The first 3 photos are what I started with, an old 12ft Starcraft flat bottom alum in poor condition, especially the trailer. This package was at least 25 yrs old (the tires dated back to '84).

After setting the boat up on horses in the back yard I:

-Stripped off the very old paint w/ wire brush stripper on electric drill

-Sanding down to smooth surface w/ orbital sander (80 grit, then 300)

-Soap and water rinse and dry

-Priming (Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer)

-More light sanding (300 grit)

-Soap and water rinse and dry

-Top coat paint (Interlux Brightside polyurethane in Kingston Gray)

I did this for the entire outside hull and inside (except for the floor = why bother)

Then I sanded the old wood bench seats, cleaned them, and applied several coats of clear vanish (available at West Marine).

It took all summer to finish and here's the results. Took her out for this weekend. Zero leaks, held up great, and even got the 4hp Johnson crankin.

All is well and good on the water

well done, great job  

X2 nice job man 8-)

Great job.  

looks perfect.

very nice

Great job, the last picture is epic!

Great job, the last picture is epic!

x2

     Good job, I loathed stripped and painting on my old jon. But once done, it looked sweet, I like your color a lot better though.

Clean and simple. Great Job!

thanks everybody  

i'm not one to usually toot my own horn, but it felt really good to finally finish the project (that is, until I get more ideas cooking)

very nice!

How heavy is it? Like in that 2nd to last picture, do you think you could move it around on fairly even ground for some distance without a truck?

Or even pull it up a boat launch?

Great Job Well Done

Looks great!

Eric

Nice job that last picture say's it all. ;D

Great job man.... I hope she catches you many fish!

looks great

Paint Job looks great.  Just curious did you roll/brush it or spray it on?

Paint Job looks great. Just curious did you roll/brush it or spray it on?

I heavily debated whether or not to spray the paint on. Considering it was a thicker poly paint, and I had little experience, and despite that I  had a wagner spraying paint system on hand, I ended up going with the roll and tip method instead. for a smaller project like this it proved to be the way to go. I just bought the higher quality rollers and brushes and went at it. No thinner needed. Very simple. Much easier than I thought. Paint job has held up great after several launches over the past several weeks.