I recently bought a used canoe that I’m repainting and making small repairs on. The aluminum gunwales are painted over with marine top side paint. I don’t know if I should remove the paint and refinish or just leave it and paint over it for cosmetic reasons.
If the paint is sound, not flaking or peeling , I’d degrease , lightly sand and paint.
My just acquired old canoe has bare aluminum gunnels. I’ve been advised just to polish them.
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You also have the option of just removing the old paint if you’d prefer the look of aluminum gunwales.
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