I suppose part of the answer would be just how many chips, nicks, dings, bare spots you have to deal with. If only a few, you might be able to touch them up with body filler then sand to feather it in with the adjoining faded paint areas. Then you would need to sand or steel wool all the faded paint areas to give them enough tooth for the new paint to adhere properly. On my projects, I’ve always thought if I was going to the effort of totally repainting a motor, then it would actually be less effort and provide better end results by just stripping down to bare metal, applying a proper primer, then paint away. On my last few projects, I used a chemical stripper and had it completely down to bare metal with far less time and effort than trying to patch with filler, sanding, etc. However, I’m sure lots of motors have been repainted, even at professional shops, by filling and sanding the existing paint. You might browse some YouTube videos – there are lots of outboard repainting projects there with different processes, some by DIY’ers and some by professional paint shops.
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."
