We plan to keep our aluminum RIB - we love the dinghy - it's just a PITA with all the paint flaking off. Having said that, the weight difference is what made us choose it to begin with and since we have it, we're in it for the long term. When we strip it, we'll try to make sure to use the chemical and then primer & paint. Keeping my fingers crossed. I guess we could just let it all flake off until we didn't have flakes anymore & then it wouldn't be a problem! Cheers! Jan