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Proper way to prepare outboard motor to repaint

J

James Fegan

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" Can anyone give me any tips

" Can anyone give me any tips on how to prepare a motor before I attempt to repaint? Want to do it right the first time!

Thanks, Jim "
 
"James.... Pertaining to the a

"James.... Pertaining to the areas to be painted, clean off any oil, grease, etc with acetone. Use a fingered carbon scraper (or a tool of your choosing) to chip off any heavy rust and corrosion that might exist. Sand the areas with #60 (if needed), then #220, then #320 sandpaper to obtain a smooth surface.

With compressed air blow off the sanded surfaces, then wipe down all of the areas with acetone to make sure the surfaces are perfectly clean.

If the surfaces are cold, or even cool for that matter, warm the surfaces with a hand help propane torch that has a blow torch type tip. Do not get the surfaces hot enough that they will fry the paint.... you just want them warm.

Have the location well lighted so that you can see that the paint is flowing on smoothly (not a dry fluffy look) but not to a point where it is running. This will take a little practice.

You'll find a sighted viewing angle whereas you can see that the paint (although wet) will appear shiny.... this is the desired effect.

Spray in whatever reasonable bursts are required. Do not use a constant never ending spray of length wise, width wise, coupled with circular wise action just to get the paint on the area unless you intend to enter the engine in a circus display.

Prime the surfaces with what is called "Zink Chromate Primer". It is developed specifically for aluminum that will be used in salt water. This is available in spray cans in most marine dealerships, and possibly elsewhere. Perhaps there has been another primer developed in recent years specifically for this aluminum/salt water use that I'm not aware of..... check into that possibility.

After the paint has been applied, you can again use the propane warming method if needed which will give you a certain baked on glossy appearance.

Before attempting to do the complete job, I'd suggest that you experiment on a smaller scale until you're fairly sure of what the outcome will be.

Joe
"
 
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