You dont need to etch... Use "Marinex" brand aluminum hull and pontoon cleaner. It is a mild acid (HCL) cleaner that will strip any last contaminates. (Avalible at Stevens Marine in Tigard) Use Zinc Cromate (yellow) or Zinc Oxide (green) primer - These primers actually bond (rather than adhere) to the bare aluminum and provide a good paint base. The Zinc Oxide is better for corrosion protection and the Zinc Chromate just a bit more durable. Either is fine for this application. (both are avalible at Quality Paint Products in Hillsboro). Following bonding primer application, you may want to use a sandable primer to achieve a perfect finish. If you do, remember to reapply the bonding primer before you finally paint with the desired surface product in any areas where you sand back to bare aluminum. Most durable is going to be an epoxy based paint (comes in two parts), but that is also most difficult to apply and most difficult to repair. Most automotive paints would be fine.
A suggestion for you. Consider using a quality rattle can avalible spray paint and keep several extra cans for quick and easy touch up or repair over the years to come when you bash a dock or likewise. Make sure the paint is UV protected. A boat sits out in the weather and sun an awful lot and a non UV protected paint will fade and the surface will chalk over time.
The interior of most boats is Zolotone - (Quality Paint on Hillsboro again) and you will need a primer type gun (gravity feed) with a 3-5 MM nozzel if I remember correctly. I think Zolotone makes a little plastic disposible gun you can buy as well that uses canned air and is only like 20 bucks. Never used one, but it might be just the ticket for a small single use project like a drift boat.
Good luck! :smile: Remember that with any painting project, keeping it clean is essential to the sucess of the project.
UG
[ 06-07-2003, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]
