Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

...and I here I thought I was going to get away for $35.00 per gallon with Rustoleum Marine bottom paint. ...and then I read it contains swiss cheese inducing copper. No anti-fouling needs for my fresh water locations.

I just can't believe I have to spend upwards of $100.00 to $219.00 a gallon for a good bottom paint. That's just plain crazy, there must be an economical alternative.

From what I can tell prepping my bare aluminum by lightly sanding then cleaning is an absolute must if whatever I plan on using is to stick for more than a few years. Apparently etching solutions only work well if the aluminum is new and non pitted. Needless to say my 1988 logs are cosmetically challenged and not a good candidate for polishing.

Why not a good quality 2 part epoxy paint or farm implement enamel?

Dang, I'm not painting the Mona Lisa!

I would call whatever manufacturer of the paint you want to use. When I was restoring my Starcraft, I was told by a paint rep that Rustoleum wasn't recommended for underwater use.

The main reason why us brackish/saltwater boaters need anti-fouling is corrosion prevention and repelling barnacles. As long as the paint is rated for submersion I'm sure it's fine.

The rustoleum paint I used was the "above the waterline" paint. My boat lives on a trailer and is only in fresh water for 4 or 5 days at the longest several times a year. I did how ever test this paint before I put it on my logs. I applied to to 3 test pannels. One was outside all winter, one in tap water , and the third in a bucket of liquid ice melt ( salt brine ) used in snow removal. The paint left out side would flex with the aluminum even on the coldest mornings ( single didgits to zero ) with no issues at all. The sample in the water was like the day I painted it. The sample in the salt water was just fine once I wipped the haze off of it. Rustoleum marine paint is just a the original formula that doesn't meet all the new voc rules like the regular paint. I used valspar enamal hardner in my paint. It makes it dry in a couple hours vs. 12 hours and also enhances the gloss. Rustoleum has a aluminum primer that goes with the marine paints.

Now as far a prep I mechanically etched my aluminum. I used 3M maroon scotch brite on a 5" palm sander to do this then tacked with mineral spirits. I have have gotten into a few discussions about this and how you need to use a special aluminum etching primer. My friend who is very knowledgeable about paint said there is no magical primer that just etches itself. Like I said in the other thread the pre is alot of work but that's what makes the job. You can teach a monkey how to paint but prep thats another story !

Here is a quick step by step method that I used. I had alot of question about this over a pontoonstuff so I just posted this rather than answer all the pm's.
http://pontoonboatforum.com/forum_posts ... techniques