Repainting Outdrive-Touching Up-Trilux/Primocon

[enginesilo]

Curious what paint you all use for your outdrive? In the past I've always aerosol sprayed my alpha 1 gen 2 with Trilux, but it would wear off so last year I used Trilux in the can and brushed/rolled it on. I'd say about 90% of it has retained. I'm a salt water guy so top notch outdrive paint and anti-foul are a must.

In the areas where the paint has worn off, I can see the factory black paint that I scuffed up. Would it be ideal to scuff back up the touch up areas with a scour pad, use Primocon primer, and then put more Trilux back on top? I can't remember if I used Primocon primer before but I'm guessing I did.


Any tips on touching up will be great.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... I subscribe to the Don S school of outdrive paint maintenance,....

I scrub off most of the sealife, 'n shoot it with Rustoleum Black rattlecan spray paint, 'n a hunk of cardboard in the off-hand for maskin',....

I'm in the sweetwater seas over here on Lake Ontario,....
Don S was in the brine in Alaska, 'n later in Washington state,....

I do mine every few years,... Don S probably did his just prior the annual launch,...

Don S mighta been usin' White paint, as he was a Volvo kinda guy,..... still Rustoleum though,...

 

[Lou C]

You're gonna need the Trilux if you're in salt for sure and as long as the factory Merc paint is on the drive still, you can scuff it with 80 grit and then paint with Trilux. If its down to bare aluminum, you need to prime with Primocon (silver colored anti corrosion primer). That's how I do mine every year, Scrap, sand a bit, wipe it down with Special Thinner 216, then prime bare spots with Primocon. Let that dry, follow with 2 brushed on coats of Trilux, where ever you can reach. For the transom mount where you can't reach, I use the spray.

 

[enginesilo]

You're gonna need the Trilux if you're in salt for sure and as long as the factory Merc paint is on the drive still, you can scuff it with 80 grit and then paint with Trilux. If its down to bare aluminum, you need to prime with Primocon (silver colored anti corrosion primer). That's how I do mine every year, Scrap, sand a bit, wipe it down with Special Thinner 216, then prime bare spots with Primocon. Let that dry, follow with 2 brushed on coats of Trilux, where ever you can reach. For the transom mount where you can't reach, I use the spray.

Thanks for the info guys. Rustoleum sounds good, but with salt water I'd rather go with the specialty stuff.

My drive doesn't have any bare alumimum spots, the areas where the Trilux wore off there is now black factory finish. So should I just scuff it up a bit and put more Trilux on and skip the Primocon?

So you spray the bell housing area and near the bellows on the inner side? I got my brush in there last year but it was hell, and I think I may have broken my trim sender so I was thinking of getting the spray for that area. Do I definitely need the 216 thinner? I think last time I just used whatever I had around (Mineral Spirits, Paint Thinner, Nathpa, or something like that).

 

[Lou C]

If you leave your boat in salt water you need an aluminum anti fouling paint. Now the issue is, that the Trilux does have a type of copper in it and that has to be insulated from the aluminum of the outdrive to prevent corrosion. If the factory paint is intact then you don't need the Primocon. That is needed on any bare aluminum. The only way to get the bellhousing, bellows etc, is to spray it. I use the 216 thinner to wipe it down because I also use it to thin the Primocon and the Trilux a bit. I found that it goes on better if slightly thinned, its often too thick. But you can use any good thinner to clean it up. I spray 2-3 coats on the bellhousing,. trim lines, bellows etc and then brush on 2 coats.