? How?

Scott Danforth · Thursday at 2:00 PM

JimS123 said:
Zinc Chromate is not available in NY, and hasn't been for 25+ years.

then go Zinc Phosphate. https://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Zinc-Phosphate-Yellow-025801-1/dp/B0D5BZT9B4

if you cant do Zinc Chromate. https://www.amazon.com/So-Sure-TT-P-1757-Chromate-Primer-0084-348/dp/B0F7HQRL2N/r

while at it, get some fine grain pumice for non-skid https://www.amazon.com/ClearLee-Cosmetic-Grade-Pumice-Exfoliation/dp/B0B29NGM9Y?th=1

JimS123 · Thursday at 3:19 PM

Jeff J said:
Zinc Chromate is not banned in NY. There are some stringent regulations governing it. Most seem to revolve around the VOC’s. I don’t know if the rattle cans have the correct mix or not but if Amazon or other supplier will ship it to NY then I would think they do. Otherwise there are spray gun options. I am not going to dig into NY law anymore than that.

As pointed out, there are other good options with fewer legal and health concerns too.

Well then I was misinformed. They guy at my local paint store told me that some time ago.

Since than I have been using the other options, but I must admit that they are not as good.

What IS banned in NY is oil based house paint. I can buy a pint of Rustoleum oil based enamel, but gallons are now illegal.

Last year I went to Sherwin Williams and asked then guy for a gallon of alkyd paint for my garage door. He went to the manager because he had never heard that word before. The Manager said its banned. So, I used the latex substitute and it was crappy. Next time I'll drive to PA.

Jeff J · Thursday at 5:17 PM

I think zinc chromate went away nation wide or was so restricted no one could use it around 25 years ago. That’s when I started seeing zinc phosphate. I went to order some zinc phosphate a few years ago and zinc chromate had appeared in the search again. Otherwise I wouldn’t know it was out there again. It’s not cheap. Current price at the airplane parts store is $40.65 for a rattle can. Zinc phosphate is $23.95.

Aluminum Boat Paint

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