Painting my 1952 Orlando Clipper

[jslorenz3]

I have a 1952 14' Orlando Clipper. My great-Grandpa was the original owner. He bought the boat in Winter Park to be used as a ski boat on the Maitland Chain of Lakes, and gave it to my Grandpa somewhere along the way. My Grandpa gave it to me a few years ago when I came up to FSU. At some point in the 80's, the boat was painted in a camouflage pattern. I think that before that, the boat was just the original aluminum with no paint. The camo is starting to really fade, and honestly it doesn't look too good. So, a couple of questions:

1) What do y'all think about color? Should I just redo the camouflage? Or should I try a new, more traditional color to give it an antique feeling?
2) What are some of the best ways to go about painting the boat? (stripping, primers, paints, etc.)

This boat has a lot of sentimental value to me, and it is my primary fishing boat in the Big Bend. This is a boat that someday, I wanna give my son. It is a great boat, especially in our region with all of the shallow water and oysters. Also, easy to launch and retrieve on some of these negative tides we see.

[Salty Gator]

The link didn't work for me

[jslorenz3]

My apologies Salty, it was a picture of my jon boat. My computer at work won't allow me access to photobucket, so I'll have to post pictures when I'm not at work.

[red_yakker]

http://www.skifflife.com/804974/14-ft-j ... rgaw-2800/
Not the same year, but probably pretty similar.
I once painted an '80's model mon-ark aluminum boat using touch up auto spray paint cans from an auto parts store. It lasted until we sold the boat, and looked alright, but did scratch fairly easily. We just sanded the original paint until it was ruffed up, and sprayed it on.

[MudDucker]

Paint choice depends on use and taste. If you are not going to duck hunt, the camo might not be the best choice. It is an easy choice, because it hides a multitude of sins. Clean it up good with a pressure washer using tide detergent, smooth any rough paint edges. Paint with a paint formulated for aluminum then I spray a clear coat or two over my paint jobs to get make them more scratch resistant.

[Harmsway]

I would go with garnet and gold.

[slowroller]

If you want it to last, strip it to metal, scuff and clean with cleaner made for aluminum. Once its super clean use etch primer to bite in to metal, then paint it with whatever you like. As MD said, I would use a clear coat for added scratch and UV protection. I've painted a couple with auto paint that turned out awesome, but I do paint cars for a living.

[Steve Stinson]

You may want to talk to Rick B. (Sorifish on this forum). He painted his Alumacraft a gun-metal grey a while back and it seems to be holding up well.

- Steve