?? Color and Clear coat questions ??

[rockfordhx]

I have a 14' Aluminum jon boat that I have been working on restoring. The outside of the boat is in good condition but the inside it terrible. This is what I have done.

1. Sanded the interior paint down. Bare metal in a few places.
2. Used rustoleum metal primer (2 coats)
3. Used rustoleum high gloss protective enamel (2 coats).

The problem that I am having is finding a good clear coat to put on at this point. So far I have used the roll and tip method to apply the enamel and everything looks great, except for the fact that it shows marks very easily. I have painted it with the aluminum color enamel (maybe my first problem) but I need something to help give the interior a more rugged / hard coating.

HELP !!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: ?? Color and Clear coat questions ??

I don't have a GOOD recommendation but I will say I used Rustoleum clear on my last boat (over rustoleum paint) and it did not hold up well.

 

[rockfordhx]

Re: ?? Color and Clear coat questions ??

thanks !! Not good... I remember reading so many people who used rusto to paint their jon boats and all said it worked out great.

Did i miss something?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: ?? Color and Clear coat questions ??

No problem with the color paint, just the clear.

 

[Bondo]

Re: ?? Color and Clear coat questions ??

Did i miss something?

Ayuh,... Rustoleum takes a fair bit of TIME to cure...

Give it TIME,+ it'll be harder than nails...
Clear coating really isn't necessary at All...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: ?? Color and Clear coat questions ??

No you don't need clear over their typical paint. However, this was Rustoleum Metallics and had flake in it. Clear coat was necessary to really bring out the gloss.

 

[rockfordhx]

Re: ?? Color and Clear coat questions ??

Thanks everyone for the info. I spent some time last night again at Lowes and Home Depot and this is my conclusion. Hopefully it will save another member some time.

I purchased from Home Depot the Rustoleum "715 Aluminum" paint gallon. It was in an all gray color paint can and said protective enamel + high performance. This I used to paint the inside of the jon boat minus the seats.

I then purchased a quart of the Rustoleum "Gloss Smoke Grey" from HomeDepot and used this to paint the seats.

I noticed when I was rolling the aluminum color on that it was very thin and went on very smooth. I used the roll and tip method and from one coat I got great coverage and a high metalic finish (this should have been the first sign that something was wrong). Then I went to roll on the gloss smoke grey and noticed that the paint was much thicker (maybe 2-3 times as thick) and it did not cover as well as the aluminum 715 color.

After 2 coats of each I tried to lightly scratch the surface and found that the aluminum scratched VERY easily (my finger nail would scratch the surface). The smoke grey color of the seats however was MUCH harder (both were prep'ed the same). This is what spawned me to start this thread about a clear coat.

Last night I went to Home Depot and found that the aluminum is a metalic, it says high performance + enamel but it scratches VERY easily and is not as durable as the gloss. When comparing the cans, the glass paint comes in a quart size and in a white can with a grey strip across the top where was the metalic was in an alll dark grey can.

These are 2 different kinds of paint. So last night I went over the aluminum color with the smoke grey and I am hoping that it will provide more durability.