painting an outboard

[joho5]

I have a 87 Johnson 9.9

It was given to me...the motor runs perfectly, but looks like total crap. I was wanting to repaint it and I was wondering if there is a certain type of paint you are supposed to use as far as oil / water based, or enamel, etc...

I am not going to get the OEM from evinrude, looking for a replacement I can pick up at walmart or home depot or somewhere like that.

thanks

Matt

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: painting an outboard

You should use a quality automotive spray paint over a quality primer. If you sand down to bare aluminum you need to prime that with a zinc chromate primer.

You can get decals from ebay.

You will have a nicely restored motor.

 

[wire2]

Re: painting an outboard

If the original primer and most of the color is still on it, you can sand it lightly, then use any good quality automotive paint, including spray bombs. Lots of colors to choose from, can even clearcoat it after the color is on. It will stand up fine to the elements.

 

[Shelbyb117]

Re: painting an outboard

if you have bad spots in areas you can't sand or brush , get some aircraft paint remover,, brush it on an wrinse it off with water hose and air dry,,
for alum you will need some sort of self etcing primer , $5 or so at advance or auto zone,, don't blame you for not wanting to spring for the oem motor paint,,at $15 or so a can if you have air pressure i'd sugest farm impliment paint with hardner in it , i've had better luck with it then any can'd spray paint but what ever you use it has to be oil free in order to stick

 

[reelfishin]

Re: painting an outboard

Sand and smooth as needed, prime any areas that show bare aluminum with self-etching primer, you can buy that now at the Home Depot or local marina, maybe even Walmart now. I'd prime the whole thing if your painting it a light color to make it easier to cover and maintain a consistent finish. Use only automotive type paints, some cheap spray paints won't hold up to gas and oil.
However, the $1.10 WalMart paint does very well. It's actually pretty hard to get off. I painted a trailer frame I built about 5 years ago and its still good today.

I generally just match up the closest auto color and buy the 14oz Duplicolor or Plasticote cans at Walmart or Auto Zone.

Pay the most attention to the cover, and just a note, bare fiberglass also needs self etching primer to adhere properly.
I actually found a pretty close color to Johson White, I think its for a Dodge pickup. Ford has a white that's closer to the older white they used but I happened upon a couple of gallons of the Dodge white and have been using that and just touching up the bare areas with a spray bomb primer. I bought a small HVLP touch up gun at Harbor Freight for $9, it works great for painting motors and don't make a lot of over spray.

 

[5150abf]

Re: painting an outboard

just painted mine and I got my paint from AutoZone, they have a really good single stage auto paint that holds up pretty well.

My engine was an 81 and the paint looked okay but when I got to sanding I found alot of it just kinda fell off so make sure you have a good base and start by cleaning the whole motor with laquer thinner to remove any grease.

I stripped mine to metal and started there, as stated above use an etching primer anywhere you have bare metal as normal grey primer won't stick to aluminum.

If all you want is to make it look better just get it clean and scuffed and paint it, a medium Scotch brite pad works really well instead of sandpaper.

 

[joho5]

Re: painting an outboard

just painted mine and I got my paint from AutoZone, they have a really good single stage auto paint that holds up pretty well.

My engine was an 81 and the paint looked okay but when I got to sanding I found alot of it just kinda fell off so make sure you have a good base and start by cleaning the whole motor with laquer thinner to remove any grease.

I stripped mine to metal and started there, as stated above use an etching primer anywhere you have bare metal as normal grey primer won't stick to aluminum.

If all you want is to make it look better just get it clean and scuffed and paint it, a medium Scotch brite pad works really well instead of sandpaper.

what did you do to prep yours as far as making sure certain parts didnt get painted like maybe shift components, or choke, etc...

of course yours looks a bit bigger so it might not have these exposed like the little ones.

 

[5150abf]

Re: painting an outboard

I painted the hood seperately and just tucked a towel around the power head.

Just put some masking tape on anything you don't want painted.