I want to paint my bare hull ducky...

[pksgundogs]

Ok, I have a vintage Grumman square stern canoe and am going to paint her up in a camo duck hunting scheme for next fall. I know I need to clean up the hull with a good degreaser and then use a "conversion" coating before a primer and top coat,so the paint will stay on the aluminum, but I dont have a spray gun rig and cant afford to take it to a shop. Anybody know of any aluminum "conversion" coatings in spray cans ? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. thanks.

[Slugranch]

I use a zinc chromate primer on my aluminum lower units before painting them. It is an aerosol can that is sold by outboard motor companies to prime their equipment before repainting. It would be pricey, I'm sure to do a canoe. Go to a good paint shop,,probably like a body shop supply house and they can steer you right.

[As yet un-named]

I did the same thing last spring with my Smoker Craft canoe. I removed the old paint, sanded with random orbit and 100grit, then wiped it down real good with straight vinegar. Let it dry, then painted with the new Krylon camo paints. It didn't see a lot of service this year duck hunting, but what I did use it was rough use and it is holding up just fine. I wasn't that worried about minor scratches since it's so easy to touch up, but will look at it closer to see how it looks. I could post pix if you are interested.

ML

[pksgundogs]

Thanks for the replies.... I will definitely use a primer like a zinc chromate after the conversion coat.
I would like to see what a smoker craft canoe looks like; didnt know they made canoes...
I have a bare aluminum Wooldridge sled that I would eventually like to paint, saw the same model in camo at the outboard/chainsaw shop I get supplies at. Looked real good, but it must have cost a pretty penny to do it up...