What kind of primer for bare aluminum?

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CPM

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Hello folks.
I have my rescued jon boat stripped and waiting for refinishing.
There is some of the factory finish left around rivets and inaccessible crevices.
I would like to spray both the primer and topcoat.

I've done quite a bit of searching here and elsewhere and it seems to come down to 3 options; epoxy, self-etch and zinc chromate.
Any info that I can find from the forum search seems to turn up threads that are fairly old so I suspect their may be new info on the market.
I think self-etch is out because it may lift whatever paint is still left.

The boat will only be used in fresh water and trailer kept.

I don't want to imply that cost isn't an issue but I like to spend my money and labor once. So quality and performance is my main concern.

Please advise.
 
White vinegar and a copper scrubbie pad is certainly cheap enough to acid etch any bare spots. For better results, a $9 spray can of zinc-chromate primer should do any bare tin you need or want to - IF it is to be top-coated with other paint. If not top-coating, you could skip the Zn-Cr and whomever told you that you could 'prime' tin with epoxy was flat-out wrong ... as no 'bare' tin should be painted over or gooped without being properly primed IMHO.

I personally use the 2-step method of vinegar wash and then Zn-Cr prime. Just half an hour ago, I just bought back an older 14' Smoker Craft boat that I had sold a kid 10-years ago. It was rebuilt by me using all the tricks I've posted here through the years and it is as sound today as the day I sold it. Done once ... done right!
 
Thank you.
Since posting this, I've found the Fasco Steel Flex product.
I had a long convo with a very helpful rep at the company.
He assures me that I can apply it directly to my prepped, scuffed and cleaned bare aluminum without primer.

DaleH said:
...whomever told you that you could 'prime' tin with epoxy was flat-out wrong ... as no 'bare' tin should be painted over or gooped without being properly primed IMHO.
I meant epoxy primer.

DaleH said:
Done once ... done right!
Amen
 
Epoxy is nice in that it will practically stick to anything, works well on aluminum provided that you sand and hit it with a good solvent first. The caveat is that it is very difficult to sand, although there are workarounds if need be.
 

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