aluminum needs to be primed with zinc chromate primer its used on aircraft

 

My toons are powder coated. Way easy to clean

 

who the hell has an oven big enough for pontoons . We are talking about the 25' things on boats , right ?

 

As a pontoon manufacturer and 3rd generation boat dealer, I can honestly tell you no matter what you do, you will NOT make paint stick to the toons. First tiny flake, scratch, or nick it will peel off almost immediately. Some of the companies I have dealt with have spent fortunes trying to make it work, and it just doesn't. Look at regency and Bentley. Shit tons of pissed off customers out there that can't keep the toons coated. The best alternative if you've got to do it is vinyl. Cheap and easy to replace when it gets damage or peels off. You really just want to do above the water line though. Trust me on this, been involved in this project many, many times.

 

I have an old aluminum bass tracker that I coated with self etching primer then rattle canned the whole thing in camo. It looks great, sits in the water daily and has suffered no visible deterioration of the finish. Maybe pontoon logs are different, but I'm going to test a spot on mine and see how it does.

 

It depends if you are keeping it in the water or on a trailer.
the best gloss finish will be an Awlgrip paint job. Very expensive process.
etch primer, then epoxy sealer then paint. Just don’t leave it In the water for more than a couple weeks, it will start to blister.
if you leave it in saltwater, or freshwater you will need some type of anti fouling aluminum safe bottom paint for below the waterline.

Choose a Region | Awlgrip | AkzoNobel

www.awlgrip.com

What type of antifouling paint should I use on Aluminum?

www.interlux.com

 

Mine will only be used in fresh water. I'll call today to get a price on have them wrapped vs Awlgrip

 

The wrap sounds like a good idea .

 

I have sold a bunch of pontoon boats back when I was working at a marina, We would always have people trying to coat their pontoons, And no matter what they tried it would always fail. Except every once and a while someone would just paint them with no care and the world and it would stick. Made no sense. Even worse was the people who would polish them to a mirror and then realize it was to much work to keep them looking like that. I have sprayed some with Polyurea and it worked well. Good luck

 

Take it to a truck stop and have them polished

 

Aircraft fly at hundreds of miles per hour in heavy rain! Paint CAN stick to aluminum if done properly.
DA sand/scuff, solvent clean, apply alodine, zinc chromate primer, then an epoxy topcoat. It does take some heat, too.
Now running yer poontoon into your trailer or on a rocky shoreline will scrape even the best paint off.

 

Black would be my last choice, even if you can make it work. I've had black boats. The color is much deeper than paint or a rap in fiberglass. I think on pontoons it would only look good for a short time, and be a nightmare to maintain.

be safe, schick

 

Sharkhide. Keeps it lookin like new