Repainting my leg!

[Tadpole]

Hi All,

The lower part of my Honda 90 is painted with some crappy white antifoul paint. It looks like a rush job to cover over the flaking original paint.
I want to re paint it back to original.
I've got original paint in an aerosol, but it's the primer I'm wondering about.
I've got some paint experience from restoring old motorbikes but the live in the house and never go out in the rain, hardly a match for the saltwater environment of an outboard!

So the questios is, what is the best primer for aluminium, normal stuff or something more specialized?

Cheers

[spartacus]

Use a zinc primer. Yamaha make one YMM-30400-ZP (400ml cans). You'll know from your motorbike experience that any imperfections at the prep-stage are exaggerated when you apply the top coat. Take your time and it'll look great.

Remember to remove the sacrificial anodes so they don't get painted.

[m chappelow]

Etching primer is ok for aluminium .

[Tadpole]

Cheers for the replies, I'll see what I can get locally.
I learned a long time ago that paint hides no imperfections and that prep is everything!

[Mollers]

As you'll know, prep is everything. Where the bare aluminium has been exposed, prime with acid etch primer. Build and flat your primer coats to get as good a pre paint finish as your prepared to work for. Apply colour in thinly applied multiple coats. Before the final coat of colour has fully dried, apply a couple of coats of quality clear lacquer. When fully hardened off, polish with some fine finishing compound. If done with care, you should be able to achieve a close to factory finish. ;-)

[Tadpole]

Right, ordered some acid etch primer from Ebay.
Nothing available on the paradise isle of Alderney!

Probably take a couple of weeks to get here, typical I was in Guernsey yesterday!

[Tadpole]

Well it's all done and dusted (well not really, but you get my drift)!

I got beige acid etch primer, as I figured it would be a good base for the Honda gold colour.
After a good few hours with the Nitromors (which is now garbage) and the flap wheels in the cordless I had a bare leg.

Now it's all painted up and clear coated.
I will admit it's not perfect but the engine is a 2006 so the rest isn't either

I should've done a before & after photo but just waded in this morning.
I'll do an after shot tomorrow though.

[Tadpole]

How could I not do a shot on a Saturday night!
The colour is slightly off, but thats the old bits being faded.
Oh and the blob is a trick of the light!

[Boatnomad]

Looks great
Seems to be a common problem on the Honda leg

[paddlers]

Nice job !

Did my old Mariner leg before he jollies but then tried a run near the beach & now need to do it again !
Why is outboard paint so bloody expensive ??

[Erin]

That's a really good finish you've achieved there. Now don't go wrecking it on any bits of lurking granite

[spartacus]

Nice job. Just need to do your prop now for the bling appeal!

[Mollers]

Agreed, Nitromors is now better as a light snack on toast. :-/

[Tadpole]

Cheers guys!

Going to leave it to 'cure' for a bit now.

Looks like I'll have to go out in the Orkney today.

That'll be a slow and slammy trip for sure!

[Tadpole]

Right, I can confirm that having been sedatelyish playing in the Tadpole, an Orkney strikeliner seems increadibly slow and wet and uncomfortable and noisy and and and..................!