Help Painting Aluminium

[Holclo]

Could someone give me a few pointers re painting aluminium. Which products should I use that can be found easily in UK. Thanks for any suggestions.
Bill

[fordgt40]

Hi Bill

Assuming you want to paint with standard aerosols then the important thing is to use an etch primer first, should be available from auto paint suppliers in aerosol form - just be careful to follow the instructions when using it. There are of course many other specialist paints such as Hammerite etc, which have versions suitable for aluminium.

David

[Neil Hewitt]

Depends on what kind of finish you want, and what the raw surface is like - if it's unpolished, it should paint OK, but you can't just sand it down like you could with wood - in industrial settings they use some kind of chemical etching solution to clean off the oxidation layer from the surface. If you're buying it new in sheets, I daresay you can get away with painting directly onto it.

You can find a variety of paints in various finishes, suitable for painting onto aluminium surfaces, at most good DIY stores - B&Q, Wickes, Homebase etc. Hammerite paints are good, although they mostly leave a specifically metallic finish which may not be what you want. Spray paints seem to give a better finish than brushed paint, at least in my experience.

[RadarBob]

You might consider at U-Pol Acid #8 Primer - Halfords and some motor factors sell it in aerosol can form.

Haven't used it myself yet - But I have used their high build primer - Which is excellent.


Best Regards,

Rob

[Holclo]

Thank you very much guys. I am trying to paint what will be the aluminium cover to my homemade throttle quadrant .So its off to Halfords/Homebase/BQ today.
Bill