Painting Aluminum Plate

[Mel Taylor]

I recently bought a 16' Blue Fin aluminum boat. The previous owner had converted one of the seat/floatation chambers into a live well complete with a crudely made plywood lid. I replaced the floatation foam and made a new top out of a piece cut from an aluminum "Beware of the Dog" sign purchased at my local hardware store. One side of my homemade patch was nicely finished and the other side was bare aluminum. It fit best with the bare side up so that's the way I put it on. No sooner had I finished installing the last rivet and patting myself on the back for a job well done than I looked at my hands and they were black! Not just a little black but seriously black from handling the aluminum.

My wife usually goes fishing with me and she ain't gonna stand for me leaving that thing as-is to blacken the clothes and/or hands of anyone who gets near it. So, my question is, how do I prep and paint that little piece of metal? I tried searching the forums and came up with advice on how to prep and paint whole boats, outboard motors and outdrives, but I'm looking at a one foot by one foot aluminum plate. Can someone out there point me to something in the way of primer and paint that I can pick up at a hardware store in a spray can that will last for a while without peeling off and tell me how and what to clean it with prior to painting?

TIA

Mel

 

[dozerII]

Re: Painting Aluminum Plate

Lightly sand with 320, wipe down with acetone, prime with Rustoleum Self Etching Primer, just a light coat. Then Rusto bare metal primer then the Rust color of your choice.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Painting Aluminum Plate

I like to use a wire cup brush in an angle grinder to knock the shine off and give it a brushed finish for the primer to grip. Don't use a brass cup, use only stainless steel (best) or carbon steel cup brushes.

I wash the piece with Dawn dishwashing detergent, water, and a rag or sponge and let dry.

Paint with an aluminum primer first, self etching zinc chromate or Rustuleum aluminum primer. You can get the ZC at Wal-mart in the automotive paint section or the Rustoleum at Home Depot in the spray paint dept, both come in rattle cans.

Pick out whatever color you like spray paint for metal and paint your finish coats.

Give plenty of time to dry between coats and after you've finished... and follow the directions on the can.

 

[Mel Taylor]

Re: Painting Aluminum Plate

dozerll, jigngrub,

Thank you both for your advice. This piece of aluminum seems almost greasy and I've had aluminum leave black on stuff (including my hands) before but nothing like this. I have both Dawn and acetone on hand so will probably do a double cleaning just to be sure.

The embarrassing thing to me about asking this question was that I was a contractor painting municipal water tanks, sewage and water treatment plants, copper refineries, etc. for many years. So, I know something about painting metals. But there is some difference in following a set of specifications on a construction project where everything is spelled out and trying to figure out what to use on such a small chunk of metal.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Painting Aluminum Plate

The black is aluminum oxide. The best way to get rid of it is acetone, but it's a pretty dirty job. You can also polish it off with a dual action polisher and a wool bonnet. I use White Diamond metal polish on my pontoon boat.

Then apply a self etching primer followed by Rustoleum oil base enamel with a hardener added. TSC/Tractor Supply sells the paint and hardener.