Quick question: My motor is a white Johnson Ocean Pro and I want to paint my lower unit. I am planning on using the Johnson outboard engine paint that comes in a spray can. I have seen motors that it was used on, and it looks great. I am very confident that it will look great on mine as well. The lower unit is covered with paint (except for the skeg) but it is getting pretty thin and it has lost its luster. My question is: should I used primer everywhere or only on the skeg? I think that the places where there is still paint would be fine just sanding and painting over. Is that right? Where ever I prime will take a good bit of paint to cover up since it is greenish and my motor is white. That’s why I was hoping to get away with using primer only on the skeg, where there is no paint left. I figured someone on this site has done this before and may have some advice. Thanks guys.
I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.
(**(), that LU looks like it was dicked up by a drunk, blindfolded, teenaged girl hellbent on jumping a sandbar!
I’d use primer on the bare metal and just scuff the rest up with sandpaper. Try to stay in the channel and that new paint will stick for a long time. I’d hit it with multiple coats as that part of the motor sees the most abuse by far on any boat.
just painted mine, scuffed it with scotchbrite pads and put many very light coats on it, Had enough left in the rattlecan to do my cover too. Looks like a new motor except for the center section.
prime the bare metal
cover the primer with $1 white spray paint from walmart
cover the walmart paint with the OMC white, several thin coats
PLEASE get a can of clearcoat and use about 5-6 thin coats when you are done
it will protect the paint and give the factory finish you are looking for.
Chris, thanks a bunch for the tip about using the wally world paint. That is going to make my life a bit easier and help out the wallet! I was planning on using the clear coat, but my friend was doing his at the marina the other day and he said the clear coat made the paint bubble up. I looked at his and it was bubbled, but I thought maybe he did not let the paint dry and cure completely before spraying on the clear coat. Also, it was like 100 degrees that day so that may have caused it as well. What do you think caused his to bubble because I really do not want that to happen on mine? How long should I let it set/dry before I clear coat?
Dfreedom, yea it was pretty bad when I got the boat and now its getting really bad. And we all know, it aint fixin its self.
I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.
Paint / clear coat incompatibility,more than likely it was a lacquer clear coat over enamel. You may be able to clear coat old enamel with lacquer but it is not generally recommended . If possible, use the same brand clear as the paint or at least the same type ( urethane, enamel etc. ) If it is the same brand/type, you can usually treat the clear coat as additional coats of paint using the time between coats recommended. Color Rite,which I just got finished using , instructs you to clear coat 15-45 minutes after the final coat of paint. Others may be different.
I did a lot of internet research on this, and the best advice I probably got, I didn’t follow. “Save your money, and don’t bother trying to repaint the skeg”.
I cleaned mine, put on primer, then multiple (at least 4) light coats of Moeller Engine Paint, then multiple coats of the Moeller Clearcoat. I took my time over the course of a week in doing this to allow for adequate drying.
First time out, it all came right off. Didn’t even run aground. I have a hard time believing just the speed pulled the paint off.
Good luck, and post a follow up on your results. I must have done something wrong.
