I'm slowly making progress in painting the lower part of my '89 Evinrude XP175. Nearly done with the sanding - all decals removed.

I have several deep scratches, gouges, etc. in the lower unit. They're too deep to sand out. I was going to do my best in sanding them and then use zinc chromate primer and paint over them.

Just wondering if there is a type of waterproof filler material-that will withstand the force of water against it and adheres to aluminum - that I can use to fill these areas?

All thoughts appreciated. Not trying to make the old engine perfect, just better for resale.

"befuddled"

I would try some Marine-Tex..its easy to sand and if you wet your finger, just as it sets up, it smooths out just like silicone.

http://www.marinetex.com/marinetexepoxyputty.html .

Thanks Kingdad101!

I haven't heard of the product but I just read the link you provided. It seems like good stuff. One question though. I will be repairing an area of the lower unit that faces forward and obviously the direct force of water up to 60 mph will be hitting the Marinetex repaired area. Will the product withstand the stress?

"befuddled"

it should do well..I have had some on my lower transom under the drain plug, that took some pretty good blow from rocks, that have been there a couple of years..

I use this on lowers, works excellent. the nosecone and scoops on my lower were put on with it and never a problem one. works excellent on hulls for deep scratches too, it will dry a funky color though.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bondo-Glass-Fiberglass-Reinforced-Filler-1-Qt/17056865

Bought some gray MarineTex yesterday and will use it tomorrow. Still sanding and getting ready for the Marinetex. Hopefully all goes well.

Thanks to ALL who helped me out!!!

"befuddled"

As mentioned above, I bought some gray MarineTex in their small repair kit. I had to use some wax paper and then taped some cardboard folded in a V shape around the wax paper and lower unit to hold the MarineTex in place while it cured. I took the cardboard and wax paper off today (allowed 2 days curing time) and found that I had an excellent bond with some very hard gray expoxy!

Since my skills in doing things like this is low, I had excess expoxy up to about 3/16" thick that was bonded to the lower unit up to 5" away from my target patch area. It took me 3 hours of hard hand sanding to get everything shaped and blended in for a smooth finish. After a quick sanding with a fine grit, I will be ready to prime with zinc chromate primer. It took a lot of work but the end product should make the lower unit look like new.

"befuddled"

I guess I should have warned you about the "over spray"..thats why I use wet finger or wet cloth to remove excess..thin layer is easy (earier) to sand..