I have an old motor (11yrs) and while I changed oil regularly I never took care of the paint and since its mainly used in salt water ther is a lot of corrosion that peeled off about a good 10-15% of the lower unit paint so im wondering how to go about safely removing it all and neutralizing it so it can be repainted. one problem is the cap on the back of the gear housing is corroded as far as you can see so im guessing it will needreplacing or something that clean it just by soaking it since I cant reach most of it.
can the whole lower unit be soaked in a tub of muratic acid without it hurting the seals and plastic or rubber bits and such
so whats the best option for reconditioning a lower unit with serious surface corrosion issues peeling off a good chunk of the paint job but there is no pitting involved so its all mostly cosmetic at this point.
I was thinking of
a) get a price for an outboard shop to strip down blast and repaint recondition the lower unit
(for this to be done it needs to be at an affordable price)
b) try to do it myself using a drill and a wire wheel to clean it, even though I have never worked on lower units before and give it a new spray can paint job
(I am fairly skilled self taught mechanic)
c) try soaking the whole thing in a big tub with a corrosion eating solution without disassembling it and give it a new spray can paint job
d) I priced buying these shell parts and they will run me $1,000 for everything (tail cap, lower case, lower case cover, new thermostat housing if needed and water pump kit) and I would just have to put my guts into the new housing, something I have never dealt with before.
I don't have pictures but nearly one whole side of the bullet is paintless and the rear cap is paintless then there are a few more quarter sized spots without paint on the opposite side.
I have lots of spare time on my hands but not much money to spend unless 100% absolutely necessary (I can give up some other necessities if I have no choice)
let me say I have rebuilt outboard powerheads before and many motorcycles and car engines and transmitions so im pretty sure I can work on a lower unit once I figure out how to take it apart.
can the whole lower unit be soaked in a tub of muratic acid without it hurting the seals and plastic or rubber bits and such
so whats the best option for reconditioning a lower unit with serious surface corrosion issues peeling off a good chunk of the paint job but there is no pitting involved so its all mostly cosmetic at this point.
I was thinking of
a) get a price for an outboard shop to strip down blast and repaint recondition the lower unit
(for this to be done it needs to be at an affordable price)
b) try to do it myself using a drill and a wire wheel to clean it, even though I have never worked on lower units before and give it a new spray can paint job
(I am fairly skilled self taught mechanic)
c) try soaking the whole thing in a big tub with a corrosion eating solution without disassembling it and give it a new spray can paint job
d) I priced buying these shell parts and they will run me $1,000 for everything (tail cap, lower case, lower case cover, new thermostat housing if needed and water pump kit) and I would just have to put my guts into the new housing, something I have never dealt with before.
I don't have pictures but nearly one whole side of the bullet is paintless and the rear cap is paintless then there are a few more quarter sized spots without paint on the opposite side.
I have lots of spare time on my hands but not much money to spend unless 100% absolutely necessary (I can give up some other necessities if I have no choice)
let me say I have rebuilt outboard powerheads before and many motorcycles and car engines and transmitions so im pretty sure I can work on a lower unit once I figure out how to take it apart.
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