I have a 14 ft aluminum that has factory paint and decals on it. I want to camo it out for duck season next year. What is the best way to prep the surface for new paint?

Scuff it up good with some 3M pads or sand paper. Be sure to get any areas that are peeling extra cleaned up. Clean the surface to remove dust,oil, etc.., apply aluminum primer, and paint. I like to spray with my gun, but rattle can would work. I have done everything from duck boats to pontoons this way in my shop. Having all the tools for automotive painting sure helped but would not have been necesary

This subject has been extensivelly discussed in this forum many times. Go back and read some of those old posts and you'll get some great info.

I know Dtro posted a detailed play by play of his remodel on the Catcraft a while back... I can't find it however.

i did the same thing you are trying to do last summer on my 16ft lund. all i did is sand the entire boat, peal the decals of(make sure though to get all the adhesive off), whipe it completely down with laquer thiner and spray the paint. i just bought a cheap $20 spray gun from menards. i was really pleased with the results. paint stuck well

I painted my boat last year for duck hunting. All i did was took stripper and cleaned the whole thing with it. Area this decals is flaking off but th3 rest of the paint seems pretty good.

I scrubbed my boat with 3m pads and cleanser. There's no need to bring it down to bare metal. Then after a goooood rinsing, I wash it down with a solution of water and TSP, tri-sodium-phosphate. Rinse again, and after drying, spray on a base coat of flat tan paint. The camo pattern is done next. My #2 son used a handful of cattail leaves as a template and when they got paint laden, he beat them off on the hull in a bunch of splatters. He used olive drab, dark brown, and a little flat black. Be sure to do the inside as well as the outside. High flying waterfowl can look down into the boat.