painting aluminum boat floor

[scarlin]

i recently pressure washed the inside of my aluminum boat and now i want to repaint it. the paint before was chipped and i just want to freshen it up. Now im wondering where i can find some good strong aluminum paint. whats the price point ect. thanks

[Bodofish]

Before you even think about painting aluminum, there's a few things to consider. No paint will stick to aluminum for long unless the surface is treated correctly. Aluminum oxide is extremely hard, it needs to be sanded away and cleaned no more than 8 hours prior to painting, it takes about 8 hours to re-oxidize . Another way to go is with an etching primer, after you've give the surface an acid wash, again 8 hours. After it's properly primed you can spray about anything on it, for inside, I'd be thinking epoxy. Best place to ask about paint is the paint store or automotive supply, like Wesco or Fisheries supply. Paint technology is a pretty quickly changing thing.

[hewesfisher]

Before you even think about painting aluminum, there's a few things to consider. No paint will stick to aluminum for long unless the surface is treated correctly. Aluminum oxide is extremely hard, it needs to be sanded away and cleaned no more than 8 hours prior to painting, it takes about 8 hours to re-oxidize . Another way to go is with an etching primer, after you've give the surface an acid wash, again 8 hours. After it's properly primed you can spray about anything on it, for inside, I'd be thinking epoxy. Best place to ask about paint is the paint store or automotive supply, like Wesco or Fisheries supply. Paint technology is a pretty quickly changing thing.

Bodo's right on here. If you have bare aluminum anywhere, oxidation must be removed, etched, then primed & painted. This process may also vary by manufacturer, so you need to decide on brand and then follow their recommendations. Paint price points depend entirely upon what you buy and where you purchase. I can speak to prep and application from an automotive paint perspective, but not to price, far too many variables for that.

[racfish]

Im not sure if this helps but in our business we use aluminum track alot. Some special customers wanted it painted. w3e take our track to a auto body paint shop. There they have the baked on aluminum colors that dont scratch off easy at all. Granted drapery track dosent get handled alot but still it looks very nice after several years.

[Steelheadin360]

etching primer, then choice of paint. i did the floor boards of my sled with rhino liner. doesnt chip off quite as easy

[edge540]

Rustoleum "Rusty metal primer" followed by any rustoleum paint color you choose. The brown rusty metal primer is a good durable cheap etching primer that will go over just about anything. Prep with 100 grit sand paper or a wire wheel on a grinder and wipe it down with laquer thinner. Buy it at home depot, lowes or any hardware store by the quart or gallon. Roll this on, its the floor and you want it to get thick. I use the cheap 3'' disposable rollers with great results. Roll on a coat and within 10 to 30 minutes roll another wet coat (lots of paint on the roller). You can throw sand or crushed walnut shells in the paint for high grip. If you use the boat in the summer heat consider a lighter color like the machine gray to avoid getting cooked. The nice thing about roll on paint is that you can touch it up in 5 minutes with left over paint and another $3 roller or chip brush. You can spend more if you want to but this way you can be done in a weekend for under a $100 and it will last for years.