Re: need advice on painting outboard
.....Krylon is also lacquer and a whole lot cheaper. You can usually find a color that is so close no one would know the difference.....
Tim-
Spray cans do a really good job on small projects like motorcycles and boat motors. I have used Duplicolor in multitudes of colors and countless projects for years, although the last few years it is getting hard to find in colors other than white, black and a few variants.
If you have trouble finding acrylic lacquer in spray cans, try NAPA and Walmart.
Degreasing and tacking off before the primer goes on is most important. I use enamel reducer on a rag, but be careful to use a thick fold of rag so your skin doesn't absorb the solvent. Sometimes plastic parts come out better when you use flexible plastic primer. If there is bare plastic, paint may orange peel at the transition between factory paint and the plastic, although this is rare. Flexible bumper primer has solved this for me.
Paint inside a carport or garage or something out of the sun, wind, and bug fly-zones. You can buy an inexpensive respirator if you don't have one that will keep you from breathing paint.
When you prime, make sure you spray it on heavy enough that it levels out, but not so heavy that it runs or sags, and then let it dry really well and wet sand it. Then let it dry again, tack it off, and you are ready for finish paint.
When spraying on the finish paint, again, spray it on heavy enough that the liquid surface can flow out or level out. Otherwise you will be left with a smooth but dull or rough finish without a good gloss. The first coat can be still slightly uncured yet still dry before the second coat.
Plan on three coats- after the second coat is your chance to wet sand with very fine wet-or-dry paper and correct any bugs, dust nibs, or shirt-sleeve woopsies. Tack it off, spray your last coat of color, and then when it is dry but not fully set, spray on a wet-but-not-runny coat of clear lacquer (clearcoat).
This should dry in ideal temps for several days before applying decals, and I would wait for 4 months before applying any wax, although I have hand-buffed a few motorcycle tanks after only a few days.
Good luck with it- hope it comes out really sharp for you.
