What kind of paint to use on aluminum boat is the best? When and why should you paint your boat? Or more importantly, do you know how to do it? It is important to check the painting of our boats and carry out proper maintenance from time to time.
This prevents further damage and gives greater longevity to your boat. With the arrival of good weather, and you have a pleasure boat, it is a good time to do so and have it ready for the summer.
Remember you should never go for long without cleaning and painting the boat, and do it with appropriate products. In this post, we are going to give you some advice on how to extend the life of your boat.
What Kind of Paint to Use on Aluminum Boat
We recommend that you paint your aluminum boat using green or Aluma Hawk (white, blue, Jon boat green, black, aluminum grey, sand). These are both a paint/primer in one, and you can apply them to most surfaces without prepping the boat’s surface.
The natural wear and tear from water, air, and sun erodes boats and can shorten their life. It does not matter what material the boat is made of. That is because all of them have their own maintenance issues and specific products to use.
To protect it, for decoration, for image, for security, and to make its maintenance and cleaning more comfortable, you should paint it after some time. Painting your boat protects it against the following deterioration:
- Steel and aluminum against corrosion
- Gelcoat against osmosis
- Wood against rot and drying out
- Underwater areas against inclement weather
Once you protect the the surface, you can use the paint to enhance the look of the boat.
Tip: Don’t paint outdoors, either too early or too late, as this is when there is the greatest risk of condensation or spray.
What Kind of Paint to Use on Aluminum Boat
The first and most important thing is to make sure we wear the right equipment including boots, clothes, helmet, goggles, and gloves. In addition, you should wear masks to avoid all kinds of splashes, dust, steam, cuts, holes, chemicals, solvents, grease, and more.
Keep in mind that if a cover is not too deteriorated, bleaching will be enough. If you want to polish it, you only need to apply a polish or a nano-protective product. It will enable you to obtain an acceptable shine and keep the pore closed to extend its conservation.
To remove old paint and antifouling, we recommend using a very effective solvent based paint remover. You can use it on most painted or varnished surfaces, even on fiberglass polyester with care.
As always, it is advisable to try a thick layer of paint stripper with a brush on a small area of the boat. Let it work for a few minutes, and then clean the surface with hot water and soap.
In poor conditions and after the obvious tests, it is advisable to paint. After cleaning the area to paint, the rest of the boat will be papered and two coats of paint will be given.
We recommend spraying it for comfort. Specifically, we recommend the turbine because of its versatility and its economic price.
For Motor and Sailing Boats Up To 30 Knots, We Would Need a Self-Polishing Antifouling
Advantages
- Controlled release of active substances throughout the season
- Works throughout the season even when the boat is stationary
- Easy maintenance with minimum preparation time
For aluminum boats, we would use another self-polishing fouling agent. It enables you to protect the boat throughout the season, and guarantees greater mechanical resistance.
In boat types such as high speed motor boats and high activity sailing boats, especially for tidal areas, you will need a hard matrix antifouling.
Advantages
- Higher mechanical resistance
- Protection during the whole season
- It needs sanding after the season
For motor and racing yachts, we also need a type of hard matrix antifouling.
For regattas and competitions: to increase speed, reduce fuel consumption, and prolong engine life, you should use a thinner paint layer.
And if they were made of wood, use a soluble matrix, which would be a more economical solution.
What Kind of Paint to Use on Aluminum Boat – How Much Antifouling Do I Need?
For example, if you need 9L, we suggest you buy two 750ml cans and three 2.5l cans. This should be of a high solids single component coating for incrustation control based on silicones, without biocides and moisture curing from the air.
It provides a smooth, low surface tension surface, with unique antifouling properties. Moreover, a hydro-gel coating prevents adhesion of marine organisms, while silicone polymers facilitate self-cleaning.
For boats sailing at more than 20 knots and you want to forget about maintenance for a long time, silicone is the ideal solution. It can be useful even on boats that are hardly moved all year round.
However, a couple of times a year, you should pass a sponge over the surface. That is without moving the boat, so you can forget about incrustations for a long time.
