Painting my tin

[lifesaball18]

I was wondering about painting my alum. boat.
Im talking about the steps, like do i use a chemical stripper, or sander, what would work and then what products would i need. I know of rustoleoum but im sure there are some better ones. Ive also seen gluv-it and steelflex. any details on these? Ive fished through the site for any things on painting a boat, but there aren't any detailed or specific enough steps with the products. I can take a bite of humble pie to make sure i do this project right. Help would be nice thanks.

 

[russ010]

do you want a flat/matte finish or a shiny finish?

 

[lifesaball18]

I can take either. id really like a shiny finish but if it requires more expensive materials and tools then i need to go with matte. Also what one is stronger and last longer.

 

[russ010]

I'm not sure which is cheaper... the result you get does come with a price though. I think it cost me about $75 to paint my 1236. I used zinc chromate primer, then Brightside Interlux Polyurethane as by topcoat (shiny) and I applied it with an air compressor/auto spray gun..

Basically, sand down the outside of your boat - you don't have to go all the way to the metal, but any rough spots should be somewhat smooth. Remember one thing if nothing else from this post - the more light coats you have, the more durable your paint will be. So plan on doing multiple, light coats of primer and the finishing coat. A light, wet sanding between each coat is necessary to blend in any runs or heavy over sprays. Make sure the paint is fully cured before applying the next coat of paint. If it's put on light enough, you should be ok to do it the next day. Just make sure it's not tacky before each coat. You can wet sand it right before you paint - just make sure to wipe it down good with denatured alcohol and a lint free cloth to get all the dust and water off

You can put the paint on 4 different ways. 1 - Brush, 2 - Roller, 3 - Air/Spray Gun w/ air compressor, 4 - Rattle Cans/Spray Paint.

Best results come with the paint you get in quarts, but touch ups are hard to do when blemishes occur. Rattle cans or spray paint cans can be touched up at anytime and blend in well. You'll find people who prefer one over the other here, or atleast have done each methods.

As far as durability, I'm not sure.

 

[lifesaball18]

Alright thanks,
ill go with spray paint.

 

[russ010]

One thing about spray paint... it takes quite a few cans. One thing you can do to maximize it's covering is to buy one of those gun attachments you can add to the top. They only cost like $2

 

[ben2go]

By the time you add up all the spray paint you could easily covered the cost of a quality paint like Bright Sides and rollers.You can thin Bright Sides and it will poll on and level out(look smoother) but it takes longer for it to dry.It is best to do light coats and sand between coats as russo1o has stated above.

 

[crazyeddie]

I did a spray-paint camo job on my buddy's 12' Meyers. We used 6 cans of primer, 6 cans of dark brown base coat, and 6 cans of assorted camo colors. It was a bit costly and took nearly two days to pull off, but it looked good. Problem with camo though, is that it's semi-gloss.

So plan on buying around 18 cans of spraypaint lol

 

[russ010]

I did a spray-paint camo job on my buddy's 12' Meyers. We used 6 cans of primer, 6 cans of dark brown base coat, and 6 cans of assorted camo colors. It was a bit costly and took nearly two days to pull off, but it looked good. Problem with camo though, is that it's semi-gloss.

So plan on buying around 18 cans of spraypaint lol

If you go thru that many cans, you'll be paying more than you would for the polyurethane like I mentioned above...

If you used what I mentioned, you can use regular automotive paint thinner to do the job. The guys at O'Reilly's helped me out and told me the correct mixture for spraying it... I think it was 5:1, but I can't remember. It is in my boat mod page which is called 1236 Alumacraft Makeover

 

[ben2go]

I did a spray-paint camo job on my buddy's 12' Meyers. We used 6 cans of primer, 6 cans of dark brown base coat, and 6 cans of assorted camo colors. It was a bit costly and took nearly two days to pull off, but it looked good. Problem with camo though, is that it's semi-gloss.

So plan on buying around 18 cans of spraypaint lol

If you go to an independently owned hardware store,they may have cases of spray paint cheaper than a single can.You could possibly strike up a deal and get your supplies at a discount.Tell them what your doing,let them know you'll pay in cash,and that can seal the deal.I done this years ago.I haven't had any big projects in years,to try it again.

 

[crazyeddie]

I did a spray-paint camo job on my buddy's 12' Meyers. We used 6 cans of primer, 6 cans of dark brown base coat, and 6 cans of assorted camo colors. It was a bit costly and took nearly two days to pull off, but it looked good. Problem with camo though, is that it's semi-gloss.

So plan on buying around 18 cans of spraypaint lol

If you go thru that many cans, you'll be paying more than you would for the polyurethane like I mentioned above...

If you used what I mentioned, you can use regular automotive paint thinner to do the job. The guys at O'Reilly's helped me out and told me the correct mixture for spraying it... I think it was 5:1, but I can't remember. It is in my boat mod page which is called 1236 Alumacraft Makeover

I thought about painting his boat in lacquer but a few pints of lacquer, a few pints of primer, and a pint of hardener would cost about $95 so I can only imagine what polyurethane would cost! It would be worth it though because it's so durable and looks good.

 

[russ010]

I paid $20 for a quart of zinc chromate primer, $40 for a quart of Brightside Interlux Polyurethane, and $7 for thinner. I already had a spray gun and air compressor. (You can brush this on, then roll it smooth.. but still thin it out and it will go farther). I put 3 coats of each on lightly on a 1236 jon boat, and still had a little left over, but not enough for a 4th coat.

I don't know if you would be able to get multiple coats out of a quart like I did if you brush and roll it on...

 

[russ010]

Now that I think about it... I didn't use Brightside.. I used Petite Easypoxy Topside paint... still a polyurethane. I can find quarts online for $27...

 

[crazyeddie]

Holy crap - that's cheap for a quart!

 

[DryFlyRy]

If you have a tractor supply co (TSC) near you you can pick up this stuff for $10 a quart. https://www.tractorsupply.com/webap...10551_10001_35571_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1 I used the ford blue with the hardener. I think I got a coat per quart. But the stuff is made to be tough and take abuse and its a heck of a lot cheaper then buying the "marine" paint. It also comes in spray cans for 5 bucks a pop. You might get a nicer loking coat on there with them, but it'll take a lot of cans to build up a good thick layer. I went with the quarts and tried rolling it on, and got a lot of little bubbles. I wet sanded them out and brushed on the second coat and got some drips, but did my best to stay ahead of them. Overall Im pretty satisfied with the results. The paint seems really hard, but have yet to use it out in the real world. I still have to touch up some blems, but that'll prob be the last thing I'll do with my project. You can check out my piece here: https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5923