Painting an Outdrive
This page is
provided by one of our visitors who posted it on Mercstuff's Forum.
This can be a simple project, with so-so results, or complex
with great results or something in between. I have a lot of technical knowledge
about coating metals, but won't bore you with all that. Here is what I would do:
1. Prepare the chipped spots with a small tool (I like a small sanding wheel on
a Dremel tool). Make sure you clean any pits to the bottom of their depth. You
may need to use a Dremel tip grinder to do this... but failure to clean pits all
the way down will ensure their return. Feather to the existing coating surface.
Leave the exposed metal surfaces "sandpaper rough" to aid paint
adhesion.
2. Use a paint dulling compound (available at paint stores, etc) on all
remaining painted surfaces. Use fine steel wool to rub this in and very finely
scratch the surfaces. Once finished, use a very dilute ammonia solution to wash
the entire unit, then rinse thoroughly with water and wipe dry with clean cotton
rags.
3. Use "metal prep" (like an iron phosphate or zinc phosphate
solution... zinc is best if you can find it) on any bare metal spots. Metal prep
is an acid, so be careful. Dob it on exposed metal spots (only) and allow it to
air dry very slowly to build its crystalline structure (microscopic) on the
surface. Do not wash.
4. Once everything is clean and dry, spray the entire unit with a good quality
zinc-rich primer. I would do two coats on two successive days, if possible.
5. Top coat with a high quality enamel or better yet, Dupont Imron polyurethane
enamel. I would do two coats of this as well.
That's it. The toughest decision is how much stuff to take apart to get at the
components. I'll leave that to your judgment. The most important thing is this:
paint only sticks well to very clean, very dull surfaces. Good luck!
Cheers
Curt crussell@termcorp.com
Thanks
Curt,
Mercstuff
MerCstuff,
llc 
