Painting Aluminum rail

[pokman]

Hi guys, my rub rail channel which is aluminum is scratched up a little and a little worn looking, can you prep and paint this? I've never painted aluminum so any feedback would be great.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Painting Aluminum rail

Vinegar wash, treat with alodine, prime with zinc chromate and then paint

 

[5150abf]

Re: Painting Aluminum rail

Sand out the scratches, if they are bad start with 320 then 600 to get rid of the sand marks then hit it with etching primer you can get at any auto parts store then paint.

The primer isn't really primer as in it doesn't really fill imperfections but actually eats into the aluminunm to give the paint a good bond so any scratches in the rail will be in the paint if you don't sand them out.

 

[kilowatts]

Re: Painting Aluminum rail

Hi Guys:

I agree with the previous posts. However, 2 seasons ago I painted my aluminum rubrail and regretted doing it almost instantly. The reason is that as soon as I hit something ever so slightly the paint immediately came off and it looked bad. This year I removed the rubrail and had it bead blasted and it now looks great and needs no paint.

kilowatts

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Painting Aluminum rail

What about just rubbing it down really well with a Scotch Brite pad? That would give it a satin finish and easy to touch up in the event you contact anything. After all...isn't that why they call it a "rub rail"?

 

[dave11]

Re: Painting Aluminum rail

What about just rubbing it down really well with a Scotch Brite pad? That would give it a satin finish and easy to touch up in the event you contact anything. After all...isn't that why they call it a "rub rail"?

That's more than I would do. That't the great thing about aluminum.