TOPIC: Advice on painting outboard

Hi All,

I'm going to repaint my1960 Merc 300. I've searched here, youtube and the internet in general but have not found any information specific to painting outboards. It could be that I'm just not searching correctly. Can anyone offer up some advice?
Thanks.

www.nymarine.ca/index.html

Tim, these guys have a line of paint that is supposed to be very good. Not too far from you either. If you are wondering about preparation etc I can give you some tips.
Cloud white is your color. There is a Volkswagen color that is very close as well.
Cloud white is Ford Wimbleton White or VW Cashmere White.

Thanks Dave, that's a great source, and it is close by.
Yes, some tips on the preparation would be great. It's funny, I've done a fair amount of searching, but not much is coming up. Could I be thinking it is more in-depth than it is?

If you go to the nymarine website they have instructions for prep and painting. I bought Cloud White from there a few years ago and it turned out great. It is not cheap, but I think it is worth it. If you need new stickers, that is the place for them also. They look as good if not better than original and are easy to put on.
Bill

I am just restoring am Mark 78, ordered all the paint, decals and medallions from Peter at NY Marine.

I'd love to see some pics headley and hear about the process you went through.

Honest, I'm not completely inept at surfing (or I don't think so) but I can't seem to find instructions on the nymarine site.

It is fairly simple, but lots of work.
Strip motor to bare metal. Bead-blasting was needed for the front cover above as it had little voids I couldn't get in to. A good stripper and lots of elbow grease using steel wool and metal brushes works for me. fill and sand any dings that bug you, I live with a certain amount of wear.
I am a freak on a proper paint job, refer to the web and this great site to find out what your motor should look like. I mask off all items that do not get painted. I go ahead and paint the bolts but take them off (one at a time) and strip after painting. If you want to separate the powerhead from the lower unit that is recommended (but I don;t always do that). I do take off everything else and paint separately.
once you are down to metal I clean all with a degreaser and an aluminum prep solution like Alumaprep & Alodine.
This is the time you will need the proper stuff from Peter at NY Marine. Consult with him on the type of paint you want to use (I use his Alkyd with catalyst). He will get you the proper amount of self etching primer. Cover the metal liberally and sand any rough spots. Make sure all metal is covered, this can be tricky as there are some tough spots to reach like behind the rail on the bottom cowl. I use a small detail gun with a regular compressor. Strain all your paint, mix well and no drips.
After painting I then start to take off the paint in the bare areas. One has to be careful here as you can get chipping if you are not careful. I always have a problem with the top of the rail on the bottom cowl.
Apply decals and medallions according to Peters instructions, never clear coat.
Then, take a wrench and hit your beautiful new paint job good and hard. Now you don't have to worry about any future damage...

For outboard paint these guys are in the US.

Repro & Effenaco have an evil-bay store, the total price is cheaper to me via evil-bay (save on shipping charge)

But they don't carry the logos, decals, medallions and etc like Peter's Canadian site does.

I've seen lots of Peter's decal work on other outboards, all looked great

Merccooper,

Most any large paint store that carries automobile paint can match your paint, W/O spending a lot of $$$$$$$. = In your case (presuming that you're doing a complete repaint) VW Cashmere White is the correct shade.

yours, satx

Merccooper wrote:

I'd love to see some pics headley and hear about the process you went through.

Honest, I'm not completely inept at surfing (or I don't think so) but I can't seem to find instructions on the nymarine site.

They are not on the site anymore,they used to be.

I find that getting my paint, decals and medallions from a reputable and knowledgeable supplier is the best for me. I trust Peter at NY Marine to provide me with the correct supplies to best restore my motors to factory spec. I reward by buying all I can from him. The extra shipping (he is in Canada) is well worth the cost.

Thanks for taking the time to provide all the details headley. You did an awesome job on the 55! Thanks for your inputs Dave, satx and jb. This site and the support provided from people on here is fantastic

I don't think I have the energy or willpower (I wish I did) at this point to separate the bottom cowl from the mid section. However, is there an easy way to separate the clamp/swivel bracket from the rest of the motor without dropping the midsection?

Also (going back to the energy and willpower problem), can I get away without taking it down to bare metal?

Tim, The challenge with not removing the lower pan etc is getting everything clean for paint..Grease and oil are going to come back to haunt you. I suggest that you pull the powerhead, only 6 bolts and set it aside. You may wish to detail it after the cowls are done. If your paint is not severely chipped or missing you might get away with sanding down to the zinc chromate primer (greenish yellow) and re painting.

Heres the caveat. you are going to have a hard time getting todays paints to look good and stay looking good over the old finishes. Painting is a system of products. You need an etching epoxy primer to bite into the bare metal. The new paints are low VOC and cure differently. Peter is the guy to talk to. Tell him what you want to do and he will get you set up with a system of paints that are compatible with each other and will look good and stand up.

Here's a pic of when I did my '69 650. You can see the different stages the other guys are talking about. Top is finished, bottom is in etch primer and the skeg is bare aluminum. Like they said above, its a lot of elbow grease but worth it in the end.

double post

Nice restoration NJ.
Looks like you didn't disassemble it for the painting?
I was looking at your other pictures, how did you resolve the cracks in that steering wheel?

No I didn't disassemble it. I'm not going for a show presentation so I didn't see a need to go that far. The steering wheel I dug out all the cracks out down to the ring, filled it back up with epoxy. Sanded, primed and painted. Still looking for a good way to reproduce the center cover though.

As with nearly any project, the degree of detail and choice of materials will differ from person to person. What really matters is that you are satisfied with the result. Most "hobby" restores will refurbish an old motor by cleaning it up the best they can, and giving it a new paint job with rattle cans. The results of this can look excellent. While rattle cans paints are easier and more affordable than more elaborate painting methods, they have limited durability. Any paint that does not have a hardener in it will have limited resistance to fuels, oils, solvents, and sunlight. While this may be fine for a display motor that will never see use, it will not hold up well on motors that are in regular use. Multi-part paints with catalyst and hardeners are the best choice for durability and quality of finish. But those qualities come at a price. Most good automotive paints cast around $30.00 to $50.00 per pint. Then you must buy the other components that get mixed into the paint before it is shot on the project. These usually are one or more of the following;

(1) a catalyst / activator
(2) reducer
(3) hardener
(4) solvent

These components will almost always push the price up another $50.00 to over $100.00 for your materials cost. The components must be correctly mixed according to directions, unless you want a big mess on your hands. A good compressor with an air dryer, along with a good paint gun is needed to apply the finish. Then there are mixing cups, paint strainers, cleaning solvents, on top of that. The painter must wear an approved cartridge air respirator and safety glasses. Man - this is getting expensive isn't it!

Sometimes it is less expensive to clean up the motor yourself then have a body shop paint it for you. While that may sound expensive, if you add up all the costs to do a motor with professional paint - hiring someone to shoot it for you will likely be less money.

If you can get the motor clean enough to your liking, there is no need to tear it completely apart. I always tear them all the way down and shoot them with automotive paint. But that's me - and nobody has to do anything the way I do. Here is a link to a post I put up last week on the JEGO board about doing a motor for a customer.

www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/home/j-e-g-o-s-place/eye-candy-for-motor-heads

Merccooper,

May I suggest as an 'alternative" to painting your OB yourself that you contact the collision department of a local high school, trade school or community college.
(I've had several cars/PUs painted by a community college department over the last 2 decades and all of them were done WELL & at a much lower cost than a body shop would have done.)

just my OPINION, satx

Thanks Bruce for the details.
satx, I like your idea, I'm going to get my daughter to talk with her shop teacher at her high school.

I think I'm going to take a combination of everyone's ideas.
I'm going to find the energy to remove the lower cowl (I guess it's not much work to do this AGAIN, and it is only the cost of another couple of gaskets). After removing that, if I have enough access to clean the clamp/swivel I'll stop the disassembly at that point. For the painting I'll find out if the school will do it. If not, I'll cost out having a shop do it, if that is too much, I'll have to settle for the spray can.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

once you get the motor off,this may help you to get sanded and painted,it also rolls so you can roll it out of the way when your not working on it,john
www.fiberglassics.com/fiberglassics-forums/home/main-forum/step-by-step-motor-stand#103222

Thanks for the reference John. I had already built one....but yours is so much more professional than mine . Here is my stand and a couple of pictures of the progression.
(The primer coat is something that I put on last year. Due to some advice I got, I'm sanding it all down again to remove as much of the original paint as possible. So, by looking at the progression, it look like I'm working backwards....which to a point, I guess I am )

How much sanding did you have to do to the lower housing and skeg area? Mine is all rough cast aluminum on my 400. No corrosion but not at all smooth. It is like an orange peel, not paint orange peel but little dimples.

here is the merc 400 i painted for the 64 cc sunray,some people love it some hate it

I'LL never get tired lookin at tht CC.

59Hustler wrote:

How much sanding did you have to do to the lower housing and skeg area? Mine is all rough cast aluminum on my 400. No corrosion but not at all smooth. It is like an orange peel, not paint orange peel but little dimples.

I'm sanding down to the bare metal....in most places that I can reach. So..."how much sanding?"....until I cry and start throwing things!

John, your 400 looks awesome....I could see how it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but how it matches (not only the color, but the color pattern) with the sunray makes it a cool combo.

thank ron and merccooper,i see you are pretty much ready for paint,just have alot of fun with it,you will come out of it with a great paint job,90% is in the preparation and i see you have already done a whole lot of that,before priming wipe down with the reducer you are going to mix with the primer.