Painting an outboard

[txmatt]

So I'm thinking of painting my outboard with some sort of antifouling paint. It sits in a well and cannot be kicked up and is too heavy to move after each sail (and I would have no where to put it.) Most of the original paint is gone and I'm sanding off what is left. The two ways I have thought about doing this would be to either use an etching primer for aluminum to create a barrier and then put on normal copper antifouling paint that I use for my boat (and have laying around) or to order some sort of spray on antifouling specially for outboards.

Has anyone tried the priming and then painting with a copper based paint? Any problems?

My boat is on the trailer now and I don't intend to be keeping it in a slip for a while so I may just prime the outboard and think about it till then.

Any input would be helpful.

[SVDistantStar]

How about just pulling the motor out of the well? As long as it isnt one of the giant four strokers you shouldnt have to much of an issue getting it out of the motor well on a Kittiwake. just pull it out and leave it on the cabin sole.

[LarryandSusanMacDonald]

I use Barnacle Barrier on mine. There are times when you're at a crowded dinghy dock where it's considered rude to tilt your engine up. Puts holes in neighboring dinghies.

[Quickstep192]

I have the same situation as you; a motor in a well. I'm pretty sure using copper paint, no matter the primer is ill advised because of the affect the copper has on the less noble aluminum outdrive. I use Interlux Trilux with the primer they specify called Primocon. I actually use the brush on Trilux. It's cheaper and you get a thicker film. It doesn't brush especially well so it ends up with lots of brush marks in the finish, but who cares?

[txmatt]

Originally Posted by SVDistantStar

How about just pulling the motor out of the well? As long as it isnt one of the giant four strokers you shouldnt have to much of an issue getting it out of the motor well on a Kittiwake. just pull it out and leave it on the cabin sole.

Now that I have it cleaned up this might be a possibility, however, this is a 1970's Chrysler 10HP and is not exactly light. Lifting it up out of the well and then down into the cabin without damaging anything is quite a bit of work. I have been thinking about getting a smaller outboard so that I could do that more easily, though. I had borrowed a honda 2hp a while back and I could lift that out and stow it horizontally in the lazarette, which was really nice. Too bad they wanted it back.

Larry and Susan,
Do you have the Barnicle Barrier on aluminum? I didn't see that in the list of metals they recommend using it on, but I didn't see anything saying that it wouldn't work either.

Quick,
Thanks for the primocon/trilux suggestion

[LarryandSusanMacDonald]

Larry and Susan,
Do you have the Barnicle Barrier on aluminum? I didn't see that in the list of metals they recommend using it on, but I didn't see anything saying that it wouldn't work either

Yes, I've used it for a couple of years and I see no ill effects. There are paints specifically designed for aluminum, but this stuff was handy - and cheap (at least for me - I get the dregs the paying customers don't use. You should see the bottom paint on my boat - a coat of many colors!)

[P8dawg]

I don't know how visible your motor is, but I learned through the theft of myfreshly painted outboard years ago that the uglier you can make it,the less likely it is to be taken from you. Currently, my Mercury is painted with flat black Army cammo paint. Works great and everyone leaves it alone.

[txmatt]

Originally Posted by P8dawg

I don't know how visible your motor is, but I learned through the theft of myfreshly painted outboard years ago that the uglier you can make it,the less likely it is to be taken from you. Currently, my Mercury is painted with flat black Army cammo paint. Works great and everyone leaves it alone.

well, it sits down in the lazarette which has hatches so the only way to see it is if you are in the water looking up. As far as ugly, it's a 30-something year old chrysler that's been sitting in the water its whole life, so actively trying to make it uglier really isn't necessary. I just want to cut down on growth and corrosion, and am only painting below the water line. No need for more drag than necessary, after all.

Oh and it really helps that everyone else in my marina has a much newer and nicer and more easily accessible outboard than I do