NEW Aluminum painting questions

[Wall eye]

I know there are a ton of threads about painting an aluminum boat, I think I read almost all of them and I think I have a couple of new questions.

So I'm going to paint the inside of the boat first, some of the inside has bare aluminum and some of it has been painted before. The old paint is in pretty good condition so I was going to just sand it down as far as I can and paint over it. Since some of the interior is bare aluminum I was going to use a self etching primer.

So Question #1: I would like to primer the entire inside, can I use the self etching primer on the areas that already have paint on them?

Question #2: I read a couple of threads that talked about not leaving bare aluminum exposed too long due to oxidation. Since I live in Wisconsin and it won't be warm enough to paint until July or August (jk). I would like to start sanding the boat but how long can I leave bare spots sit before I have to coat it with primer? Or can I sand it and then wipe it down with something just prior to the primer coat?

 

[Bondo]

Re: NEW Aluminum painting questions

Ayuh,... #1,... I'd etch the bare spots, 'n then use an actual Primer for the whole area gettin' painted..

#2,... Aluminum starts oxidizing the moment it's sanded bare...
Wait til your ready to etch, 'n prime...

 

[sschefer]

Re: NEW Aluminum painting questions

Aluminum is painted purely for asthetic purposes. If you're not going to see it, leave it bare. On that note, and having painted my fair share of marine grade aluminum, the best results you'll get is with a thorough cleaning with soapy water and a rinse followed by Alumaprep, another rinse then Alodine 1201 and another rinse. That may sound like a lot of work but it's not.

Provided that the painted areas are still adhearing well, you can just scuff them with some 220g open coat sand paper.

You won't need a primer since the Alodine will do the chromatic conversion that you need. You apply both the Alumaprep and the Alodine with a plastic spray bottle and a soft brush. Let it sit for about 30 minutes then rinse with fresh water. Onces that is dry you can apply your interior paint and it will hold up just like a factory paint job.

 

[Wall eye]

Re: NEW Aluminum painting questions

Thanks guys. I like the Alumaprep and Alodine method, it seems pretty easy to use. I did some web search and it looks like it can be purchased online. Can this be store purchased? If so should I look for Automotive paint store?