Paint suggestions - fresh water aluminum jon boat

[oldsenilegoat]

I know this is mostly a salty forum, but.............Any suggestions on what paint to use to paint a jon boat that will only ever see fresh water? And if you have a suggestion, where might I be able to find and buy the paint? My online search has come up with Totalboat Aluminum boat paint, Duralax, and Aluma Hawk as possibilities, but I have never used any of them and 2 of them are very pricy.

Has anyone used these? Good or bad comments? Suggestions outside of these paints?

And, of course, the critical question, where can I buy the paint you might suggest.

Thanks, Rick

 

[Whole in the Water]

Not trying to tell you what to do but - why paint it? Paint in general does not stick to aluminum well. It takes special prep and even more work to strip it off to prep it to paint it again in time. If possible leave it unpainted as it it a lot less hassle IMHO.

 

[oldsenilegoat]

Not trying to tell you what to do but - why paint it? Paint in general does not stick to aluminum well. It takes special prep and even more work to strip it off to prep it to paint it again in time. If possible leave it unpainted as it it a lot less hassle IMHO.

Fair question, but it is painted now and I am having some repairs done to it, so it is a mish-mash of paint, bare spots that will be welded, and scrapes/scratches of the old paint. Just trying to "freshen it up".

 

[spring fever]

Fair question, but it is painted now and I am having some repairs done to it, so it is a mish-mash of paint, bare spots that will be welded, and scrapes/scratches of the old paint. Just trying to "freshen it up".

I totally redid a 1980 smokercraft Alaskan-down to bare metal-inside and out- I used tremclad primer for Aluminum and then top coated with gloss and semi gloss tremclad. It was sanded first-etched with acid-washed -dried and painted with a brush. Holding up really well in the salt after 4 months. Got it at Cdn tire. They tried to tell me to buy the cdn tire product cause it came from the same manuf.--Don't do it-not the same stuff and doesn't go on as well. Spend a bit more!!

 

[oldsenilegoat]

I totally redid a 1980 smokercraft Alaskan-down to bare metal-inside and out- I used tremclad primer for Aluminum and then top coated with gloss and semi gloss tremclad. It was sanded first-etched with acid-washed -dried and painted with a brush. Holding up really well in the salt after 4 months. Got it at Cdn tire. They tried to tell me to buy the cdn tire product cause it came from the same manuf.--Don't do it-not the same stuff and doesn't go on as well. Spend a bit more!!

May I ask, did you use a liquid stripper to take it down to bare metal? Or how did you achieve that? Sounds like a big job.

 

[spring fever]

May I ask, did you use a liquid stripper to take it down to bare metal? Or how did you achieve that? Sounds like a big job.

It is a very big job as this had many old layers and crap bottom paint some 40 years old. I did use stripper and a wirebrush and sandpaper. My covid project but now it is super tinny!!