Help a Lady w/ Her New Dingy

[Lady Forge]

Well I finally got a little boat... my husband call's it " Debbie's Dingy "... there he goes picking on me again[8D]So it looks like someday when I get this boat project done I will no longer be confined to bank shooting.
I got an Aluminum Flat Bottom Jon Boat for $500.00 which included the, trailor, trolling motor, weights, lifepreservers, battery box and a few other odd's and ends.
But I need some advice and alot of HELP, being that I am a 1st time boat owner and very ignorant on working on boats.
I want to repaint the boat since some of the finish inside it peeling off.

1. How do I stripe off the old finish?
2. Do I need to use a primer before paint on the boat?
3. Can I repaint the boat myself... and what type of paint to use on the inside of the boat and what kind to use on the outside of the boat?

I eventually want to get a 9.9 motor( thats what they tell me I need )
I want to put on it a raised deck with lights and a seat and I cant do without the most important accesorie of all DRINK HOLDERS

I know down the road |I will have tons of more questions for you folks cause I have seen yall's boats and some of them are The Bomb as my son would say, but this will get me started I guess.
What ya think for the paint job on my new Dingy Christine...
Pink & Black Camo
Thanks Deb

[Shootstuff4570]

you need the 2 different shades of blue camo....bowfishing camo!!!!!

[Mark S]

There's a couple of ways to strip paint. Chemical and sanding are the most common. Either takes about the same amount of time and work. Both make a pretty big mess. I did a 15' aluminum v bottom by wet hand sanding. Never again! If I were to do it again, I'd start with a chemical stripper, then wet sand it by hand. Everything is available from a hardware store. Since it's just a bowfishing boat I might use a power sander. You'll have to use a primer, but once again, since it's a bowfishing boat, you won't need to use an etching primer, just regular primer. I suppose if you didn't care how it looked you could do it hillbilly style with a roller! Spray cans would take forever and that paint is thinned down so much it doesn't hold up well. An air sprayer is the best method. It's all relatively easy, just requires some elbow grease!

[Bulzeye]

Congrats on the boat Deb!

I have no clue on the painting stuff though.
Good luck.

[JeffS]

Since it's just a bowfishing boat I might use a power sander. You'll have to use a primer, but once again, since it's a bowfishing boat, you won't need to use an etching primer, just regular primer. I suppose if you didn't care how it looked you could do it hillbilly style with a roller!

Since it is just a fishing boat I would just use the power sander to knock off the loose finish and spray primer over that. Then you could paint it whatever color you wanted. I never have bothered to paint any of my old aluminum boats. You could get a spray on liner for the interior like they put in pickup beds and that will help knock down the noise and give you a non slip surface that will hold up really well. Have fun with your boat.

[RobinAim Low]

ORIGINAL: Mark S

Since it's just a bowfishing boat I might use a power sander.

Just a bowfishing boat? Isn't that the most important kind of boat?

I stipped my old boat inside and out with chemical stripper and some sanding. I left the outside bare alum and did the inside with bed liner. I asked a body shop about painting the alum and they said without the right kind of primer, self etching, the paint would not stick.

The durabak like my boat has is pretty easy to use and inexpensive.

[carpsniper]

Pink and Black Camo.....

That would be awesome!

[Lady Forge]

I stipped my old boat inside and out with chemical stripper and some sanding. I left the outside bare alum and did the inside with bed liner. I asked a body shop about painting the alum and they said without the right kind of primer, self etching, the paint would not stick.

The durabak like my boat has is pretty easy to use and inexpensive.

Hey Robin;
What Stripper did you use ?

I looked at Durabak and from the cost on website's it looked like it could run anywhere from $70.00 to $110.00.......... is that about what it cost you to do yours ? How do you like the Durabak for non slippage in your boat?
Robin :
I found the same answer about painting aluminum boats doing a search on the web about primers for aluminum and it all said you are correct self etching primer is required ... to get the paint to stick, Thanks !
I dont think I will be able to get the Hubby to pull the boat behind his truck if I paint it Pink[8D]
I actually like the look of the Blue and Black camo that Sully's Bowfishing has on his Onieda Osprey on his website and I know I can get the hubby to haul that colored boat
So the 1st thing I did was fix where the trailor locks on the ball on the hitch... it just wouldnt lock.... so I disassembled it , cleaning and lots of Tri Flo was required andI got it all fixed... gotta add safety chains to the trailor and then I'll take her home.

As for the deck , I am doing some searching for someone that can do some aluminum welding for a reasonable price in the East Central Illinois Area.

I'll post some pic' when I get a chance of the before pic' of my boat... I think this will be a fun project
I got 10 Carp from the banks over in a cove near the West Side Day Access at Clinton yesterday and 2 were females full of eggs.
Thanks For All The Help And Suggestions So Far !!!

[carpsniper]

ORIGINAL: Lady Forge

Hey Robin;
What Stripper did you use ?

This could get interesting.

[HNI_Christine]

Congrats on the new boat!

Painting aluminum is very time consuming. (Unless you do the red-neck roller thing... which works, sorta)

Good luck with it!


BTW, ask Uncle Dave about aluminum painting, he just painted his aluminum deck.