Is paint covered by warranty?

[Island]

Is the SE 106's paint/finish quality covered by its warranty?

(I'm in fresh water, with appropriate zincs, but I've always had pre-owned drives corroded before I got them and etching, priming, and painting the outdrives is one of my least favorite things to do.)

[Tech Support]

Yes it is covered under warranty.

Tech Support

[Island]

So if a small area of sterndrive-engineering-appied black paint finish (say on the sides of "bullet" in front of the propeller) did "come off" a new SE106 within three years, you would replace it under warranty? Is this correct?

Don't mean to harp on it, but just trying to decide whether I should replace only uppers and go through the effort of refinishing my current lowers or just go for the full units to save myself effort over the next 3 years.

[Tech Support]

We don't simply replace, we repair or replace. If you just have paint scratched off in a small area we would most likely just spray it with some black spray paint from West Marine. Touching up the paint would be considered normal care and you would normally take care of it yourself.

[Island]

Hmmm, that doesn't sound so good to me. One criticism I've read of the SEI drives is that at least in the past the finish isn't as good (in terms of longevity) as the OEM Mercruiser paint finish. At least in my past experience it seems that once the finish is compromised at all if you don't thoroughly clean/sand, etch, prime, and paint the new paint doesn't last a season before it starts to also fail. I was hoping that starting with brand new I might not have to worry about the finish protecting the alumiunum for 3 years.

[Island]

P.S. hope my last post didn't sound too negative; what I'm thinking of is that when I bought this boat I noticed the previuos owner had sprayed the drives before sale (he oversprayed just a tad and hit the transom with some overspray so it was obvious he had just touched them up.) I thought to myself - it will be interesting to see how that holds up. Took the boat out for one two hour run, put it back on the trailer and I noticed already that the paint had come off next to the water intake on the side of one drive and on the rear bullet next to the propeller on the other. Maybe it's just a fact of life; I've never actually owned a brand new OEM Mercruiser, but from those I see around the marina expected that the new OEM would hold its paint well for a few years.

Is there any info on how good the initial SEI coating is compared to the OEM Mercruiser coating?

[chinook35]

I am on my third year with the SE116 and the paint is still perfect. I am in fresh water exclusively. I have had Merc sterndrives for over 15 years and find that a touch up from time to time is normal maintenance.

[Island]

Thanks Chineook35 -- that's good to hear. And I suppose painting once every few or even couple years isn't the end of the world either :)

What exactly is the black spray paint mentioned by Tech Support above from west marine? Is that actually something new and better than the old way I used to do it 10 years ago starting with Interlux PRIMEWASH FOR METAL and then following with Interlux aluminum/metal primer followed with a black topcoat? Or is it still a three step process to get good adhesion?

Also how is the factory sterndrive engeineering coating applied and how does it compare to an OEM mercruiser coating?

[chinook35]

I buy the Mercruiser Phantom Black, this is the correct paint for sterndrives and outboards. You can buy from Boat US/West marine and I think Overton's carries it also. I find that touching up stone and sand chips is easier with a model type paint brush. I just squirt a little into the cap of the paint can and use the brush to put two or three coats on just the chip. No overspray.

[Island]

And you don't even have to use a Zinc Chromate Primer under it???

[Island]

Here is one reference to paint chipping off within a year (but it was from 2007 and the operator also ran aground with the first drive so I'm not sure if it's normal or not.)

http://sterndrive.cc/vbforum/showthread.php?t=335

Has the paint finish application on a new sterndrive engineering drive changed at all from 2007 to the present day? How does it compare to the way Mercury applies the finish to their OEM drives?

[chinook35]

I never have. I understand zinc chromate makes the paint adhere to aluminum, but for touch up I have never bothered.

[Tech Support]

Our paint proccess has not changed. The cases go through a dip process and then two coats of powder coat are baked on.

Tech Support