Paint for Hatches

[oil&water]

What paint have you used to paint your aluminum forward hatches?

I have mine stripped and ready for paint.

[prowlersfish]

I have had good luck with Rust-Oleum

[Barrie]

aluminium is hard to get paint to stick to. Best to use an epoxy primer (expensive and hazardous) or a cheaper/easier option I have used zinc chromate in a spray can that you can get from an auto parts store. It sticks to the aluminiun and the new paint will stick to it.
I used automotive paint on the one hatch I have on my Tri Fly and it looks factory. I used the colour "Ford Oxford White"
It seems to match the old gel coat.
I would post pictures but I can't from my current location.
Check out my Project Tri Fly thread . I thing pictures of it will be on the first or second page.

Good luck.

[Barrie]

Of course there's powder coating as well, which is quite good but can have delays and be expensive.
And the white powder may not match the gel coat as nice/close

[oil&water]

Man was this a project! Three weekends later and the hatches have been disassembled, stripped, ground down, etched, primed, and painted. Oh yeah, and a little skin and blood contributed to the project as well.

The amount of corrosion on the aluminum frames was much more than I would have anticipated. It really goes to show just how important proper maintenance is in the life of our boats.

[prowlersfish]

What paint did you end up using ? They look good .

[oil&water]

Thanks Prowler. I ended up finishing them with two coats of Rustoleum Aluminum Primer and three coats of Rustoleum Automotive Enamel.

Hardest part of the preparation was grinding all of the corrosion off.

[WayWeGo]

Looks really good!

[oil&water]

Thanks! I will be a very happy camper to get these installed. I had to clear out more bad core in preparation of installation. Of course that meant I didn't have enough material to go back in there. Figures, right?!