Re: Stripping paint/corrosion from aluminum?
I agree sanding has been the traditional way to remove paint, but it has drawbacks- not the least of which is it is labour intensive, plus the fact that no matter how careful you are, seams, crevices, around fittings, rivets, it is almost impossable to clean the old paint right off.That's exactly why a chemical stripper not only is much less time consuming, it gets those hard to reach spots- exactly where paint failure begins when the old coating has not been properly stripped.<br /> If you go with one of the new generation paint strippers, they won't damage gaskets, or other fittings,or harm the substrate be it aluminum orgel coat, plus are totally benign- they don't burn skin, have noxious fumes or are environmentally harmful.Spray or brush it on, wait overnight, and powerwash it off.You are now down to the base substrate, ready to prime and paint.
<br /><br />I don't have an issue with the remaining paint, as much as I have an issue with the areas that were bare aluminum and are now pitted, and encrusted with a scaly oxidation. So far, it's even resisted efforts with a wire brush to remove. While I had indeed intended to prime with a zinc oxide etching primer, I'm somewhat averse to painting that over the existing oxidation. Common sense (or maybe lack thereof?) tells me that I need to remove that oxidation prior to the priming. <br /><br />As the third owner the boat was presented as never having been in salt water, to which I can only shake my head seeing what I'm seeing now!<br /><br />Is that the purpose of the vinegar, in that it's acidic and will neutralize the oxidation, or is the vinegar simply used to etch the surface so that the primer will bond better? <br /><br />Were it steel, I'd just have it hot-tanked, but being aluminum, there wouldn't be anything left if I did!
