Paint Question

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pbfanatic

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I just started to fix up an older aluminum boat. i sanded the boat down to bare aluminum in some places and spot sanded the rest. When i went to the store the guy recommended "Rustoleum Automobile Primer." I already primed the boat and then heard about self etching primer. Do i have to sand all this primer off or can i paint over and be okay?
 
I'm no expert in any sense of the word, but from most of my reading this is what I think:

As soon as bare aluminum is exposed to air, it begins to oxidize. The "etching" part of self-etching primer etches or eats it's way through the oxidation so that the primer can bond with the actual aluminum, instead of bonding with the aluminum oxide. The aluminum oxide has no real bond; Its like trying to paint over dirt. Primer bonds with the aluminum; Paint bonds with primer. Anywhere on your boat where the paint/primer is holding good does not need to be taken to bare metal. Whether you needed the self-etching primer where you did have bare metal depends on how long the metal was bare.
Bare metal for hours, maybe even up to a couple of days, you probably don't need the self-etching.
Beyond two or three days, you probably need the self-etching primer. A week or more definitely calls for self-etching.
 

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