Painiting Aluminium / Protective Layer

[Greghux]

Finished fixing the cooling jacket of my 79 Mariner 70hp. Now I need to seal the region by painting it. Mostly will be painting over Devcon and maybe a little bit of exposed Aluminium. Can you get the green/grey 'metallic' paint to match the original paintwork? Do I need to prime the area first?<br /><br />Also when preparing the area, on top of the painted surface was a protective 'oily' layer that presumably was applied during the last service. Not oily to the touch - only noticed it really when I started to prepare the surface. This layer seems to be all over the motor as some kind of salt water / corrosion protection and I assume it was applied with some kind of aerosol can. What is it, where can I get it, and how do I apply it?<br /><br />Greg

 

[dajohnson53]

Re: Painiting Aluminium / Protective Layer

I painted the aluminum jet lower unit of my motor recently with good results. I sanded it well to remove all unsound paint, clean it up and rough up everything. This left some exposed aluminum and also some solid paint. I then cleaned it up with a spray can of some sort of prep stuff that cleans off any residual oil, etc. Then primed the whole thing (painted and bare metal) with a couple coats of the green aluminum primer. (can't remember what it's called, but it's readily available). Finished with 3 or 4 very thin coats of the manufacturer's supposedly matching paint. Turns out it didn't really match all that well. I probably could have done just as well with a close match of stock spray enamel. I didn't finish with clear coat, but would probably do that next time.<br /><br />I went to a local shop that sells painting supplies to automotive and airplane people. They gave me advice on prep. etc. and had all the products I needed (except for the manufacturer's matching touch up paint, but like I said, I could have gone with one of their stock colors, matched by eye). On the other hand, all the products (sanding stuff, the solvent, the primer and paint) are all available almost anywhere.