# aluminum boat paint



## crankbait09 (May 14, 2013)

I am not sure if I am posting this in the right location, but..................

I was in contact with Rustoleum, trying to find the RIGHT paint to use on my aluminum jon boat. They said that the Rustoleum Topside paint will be perfect.

Now unless it's misleading, to me, that topside paint is ONLY for painting anything above the waterline. So anythin inside the boat as well as above surface. I have asked a number of times if that can be used for below the water line applications and I am not getting a response. Does Rustoleum carry a paint for that purpose?

Has anyone used a rustoleum product to paint there aluminum boat?

(I have the primer, but am looking for the actual paint. Trying to paint on a budget so Rustoleum is right up my alley)

any help?


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## drum (May 14, 2013)

hi crankbait09 , when it comes to rustoleum , and painting a jon boat I used the engine paint.
the high heat and did like three coats. had the boat on the river and the paint held up, except for when I scraped the rocks. 
let it flash between coats , I hope this helps in some way.


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## crankbait09 (May 15, 2013)

OK, I finally got some more feedback from Rustoleum about the right paint to use.

They said that they sell top side paint for anything above the water line. They said for anything below the water line, I should use there Boat Bottom paint. Now this stuff only comes in quart sizes and only comes in blue or black. Now why in the world would they sell grey topside paint but not sell grey bottom paint? That doesnt make much sense to me.

So with that. Can anyone recommend a good top/bottom paint that I can use that comes in a gallon size can? That won't break the bank in the process? Doesnt have to be Rustoleum


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## BigTerp (May 15, 2013)

I ran into a problem myslef trying to find the right paint for my 16' Tracker. I was looking for a light sand/tan color to use as a base coat for some camo stencil work I'll be doing. This would be the base coat for my entire boat. I planned on using Rustoleum Professional oil based enamel. No one will tint this for me though. I'm going to give one more attempt to get this, but if it doesn't work out I'm going with Parker Duck Boat paint. Many on here have used it and it seems to hold up well. Unless you want to spend a ton on expensive marine paint any oil based enamel should work well.

https://www.parkercoatings.com/decoy.html


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## PSG-1 (May 15, 2013)

crankbait09 said:


> OK, I finally got some more feedback from Rustoleum about the right paint to use.
> 
> They said that they sell top side paint for anything above the water line. They said for anything below the water line, I should use there Boat Bottom paint. Now this stuff only comes in quart sizes and only comes in blue or black. Now why in the world would they sell grey topside paint but not sell grey bottom paint? That doesnt make much sense to me.
> 
> So with that. Can anyone recommend a good top/bottom paint that I can use that comes in a gallon size can? That won't break the bank in the process? Doesnt have to be Rustoleum




Whatever you do, if you use antifouling bottom paint, be sure to use the correct type! DO NOT use cuprous oxide-based paint on an aluminum boat, it will set up a dielectric reaction that will quickly destroy the hull through electrolysis. Use only copper thiocyanate-based paint. It costs more, but, not as much as having to replace a boat hull!


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## muskiemike12 (May 15, 2013)

I might be ignorant on the issue, but why would you need anti-fowling paint in fresh water? I thought that was for salt water usage to retard marine growth. I used rustoleum https://www.menards.com/main/paint/spray-paint/all-purpose/rust-oleum-painters-touch-ultra-cover-2x-spray-satin-london-gray/p-1956029-c-8050.htm spray cans on mine and it has held up fine for the last 8 years.


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## m casey stock (May 15, 2013)

Majic brand paint from Tractor Supply is a good option, comes in Gallons and gray, white and other basic implement colors. I used the white on the bottom of mine, and am more pleased with it than the PPG I put on the topside. It dried hard and slick, I feel it will be very durable being that it is heavy equipment paint. You can get the hardener, and reducer whatever you need. I would have used it on the topside if they had the color I wanted.


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## crankbait09 (May 15, 2013)

Tractor supply has paint for a boat? I would have never thought to look there. Do they only have white as an option?


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## m casey stock (May 15, 2013)

crankbait09 said:


> Tractor supply has paint for a boat? I would have never thought to look there. Do they only have white as an option?


They have many colors, they just didn't have peacock blue metallic LOL  check them out online. Boat paint, car paint, implement paint, for fresh water, as long as you use a good quality catalyst paint with the correct primer, you'll be fine. Paint shops around here have used Dupont Imron paint on boats, cars, commercial 18 wheelers and tractors alike, for fresh water, it's not specific for tractors or boats or whatever, what you want is a good durable paint. This Majic brand paint seems to fit the bill at a reasonable price.


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## crankbait09 (May 15, 2013)

Beautiful!! Thank you


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## Ringo Steele (May 16, 2013)

Unless you are going to leave your boat in the water for extended periods, you will not need a "bottom paint". Any good durable oil-base paint will work. The Topside paint is a good choice. 

THe Majik brand paint was mentioned in another response. I used the flat Khaki from Majik on the interior of mine. It has mostly held up pretty well. There are a few spots at the keel line in the floor that it flaked off (probably due to some contamination on the surface that I failed to get off) and the flakes could be used for a impromptu knife blade. It is quite hard and inflexable. I do not know if the Majik implement paint the TS sells shares this characteristic though.


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## crankbait09 (May 16, 2013)

My boat is never sitting in the water unless I'm fishing.

My question is, what's so different about top side/bottom paint? What will happen if I use top side paint? How many coats do you recommend? I will be using self etching primer


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## slider (May 16, 2013)

crankbait, 

I recently painted my boat (inside and out... all of it) and used Parker Duck Boat Paint from Cabela's. https://www.cabelas.com/product/Parker-Duck-Boat-Paint-Gallon/734054.uts

Sanded everything, got it clean and air sprayed two coats of the stuff. Almost a year later and no problems. Paint ran about $75 for a gallon. First time I ever used a sprayer and had no problems.


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## crankbait09 (May 16, 2013)

the more I think about it, I think I'd like to buy a gallon of paint and roll it on, rather than spray.......

I'll look in to the Cabelas Duck paint stuff.......thank you


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## slider (May 16, 2013)

crankbait, is that you, Dan'l?


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## crankbait09 (May 16, 2013)

no, my name is Shawn


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## crankbait09 (May 16, 2013)

I have been looking at the Tractor Supply paint "Majic" that you guys recommended............looks like it's $30 a gallon. Not bad at all.

walk me through this, if I were to spray the boat with self etching primer, then apply a few coats of this paint. how many coats of this paint will work? More the better or at what point is it over kill?

once I have the paint on, is a clear coat needed? If so, why?


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## scrapboat (Jun 3, 2013)

Shawn,
I think you are really over thinking this. Unless this is a "showboat" a oilbased enamel would be fine. The next step up is would be automotive acrylic enamel or a single stage urethane but there your looking at 100 plus bucks a gallon, then there's the base coat, clear urethanes that cost even more.

For the average "tinboat" propely prepared and executed oil base enamel can have good to spectacular results. You can even brush it on with a good quailty natral hair brush.
No need for clear.
A reducer will speed the drying time on the oil enamels and it does make the paint harder. Thinned with acetone or mineral spirits the paint will have a slower dry time like 24hrs before you can touch it.
You can even color sand and buff if you want to go that far.

Heck the BBQ grille and metal chair paint would do.

The only real drawback to these oil enamels is they fade over time especially if exposed all the time to sunlight.


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## crankbait09 (Jun 3, 2013)

holy crap, if I got paid $1 for every time I heard the phrase "You are really over thinking this".....................I'd be a millionaire!! I over think EVERYTHING #-o 

=D> , you know, from now on, whenever I start thinking, I'm gonna come to Dr. Scrapboat for advice. You seriously just cleared everything up in a few lines!!! thank you.

I have never painted anything before. I have seen photos of people painting their tin boats a certain color and the paint job looks like hell. Now, sure, not knowing the steps they took, or the lack of, but I was afraid that me painting this boat, would end up looking the same. I just don't want the boat to look like ass.

From what I could tell, the boat in the as is state that it's in. the paint job looks pretty flawless. Has a few scuffs and dings but for the most part, there isnt much prep work that needs to be done.

Once I start painting this, I will post pictures on the process. Hopefully it turns out well!!

Thank you for the advice and to keep me simple. :lol:


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## scrapboat (Jun 3, 2013)

> I have never painted anything before. I have seen photos of people painting their tin boats a certain color and the paint job looks like hell. Now, sure, not knowing the steps they took, or the lack of, but I was afraid that me painting this boat, would end up looking the same. I just don't want the boat to look like ass.



OK,
Now here is something for you to think about.

Enamels can be sensitive to the paint it is going over. If they are not compatible it may craze. We painted the back door of the fire station years ago and it wrinkled up like leather. People wanted to know where we got that custom door LOL. 
So here are some tips for you...

Painting is a skill, it takes practice. 

Test a small area to make sure the paint is compatible with what it is covering.

Make sure the primer is compatible with the top coat. It is always best to follow the directions on the can.

It may be a good idea to stick with the same brand and type for the primer and top coat.

If you are painting on top of old paint, primer may not be necessary. Test a spot just to make sure.

If the top coat is compatible with the old paint, 99 times out of 100 it is, make sure the surface is clean and decreased. You can use mineral spirits or acetone if using oil based enamel. I would not use the reducer for degreasing as that's a waste, thinner is fine.

You do not have to use reducer. Thinner is fine but it does take longer to dry. 

You need to give the old paint a scuffing so it will grip the new paint. The old spray and pray body shops would wash cars with comet to give the old paint some tooth. I would just use medium grit sand paper to scuff it up. Bare metal sand throughs are OK. 

Again make sure all dust, and grease is gone before painting. 

When brush painting you'll find you have some work time, that is after you apply a coat you can go back over it with the brush to smooth out runs and strokes. After the work time it starts to get tacky and going back over it only makes the strokes worse so you have to learn how to "work the paint" with a brush and how long you can work the paint.

When enamel dries the brush strokes tend to smooth and disappear. Enamel is forgiving.

The coats need to have enough paint for coverage but not too much as it will run or sag as it dries.

If you paint with a brush buy a good one, a real natural hair brush. A cheap brush will make your paint job look like it was painted with a broom.

Clean that brush like your life depends on it. Simply leaving it in thinner will ruin it. The paint will set to it even submerged in thinner.

Paint out of a plastic bowl or pail, that way if you spill it you only loose whats in the bowl instead of the whole can.

The first thin coat may look very bad and streaky but you will find the following coats smooth out almost like magic. 

Lastly, practice, practice, practice. You can see most of the above takes skill to execute. It's not hard but it does take skill. So before the boat, paint the mail box, the wheel barrow, the BBQ grill and stuff like tables and lawn furniture to get the feel of the brush. Most of this applys to spraying also.
Good luck.


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## crankbait09 (Jun 3, 2013)

that was awesome!! thank you for the advice.....I shall start this weekend........


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## crankbait09 (Jun 3, 2013)

now heres another question. I am trying to determine how much paint to buy. With it being a standard flat bottom jon boat.......should I buy 1 or 2 gallons of paint? I know I can always return the second if I don't need it. Would like to do two coats

also, if you could answer this. As I am sanding some spots down, i am sanding off some type of bondo/filler, leaving a crater that now needs to be filled again. Can anyone suggest a cheap/good aluminum filler?


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## scrapboat (Jun 4, 2013)

A gallon should be plenty. If you are brush painting it should be more than enough and you should have some left over if you are spraying. If you are doing different colors, I might consider getting quarts especially if you are brush painting.

They do make "metal" based plastic body fillers but I do think regular bondo should suffice. Do not take my word though, read the can.

Since this is your first time painting I do think it's still a good idea to practice some, maybe on a high wear area like the floor. It's a good idea on the floor to use a light to neutral color. Light gray would be good. White is cool in the sun but may reflect too much sun, giving sun burns or for lack of a better term, "snow blindness". Black is too dang hot. A neutral, gray, green, blue would be about right. You want a color for the inside that will not burn or blind you.,


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## crankbait09 (Jun 4, 2013)

thank you for the reply again......

I am actually going to carpet the floors. the only things that will be painted are the walls of the boat and all of the exterior. does this change anything?


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## crankbait09 (Jun 5, 2013)

OK, can anyone argue this point? At the time that I was asking these questions, I went directly to the source and asked about the paint I had in mind of using. (Majik)

This is what they just replied with: 

*Thank you for your inquiry at majicpaints.com.

Although the All-Purpose Enamel, Interior/Exterior, Oil Base Gloss is an excellent product that was formulated for exterior exposure, I would not recommend applying it to your aluminum boat. The amount of water exposure would cause the paint to eventually peel.

We do not provide to Tractor Supply any coating that would be acceptable for boats.

Thank you for your interest in our product line and can be of additional assistance, contact me at the numbers listed below.

Regards,*

](*,)


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## BigTerp (Jun 6, 2013)

In response to your question regarding water exposure allowing the paint to peel, I don't think you'll have a problem unless you plan to leave your boat docked in the water all summer. If the only time your boat will be in water is when your actually fishing and you store your boat on the trailer water exposure shouldn't be an issue. MANY on here have painted with standard rustoleum oil based enamel with no issues in regards to water exposure. I think the only paint that is truly made for prolonged water exposure is the rather expensive marine specific paint. But unless your painting a $50,000 cabin cruiser or something, I don't think the extra expense for marine paint is worth it for an aluminum jon boat.

As far as coverage goes you'll probably need more than a gallon, especially if your doing the entire boat. How big is your boat? I'm getting my 1648 mod v prepped for paint right now. I'm using Parker Duck Boat paint and applying through a HVLP spray gun. IIRC Parker told me to expect about 300 square foot of coverage per gallon with spraying. I have 1 gallon + 1 quart. Not sure that will be enough to do my eintire boat. Hopefully I'll have the outside hull painted by next weekend. I'll let you know how the coverage works out if you still haven't ordered your paint by then.


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## crankbait09 (Jun 6, 2013)

which is exactly what I was told by scrapboat. But once I heard directly from Majic, I second guessed everyone. I should have hit delete when I had the chance and refused to read the email!! 

My boat never sits in the water unless I am fishing. It's always on a trailer, in the garage. 

I will be stopping in at tractor supply this weekend and buy the paint. I can always buy two gallons and if i don't use it, i can return it. It's a standard red gloss paint, so its not a custom mixture made just for me.

My boat is 14' long, will be completely carpeted inside except 3-4" on the side, where I will have red paint to match the exterior. I am still debating whether or not to paint the very bottom of the exterior black, then paint the rest of the boat red. may end up doing all red, but i am still thinking that one through.


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