A year ago when it was time to paint my new boat, I read everything there was to read about paint on this forum. I scrubbed it with detergent, prepped with Alumiprep, primed with Zinc Chromate, and top coated with Duralux Duck boat green. One year later, the Duralux is very chalky while my buddies factory boat which was purchased around the same time and also roasted in the sun still looks new. So, what paint should I be using that won't get chalky so quickly? If I have to redo it again I will definitely look into getting a cover as well.

Duralux aluminum boat green. Search it. Lots of good results

Um. Did you actually read the post? Duralux green is what I used and it turned really chalky after a year.

Call this guy and talk to him..Kevin Ledford 1 (337) 577-6813

Paints boats for pro-drive. He painted my skiff march 2010 and it still looks great. I'm sure he can help you out.

um.did you actually read and follow the directions for application of the paint?

I have the aluminum boat green...

if you used the duck boat green is has a flat finish that will turn chalky without a clearcoat

Like hunters skiff

hunters skiff could have paint that cost 100k a gallon and still look like shit after its first trip out.. LOL

Apologies to the poster then because I did not specify that it was in fact the Aluminum boat green that I had used. All prep and application was followed to the letter btw.

Thanks for the suggestion on the KEM-400. Hopefully the Sherwin Williams near here will sell it since many Sherwin Williams stores do not sell their industrial coatings.

If you used aluminum boat green, there was NO Need for the Zinc primer as the paint is actually a Zinc Chromite Paint. Maybe too much zinc may be bad?

i blasted my boat and used the aluminum boat green... came out good imo

Why did you primer with zinc? No need for that.

Everybody that I know that has used duralux has had the same results too.

I emailed the company that makes Duralux and they said that Aluminum Boat green does not contain zinc chromate. Here is the response:

"M736 Aluminum Boat Green contains no zinc chromate or other known carcinogens. This product is a solvent based vinyl designed to adhere to any hard to paint metal surfaces, e.g. aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized metal, copper, etc. Please see attached product data sheet."

In other words, Aluminum Boat Green is a vinyl based paint that sticks well enough that it does not REQUIRE primer. The reason to use zinc chromate was of course for corrosion protection and that is why I used it. I never said I did not have good results painting with it. My painting results were great. I only said that after a year in the sun it had turned chalky. Since I cannot easily get the KEM-400, I went ahead and washed, scuffed, sanded, hit bare areas with Alumiprep and slapped on another coat of Duralux. I will just have to cover the boat to protect it a little better and maybe some other year I will try the KEM-400.

What I don't understand, is why take a paint that is designed to stick to metal and ask it to stick to paint? Just out of curiosity... Not saying that's what caused your problem...

The way I look at it is that most paint is designed to stick to paint otherwise you could not apply a second coat. I also still see it as a top coat that does not require a primer but any real industrial manufacturer would either alodine/epoxy basecoat or use a zinc chromate/phosphate primer. Most hunters I am sure would find that to be overkill. After all, I have a 34 year old aluminum boat that has been used in salt water all of its life with no paint at all.