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After a long summer of Carb cleaning, lower unit and Shift shaft replacement, I have decided to keep my 1989 150 Yamaha for a few years if I can. It is really running well and the compressions are excellent. Question... I want to remove and repaint the entire motor this winter. What is the best way to degrease the motor and prep it for paint. I'm OK with a spray gun but would like to make it really look good and for that it needs to be prepped properly. Fire away, I have the whole winter to complete.

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You will need to sand/grind out the corrosion. Fill corrosion areas as necessary, (your choice). Apply epoxy and topcoat. The abrasion you use will be determined on what topcoat you use. Basecoat clearcoat 500 grit, singlestage 400 grit.

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SJo
I have been known to repaint a few of my Mercs for the selfish
pleasure of pleasing my eyes.
It is not a very complicated work detail.
To degrease, you may want to remove the stains with sand paper,plastic scraper or DW 40.
Prep up the areas with a light sanding giving you a workable surface.
Prop removed, shaft taped, all stickers taped.
Cowling off and separately done.
Fill all deep scratches with filler.
Do not paint over zinc anodes.
Pick up paint exact match from dealership.
Spray bombs should do.
Light sanding between light and attentive coats.
Three coats should do the trick.
Let dry completely for a week or so in an indoor temp.
Buff and shine to your pleasure.

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What do you use to fill scratches with?

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To do it right.
Remove the stains with cleaner not sandpaper.
Never use WD40 before painting. It causes fisheye.
A spray bomb will last a week in the water. Pure crap for an outboard.

Fill anything more than a 180 grit scratch with a bondo or duraglass filler.

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Burton,
To fill scratches below waterline or in this instance;
I had great success with the 3M Marine High Strength Repair Filler.
It is a "Unique Vinyl Ester Formulation" that has worked for me in all applications that I used for my refit.
You can't miss with that one.
Hey John,
long time no see..
Well actually no one should spray any kind of product over an oily residue.
The point here will be to remove a greasy baked on deposit
And the W40 will actually work as a cleaner.
Give it a try and you will see that it will readily clean this kind of product.
I have bought from the Merc dealership the Mercury Phantom Black 802878 enamel spray paint in the 12 OZ can.
It is THE exact product and application for this engine.
All outboard brands will carry such a matching paint.
Prep will be the key to a successful finish.
Savy?

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Anything the manufacture gives you in an aersol or anything else is a 1K product. That means it is reversible with solvent. A 2K product is not reversible and will last a lot longer.

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Very good point John
I have been known to refresh my outboard on a yearly basis.
2K will be used depending on availability of course AND will have to be color matched PERFECTLY.
Both methods are respectable and one will do with what he has got available.
I did find the dealership product to be easy to obtain and convenient as a product.
This is my experience in refreshing such update.
In the case of repainting all outboards within a guiding business, I would opt for a gallon of perfectly matched color and apply with one of my several spray guns.

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Do as you will. I can only give advice from experience as a Technical Representative for automotive paint and being in the business for 30 years. I can give no less than Quality work and products as I would do and have done to my own.

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Thanks John,
I really do appreciate of your very good input.
Your 2K suggestion will come very handy in good time.
Good to see that your expertise has been shared with all of us on site.
Thanks again.

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PS-Since we do have your expertise on the automotive paint field
What would be the preferred prep dilution to spray?
The usual 10%?
What would you recommend to be the ideal diluting agent to the K1 or K2 type paints for that mater?
I am familiar with the Epoxy two part paint such as Emron Awlgirp and suches,and very different than the enamel types usually used by manufacturers.
I have in the past used xylene to cut with some small measure of success.

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The reduction depends on the brand of paint. All manufactures are not the same.

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Here is the way I have done it, several times. First I sprayed the powerhead with engine degreaser after plugging the carb and covering the electronics with some aluminum foil. Let it sit for 1/2 hour. Then rinse off with a hose. Might have to do this twice if the powerhead is really dirty. Wire brush any corrosion spots. Now the powerhead should look very good, unless it was overheated at some point and the original paint is discolored. Now spray the whole engine rubber parts and all with a spraycan of Aircraft Aluminum paint remover available at auto parts stores. . Let it sit in the shade for about 15 minutes to one half hour. Now blast the paint remover off with your pressure washer. Do this in a remote location away from lawn, shrubs etc. Be careful wear long paints, long sleeves and eye covering. The stuff really burns when it gets on your skin. You may have to do this twice, and maybe a few stubborn spots 3 times to get it all off. this whole process shouldn't take more than a couple of hours including waiting time. In some(most) cases the original zinc chromite primer may not have been affected, but in the case of the 7 1/2 hp Merc. (pictured) it cleaned everything off, and I was left with an aluminum motor that I considering just polishing the aluminum and no paint. But I did paint it.
Here are some pics of the removal process along with some other pics.


http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c19...3QQtppZZ20


After the motor is stripped it must be primed with zinc chromite primer (its a green color) even if the stripping did not remove the old primer. Use the rattle cans for this . Needless to say it should be sanded first. for a top coat you can use the color matching rattle cans from the dealer, but for a better job buy one rattle can, spray a couple of coats of the paint on a piece of something for a color sample, and take it to a Automotive Paint Supply, and have them match your sample in a single stage auto enamel. follow their directions. The trouble with rattle can paint is it chips and fades, dulls out more easily.
Its a fun job.

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In the above photobucket picures scroll down to #4, the other pictures are not related to this thread.

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Rattle can engine paint works great. I painted my engine several years ago with the stuff and it's held up fine over the years. I use my boat in both salt and fresh water too.

Also...... Dawn dishwashing detergent works well at cutting the grease too.....

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Thanks for all the input. I'm pulling the boat next week and will tackle gettle the motor off first. Been on Since 1989... Wish me luck. I think I have a good idea of what to do but I will once again use this forum for any questions. I really want the paint to come out nice!

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You said you have spray experience. Good. As I said spray bombs/rattle cans are junk. Go with a quality paint. You will be happier in the long run.

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Here is a pic of my 1961 Evinrude 75hp Starflite sitting on my antique runabout I also painted last year. I used rattle can paint on the outboard, it still looks as good a year later, but I only run the boat at the AOMCI meets once a month, maybe 7 times a year. If I was planning to use the motor in salt water frequently I would have used automotive enamel. If it was a motor for show only I would use automotive base coat, clear coat, and then wet sand, but thats a lot of work.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c19...lboat6.jpg

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a nice paint job IS a lot of work