Re: 1948 Johnson Seahorse Questions
I just bougt a 1948 Johnson Seahorse TD-20, serial # 712246. I am having trouble with the carb, it is leaking when I run it and I have tried to use the gasket maker that comes in a tube. other than that it is in great condition. But the previous owner decided to start sanding the cowl to restore it. Since he already started to remove the paint I decided to completly repaint it. So my question is HOW? I sander the entire cowl and started to work my way down. What kind of paint should I use, what kind of primer. I bought Rust-Oleum automoble primer to use. It says fast drying and wet sandable. Will this work? Also what color paiont do I need to match the original Sea Horse color. Any responses will be greatly appreciated. This is my first time repainting an outboard.
Well, how far do you want to go with it?
I'll try to answer the paint side. There are 3 ways to do it. Sanding will work but it's a metal cowl and will take a while, yes it will work but I reserve sanding for firbreglass cowls. You could use an aircraft paint stripper but it's caustic and is messy. To do metal ones I glass blast them in my dads blasting cabinet and then I sand down the bare aluminum.DO NOT SANDBLAST IT, it will destroy the cowl, either use fine glass or if you can find a place near you that does soda blasting even better. A Merc restorer I know just did a Mark motor and they charged him $100 to blast the entire motor. Automobile primer is fine for doing cowls, anything that goes in the water i'll use zinc chromate primer, the yellow top can which isn't available everywhere (can still get in my area). Once you primer it you will see the dents and imperfections, it's almost always a given. For dents i'll use a good bondo for small imperfections i'll use a spot putty. Then reprimer and look for more imperfections, it's a long process to get it perfect.
This is my 1951 Viking 3hp I'm in the middle of restoring, so far 3 coats of primer, 2 goes at it with bondo to eliminate the dents and I still have more work to do.
For decals and paint there is a gent near Toronto who sells the decals and paint for old outboards, his site is nymarine.ca, he has your paint and decals, while not cheap his paint is good and proper for doing outboards. You can paint it with tremclad and a paint brush if you want, it all depends on what you want to achieve. Guys who restore these motors will base coat/clear coat them, I plan on doing that with my KH7 but you need all the equipment to do it. My dad has been painting for 20+ years so I am pretty lucky when it comes to refinishing them.
Best luck on your project.
