Repainting old lacquered aluminum panels

Use stripper to remover the old paint and start fresh, that way the old stuff won't haunt you. If the original paint is enamel and not lacquer it will lift with an application of lacquer. There are one stage urethane paints that are much more durable than lacquer although much nastier in chemical composition. Check with your paint supplier to find out their recomended system for refinishing aluminum. Steve

Paint remover or perhaps lacquer thinner, but it'll damage your brain if you breathe too much of it. Or catch fire... Use the remover...

Then, there's Aluminum primer with Zinc Chromate which will allow lacquer to stick. you can get it in spray cans. Is there a Mohawk outlet in your area? One of the industrial suppliers? Home Depot?

I find that for some surfaces, a hairdryer or heat gun helps me get a uniform finish that is neither saggy nor orangepeel, and has very few embedded bits of lint / dust... / mark

Stuff wrote:

If you don't want to expose the aluminum, removal of old paint isn't on. Shoot it with a sandable automotive primer, wetsand with 400 grit wet-or-dry and a block to get a glass-smooth surface. The primer will fill in the scratches and you'll remove the overburden when sanding. It goes pretty fast; it only takes about an hour to wetsand an entire car. If the scratches are deep, you may need to glaze the divots with nitro putty and wetsand level.

It's hard to get lacquer to completely level, even on a well-prepared surface. There'll always be a bit of orangepeel. That's why lacquer finishes are usually rubbed out.