I/O prep for anti foul paint - How to ?

[abl1111]

My I/O lower unit w/ the original factory finish (never been painted) needs antifouling - and this is the season to do it. The boat stays in salt water for 7-8 months.

After I scrape all the damn barnacles off - how should I prep, clean, sand, degrease etc, and w/ what products should I prime and paint ?

If you have had great results with your method(s) - I want to hear about them, pls.

Also, any tricks to get to the hard to reach places within the gimbal housing ?

[nestorpr]

You'll have to prime the unit with a tin based primer and anti-fouling paint so the aluminum won't suffer from electrolysis. If you go to the Mercruiser or Volvo website, or to any of the anti-fouling paint websites, you can download specific instructions on each product since many of them require very specific methods to follow. Thi is the safest way to do it.

As to how to get into the hard to reach areas, first you have to make sure everything is VERY clean and oil free. Then you'll have to trim the outdrive up and use differenet sized brushes to get into every nook and cranny. The only other way would be to remove the outdrive and do it in sections but then you'll need to install new gaskets and such and is quite complicated.

Good luck!