In this jon boat restoration episode, I’m dealing with a problem I didn’t want to have: the TotalBoat aluminum boat paint didn’t hold up the way we expected, so we had to sand everything back down and rethink the whole plan. Even though the paint claims you don’t need primer or etching, I wasn’t about to keep gambling time and money, so I pivoted and went after better adhesion the hard way—prep, sanding, and changing the coating approach. I ended up putting Raptor Liner on the bottom of the boat, and honestly it turned out way better than the paint did. The texture and coverage give you that tough “take a beating” finish that makes way more sense for a jon boat that’s going to see ramps, rocks, and real use. We hit a few issues along the way (because that’s how these projects go), but I handled them as they came up, and by the end I was liking the result so much that I’m seriously considering doing more of the boat in Raptor Liner—just in a different color. If you’re on the fence between paint and liner for an aluminum hull, this one’s for you.