Painting Aluminum Outdoor Parts.

We are sandblasting aluminum deer bling towers (slayer outdoor products)..Doing that is a hassle and requires a lot of handling and time. Yes spray painting for outdoor use.

We are experimenting with other methods.

Can anyone recommend a primer, cleaner, process that would be less time consuming.

Water base would be good if such exists.

Problem is making the paint stick for out door use.

Is this welded aluminum tubing and you are sandblasting in hopes of paint sticking better? Are there castings?

Chem film helps paint to adhere to aluminum. No paints or primers stick well to bare aluminum no matter how clean. Prepping the surface with an acid etching before the chem film is good practice and will give you a clean product with no need to sandblast. Alodine is the name of the chem film solution, I think the prep is "Alumiprep 33".

If you do use Alodine, take precautions because of the chromium content, avoid skin contact and spills on the ground.

QT: aluminum tubing and you are sandblasting...no
Square aluminum, think it is 2x2 welded at cornet to form a box base.. and aluminum angle, think 1
x 1.5.
stacked on a pallet it is hard to do much with not a lot of handling. it would be good to un stack and paint if we could paint that would stick hard.. You can go to the slayer outdoor products site and see the towers under the blinds.

Chem film helps paint to adhere to aluminum. No paints or primers stick well to bare aluminum no matter how clean. Prepping the surface with an acid etching before the chem film is good practice and will give you a clean product with no need to sandblast. Alodine is the name of the chem film solution, I think the prep is "Alumiprep 33".

Is subbing out to a powder coater cost prohibitive?

dave5605 said:

Is subbing out to a powder coater cost prohibitive?

Click to expand...

Yes .. we are very close to the wire on these deer blinds and powder coat is out..Price is about $1800 for the in house pained and about 24oo.. for the camo that is put on with a special coating machine..our painter has come up with a primer and top coat that seems to to hold and pass the fingernail test. We are shooting for $500 profit but so far have not got our time down to make that...We made best of the Indianapolis and the Novi show. One competitor tried to copy us with a China made wall frame and stick-on camo sheet.
.. poor little China girl was having trouble with translating some of the bad words..
When she came to our display the day before she said .. “Mr xxx is very important man, owns big factories in China, can make anything you wish for lower price.”I still have her card. Thought I might Consider her for my new invention when the patent come through even that it could be stolen and then beat my patent....
Oh slayer deer blinds/ Slayer outdoors products.

An Amish fellow brought an aluminum blind , cut , bent and riveted to make a very nice blind..Wow must have had a ton of labor time...and for a good price..

I know not a lathe or grinder in shop but this is about paint..Yes I want a table saw.. could have used one today...Machines = panel saw, chop saw, bench grinder, drill press, air compressor... and a table saw only when I take mine 125 miles from Mt Clemens to Charlott Mi.

Yes we just got back from taking the Boy Scouts troop 648 to Florida for Shark Fishing..

Any chance you can do most of the fab with pre-coated stock? Heat-sink to preserve the finish from the welding, then touch-up as required.

Or... is spray plasti-dip tough enough? Boy racers us it to "paint" wheels -- even whole cars.

How does the smell of pressure-treated lumber go over with the deer?

(Also, "duel" on the website should be "dual".)

Chip

QT Chip: {How does the smell of pressure-treated lumber go over with the deer?]

Good question... I will ask son in law...who owns the company to set out some trail cameras to test if they are affected by the smell.

Make sure the aluminum is free of dirt and oil.

Wipe down with Alumiprep.

Prime with either zinc chromate or zinc iron phosphate primer.

Zinc chromate is best but not real healthy due to chromate content. For most uses it has been replaced by zinc iron phosphate (ZIP).

The primer is not water based but you can use exterior latex paint over it if you want. I made about 40 aluminum air intake louvers, about 18" x 36", in the late 80's for a local building. Used the ZIP primer and exterior satin acrylic latex paint. Was at the building a couple years ago and although the louvers could use a paint job, they had never been repainted at that time. Paint was sorta dead looking, but no peeling whatsoever.

FWIW, sandblasting aluminum for paint adhesion is generally a waste of time. The skin of aluminum oxide re-forms on the surface way faster than you can get it painted, and its that oxide that causes paint adhesion problems.

Strangely enough, anodizing creates a heavy layer of aluminum oxide on the surface, but paint will stick like glue to anodized aluminum without the need for primers or other treatments.

Zinc chromate primer for aluminum.