Painted Windshield Frame

D

dan4836

Member
Decided to paint the aluminum window frame today. Trying to make my old V look good and thinking about painted the rub rail tomorrow to match.

I removed the bow rail last week as it was bent in one spot.

What do you guys think?
 

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Looks good to me. There's a guy down the road from me that just removed the windshield from his 23' Seacraft and had it powder coated white to match the hull. Looks sexy as hell.
 
Powder coat

Now that's the way to do it! If I had the funds and the time, I would remove the windshield and have it powder coated.

I think some of the classic Makos had black window frames. It's growing on me and it looks better than before.
 
good paint holds up better than powder coat. you'd be surprised how many new boats come with silver painted windshield frames
 
The main problem with powder coating is the high heat necessary for drying (curing) the paint. Convection ovens work well, but the best curing comes when you use an IR (Infra-Red) heat source. Few of us have that ability, so it forces us to go outside our garages, and that costs money. The paint itself is relatively cheap. Hell, you can buy it from Harbor Freight. But you need a special electrostatic gun setup to spray it and of course, the curing after it's done. Better to use a good brand epoxy paint and be done with it. Just remember to properly clean and prime the metal first, and you'll be happy with the results for a long time to come.
 
Paint Pret

I sanded the aluminum down to remove the oxidation. Used Sherwin Williams All Surface Enamel product. First, primed the service with a latex primer, than used their oil based product for the final coat.

I used this product before on a steel trailer and it help up much better than I expected.

I wanted a new look for my boat and the oxidation and the chalking gel coat keep reminded me of the boats age (1981)

Now, it looks more up to date.
 
dan4836 said:
I sanded the aluminum down to remove the oxidation. Used Sherwin Williams All Surface Enamel product. First, primed the service with a latex primer, than used their oil based product for the final coat.

I used this product before on a steel trailer and it help up much better than I expected.

I wanted a new look for my boat and the oxidation and the chalking gel coat keep reminded me of the boats age (1981)

Now, it looks more up to date.
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It looks great, no bones about it. And I hate to be a spoil sport, but I'm a little concerned about the primer you used. Steel and Aluminum are two very different metals. Zinc Chromate is the primer of choice for Aluminum. Did the latex primer you used say it was good for Aluminum? If not, you may be faced with the paint peeling off in about a year or so. If that should happen, just sand it all off again and then use the Zinc Chromate primer to avoid it in the future.
 
Primer

I did make sure the primer I used was also good for aluminum. I learned from past experience, incorrect primer on aluminum will equal flaking paint.

Next project - paint the deck. My deck needs some work as there is soft spots around both seats but I want to wait until winter to tackle this task.

I picked up a quart of off-white, non-skid paint, West Marine brand to try to make the floor look a little better in the interim.

Any suggestions on painting the floor?

Also, any suggestions on replacing the wood around the seats without taking up the whole floor. I may need to start another thread from these questions.

Thanks,

Dan
 
dan4836 said:
Decided to paint the aluminum window frame today. Trying to make my old V look good and thinking about painted the rub rail tomorrow to match.

I removed the bow rail last week as it was bent in one spot.

What do you guys think?
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Wow Dan...that really does look good!...nice job...back in 1999 when I built up my 1st V20, I wanted to do zackly that cuz my buddy had a 21 Rabalo w/a black framed Windshield...I always thought it looked good...

You might see some more like that...I don't think I would paint the rub rail, cuz that IS gonna get chipped eventually...

Some non skid paints are too aggressive on the texture...one of the guys here partially sanded down the high tips of the texture on the paint he applied and then painted a second coat w/no texture in it...I always thought that a good idea...
 
I used U-Pol Raptor Truck bed liner for my floor. The rubber and texture make it non-skid, and there are no high spots to hurt the bare feet. You can get it in just about any color you want. I went with an off-white (kinda tan-ish) and I think it looks great.
 
Destroyer said:
I used U-Pol Raptor Truck bed liner for my floor. The rubber and texture make it non-skid, and there are no high spots to hurt the bare feet. You can get it in just about any color you want. I went with an off-white (kinda tan-ish) and I think it looks great.
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I used the raptor liner too, awesome stuff. The windshield looks great, IA was considering the same thing myself. I pulled my bow rail, cut it down and reinstalled it. But yours looks good too. I'll be doin this over the winter.
 
Looks good! I was gonna color match mine to the hull color before I decided I wanted to actually use my boat instead of constantly add to the list of modifications. It's only time and money!
 
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