I was interested in painting my aluminum fishing boat and searched on this forum for a long time. I got a lot of good info, but I did not really see many projects for this. So I painted my boat and took photos during the process to hopefully benefit the next person looking for this kind of info.
Here is what I started with: an '83 12' Valco with a nasty looking waterline, patches of spraypaint, and a ton of silicone sealant.
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I used a few different sizes of wire wheel brushes and took of all of the silicone. I eventually used that process to get rid of the old paint and stickers including the CF numbers.
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I sanded down the entire outside of the boat with a 320 grit sandpaper. I then used a product called Lab-Metal which is like a JB Weld that you can make it to whatever consistency that you desire. My plan was to mix it to the consistency of paint and use a sprayer to apply it on the bottom half of the hull to seal all of the rivets and to create an extra sturdy layer of protection to the bottom. Well......It did not work so well with the sprayer.
I went with plan B and made it a bit thicker than paint and used a paint brush to apply it to all of the rivets below the waterline. I also made it into a pasty thickness and used a putty knife to smash it into the seams along the rivets.
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I sanded bottom of the boat with 320 grit again because the spraying issue caused some spatter to get all over. After that, I applied a self etching primer to the boat. I used the self etching primer because it was made for bare metal and aluminum applications. I picked it up at the local auto parts chain store. I applied at couple light coats and one medium coat to keep the surface smooth and free of runs.
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I then sanded down some semi-rough/uneven areas and applied a good coat of a black automotive paint primer over the self etching primer.
Next step was to start paint! I taped off the top half of the boat and sprayed on a gray automotive paint. I sprayed a few light coats and then one a little heavier with about ten minutes between coats.
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Here is what I started with: an '83 12' Valco with a nasty looking waterline, patches of spraypaint, and a ton of silicone sealant.
I used a few different sizes of wire wheel brushes and took of all of the silicone. I eventually used that process to get rid of the old paint and stickers including the CF numbers.
I sanded down the entire outside of the boat with a 320 grit sandpaper. I then used a product called Lab-Metal which is like a JB Weld that you can make it to whatever consistency that you desire. My plan was to mix it to the consistency of paint and use a sprayer to apply it on the bottom half of the hull to seal all of the rivets and to create an extra sturdy layer of protection to the bottom. Well......It did not work so well with the sprayer.
I went with plan B and made it a bit thicker than paint and used a paint brush to apply it to all of the rivets below the waterline. I also made it into a pasty thickness and used a putty knife to smash it into the seams along the rivets.
I sanded bottom of the boat with 320 grit again because the spraying issue caused some spatter to get all over. After that, I applied a self etching primer to the boat. I used the self etching primer because it was made for bare metal and aluminum applications. I picked it up at the local auto parts chain store. I applied at couple light coats and one medium coat to keep the surface smooth and free of runs.
I then sanded down some semi-rough/uneven areas and applied a good coat of a black automotive paint primer over the self etching primer.
Next step was to start paint! I taped off the top half of the boat and sprayed on a gray automotive paint. I sprayed a few light coats and then one a little heavier with about ten minutes between coats.
