Mark,
I typically do complete mechanical and cosmetic restorations and tear the motor down into pieces as part of that process. While torn down in pieces, I’ll strip the old paint to bare metal using glass bead or soda blasting, which doesn’t etch the metal like sandblasting. Never done it myself, but others have used walnut shells for blasting with good results. After blasting and a thorough cleaning, I’ll use a good quality self etching primer followed by color coats.
I have typically used paint and decals from North York Marine on my projects. As Bob D noted, I also use the 3M fine line tape for masking edges between different colors and I don’t use a clear coat over the final color coat. As Bob D also noted, 95% of the job is in the prep work.
Here’s some pics of my projects. Note on one of my Evinrude restorations, I chose my own gray color scheme rather than the original factory blue.
Bob
1937 Champion D2C Deluxe Lite Twin
1954 Johnson CD-11
1955 Johnson QD-16
1957 Evinrude Fastwin 18
1957 Evinrude 3022
1958 Johnson QD-19
1958 Johnson FD-12
1959 Johnson QD-20
1982 Evinrude 25hp
“Every 20 minute job is only a broken bolt away from a 3-day project.”
"Every time you remove a broken or seized bolt an angel gets his wings."