painting an aluminium boat

thomas 21

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if im using rustolieum paint to repaint a aluminum boat do i need a primer or can i spray directly onto a boat that has been sanded
 

thomas 21

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

where can i buy the marine paint and primer if needed or do i even need marine paint if im using rustoleum
 

Bob_VT

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

Welcome to iboats!

If you are sanding the aluminum you will need to prime the bare aluminum or it will corrode....badly. Zinc chromate primer.....

I moved this to the restoration section ;)
 

Bob_VT

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

rustoleum makes marine paint ;)
 

thomas 21

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

where can i buy the marine paint and primer if needed or do i even need marine paint if im using rustoleum I want to do whats best to preserve and keep it looking good for a long time to come so i dont have to redo it again.]
 

thomas 21

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

where can i buy the marine paint and primer if needed or do i even need marine paint if im using rustoleum I want to do whats best to preserve and keep it looking good for a long time to come so i dont have to redo it again.][/QUOTE]
 

Blaze5509

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

any local paint supply (home or auto) should cary it or be able to get it
 

halas

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

I have been painting aluminum siding on houses for 35 years.
Never used a drop of vinegar or zinc chromate primer. Over thousand homes painted in my town with airless sprayer using Sherwin Williams latex house paint and none of them with peeling problem,- that I know of.

Now in the salt water environment it might be different.
 

ondarvr

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

A vinegar wash and chromate primer are only needed on bare aluminum, over existing paint its normally only needed to fill imperfections in the surface (that is if the two paints are compatible).

I'm not a big fan of primers, it seems I see far more failures related to the primer than the top coat.
 

Bob_VT

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

A vinegar wash and chromate primer are only needed on bare aluminum, over existing paint its normally only needed to fill imperfections in the surface (that is if the two paints are compatible).

I'm not a big fan of primers, it seems I see far more failures related to the primer than the top coat.

Well he day say he was sanding.....so I thought bare aluminum.
 

halas

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

Some of the houses we painted were chalking badly and the pressure washer took it down to the bare shiny aluminum. Still not one house painter I know would use vinegar or the zinc chromate primer on bare aluminum on houses or awnings or aluminum railings. Infact the local professional Sherwin Williams store here in Cleveland does not even sell zinc chromate primer. They sell a "DTM metal wash primer marine coating" for aluminum and stainless steel (about $50/gal. and good stuff) that I think is working similar to the zinc chromate primer.
Never used it on the house painting but I used it recently on a Starcraft boat.


Not saying that vinegar and zinc chromate is bad, this is just what I know:cool:
 

Bob_VT

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

Siding used on homes is a softer extrusion alloy. The marine aluminum is much harder and contains various additives. The vinegar "pickles" the metal and alloys for better adhesion of paint. The zinc chromate treats the harder alloy aluminum used in marine applications.

If you were to take two size indentical pieces of aluminum but of differant alloys you would see the differences in strength alone. A good example is the aluminum used for pots and pans is much harder than houshold siding aluminum. I would bet that the DTM wash is safe for the evironment and pickles the metal along with a high solid primer. It may last as long as the chromate???
 

Yacht Dr.

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

Hello Thomas..

I agree with bob on this one m8..

I dont know where you live..but I not only want to tell you..but others reading that might want to do the same thing.

The way that I was trained in bare Alum. is to ..

1. Sand/sandblast for prep ( You did say an alum boat that has been sanded..not the existing paint being prepped.. or I would assume you would be asking what paint on paint ..kinda question. )

2. Alumiprep.

3. Alodine.

4. zinc chromate primer.

5. prep primer and do all the clean..tack..mask..etc... paint it. ( If you burn through ZC primer..you will have to spot prime that area ) .

6. DONE.

That is the way its done in the prof. Indust. .. cut your corners out of that for time or expense reasons if you like.

Or just latex your boat and be done with it ;)

YD.
 

halas

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Re: painting an aluminium boat

Interesting points about the different alloy make-up. I will look into it, time permitting.
The DTM is water based and I guess environmentally friendly.
Here is another interesting fact to prove that priming helps:
When I was stripping the paint off the Starcraft I noticed that the bottom area was not primed in the factory.
I guess they wanted people to be able to remove bottom paints so that they can reapply the new coating when treating the bottom.
The upper part that was primed with zinc chromate so it was almost impossible to completely remove. I did not fight it since I had the smooth surface I needed.

Please notice the straight line on picture where the bottom was not primed and came out cleaner due to the lesser adhesion.
 

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