Trojan Boat Forum

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

I have mine stripped and ready for paint.

I have had good luck with Rust-Oleum

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Looks really good!

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?!