Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


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Car Painter Asks About Painting of Aluminium

2000

I am a professional car painter but I am getting jobs to paint cars with aluminium parts, small painting jobs of commercial planes, which difficult to handle.

Need to know about painting aluminium panels - cars+airplanes, etc. what is the primary coating and the finish paint. the technics/methods used in workshops and maybe the equipment.

most appreciated Marwan

Marwan Said
- Malm, Sweden

I do not know about finish paints in cars and airplanes, however I am a residential painter for many years. I painted a aluminum mobile home trailer with Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 [on eBay or Amazon] latex primer--pressure washed first. Its holding up excellent and no chalk residue after 2 or 2 1/2 years. I applied like two coats. I did not put a finish or topcoat as it looked good without and gave me a low luster--so it turned out great, but if you get it on windows its hard to scrape. you have to have pretty good spray equipment with this though as it would tend to clog an ordinary [on eBay or Amazon] --well the ordinary general purpose kind. I think it would make an excellent undercoat, but I have no idea for a shiny topcoat compatible over this. I believe the can says its an excellent undercoat for various topcoats including enamels.

John DuBois
- Blackville, South Carolina
2002

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I have a house bus which needs the outside to have a paint job, it is made of aluminium and was wondering if I can use house roof paint due to its long lasting life.
If not which other paint may I use?

Simon Kirkwood
Home maker - Christchurch, New Zealand
2006

I recently had two aluminium hand grips (30 feet) of the balcony railings painted with premium synthetic enamel paint (ICI Dulux Gloss). I saw the painters first prepared the surface with thorough sanding (wet paper no. 80) followed by two coats of priming (ICI Dulux Red Oxide Metal Primer). Then the hand grips were painted with the said enamel paint. No doubt it is hardly a few weeks, but the thing looks decent.

A. Ray
- Calcutta, India
September 27, 2009