I have a few 304 stainless steel panels (4" X 8") that I need to paint white. Does anyone know what I should do to make sure that the paint adheres to the stainless? Is there anything that I need to do to the stainless before I paint it other than make sure it is clean and should I use any special primer or paint? Any help would be appreciated.

Scuff the surface with very fine sandpaper or some kind of agregate. Then make absolutely certain the the steel is completely clean and free of any oils; use MEK or a 50/50 acetone/alcohol solution to clean it.

The best way to get paint to adhere is to use an etching epoxy primer specifically made for stainless applications.

No problems after that!

Have you considered to have it powder coated?

Powder Coating would be the way to go. If you're going to paint though, you could do a light bead blast on the surface, then use a self etching primer. Like Baja Daze said, make sure it's clean!! There are some good two stage self etching primers out there. There is also a single stage version which comes in a spray can that I've used with great results. Do you need to paint both sides of the panels? How many do you have to paint?

I wonder why you would want to paint it. IMHO Stainless looks better than any paint.

Roby

I need to paint only one side of the panels. I have 8 of them to do. I need to paint it because these are plates that I am mounting cleats to and then mouonting them onto the walkaround. The cleats that are on the boat are recessed into the deck and are awful. I fabricated these 4 x 8 plates to cover the recessed holes and mount new pop up cleats.

stainless is always nice

self etching primer.

You have a hole that big you want to cover up? Considering what you want to do, you should consider powder coating. Whether you paint or powder coat, get all your holes punched first. You'll wreck the finish otherwise. If you have a spare plate, send it to me if you want, and I'll put a shot of white powder on it for you. You can see how you like it. I attached a picture of my engine. It's not the best shot, but the alt is powdered white, pulleys black, and brackets silver.

Here's a picture of what I'm trying to "cover up." I do have a spare plate - not drilled yet but it will be in the next couple of weeks - once I can get back to the boat to measure it. Is this something that can be powdered??