FIBER GLASS HULL PAINT!!!
John Blaze
I have a 1959 deep V hull run about. 16ft with a 55 Chrysler on it.
The paint (high gloss alklyd marine paint) is flaking off below the
waterline. I asked last year what to use and it was just a waste of time.
I don't have the ability to flip the boat upside down to give it a good
sanding inorder to get the damn thing right down to the epoxy.
So I have pressure washed and scraped off the remaining loose paint. I have
read and researched and called all over the place. They say get ANTIFOULING
PAINT. So what I learn in the end is that the antifouling paint will wear
away if your going over 20mph CAUSE IT'S SOFT!! I'm in ontario fresh water
BTW.
So I'm going with a 2 part epoxy. HOPEFULLY it won't flake off next year
when it sits in the water ALL SUMMER.
This stuff is apparantly used on shop floors and is very hard, and won't
come off.
Can ANYONE please help me out with what I can do!!!!
Seriously Frustrated.........
Capt. Mooron
periods in the water. I have used a 3200psi pressure washer rented from Home
Depot and it will remove most of the existing ablative bottom paint.
Your original gelcoat waxed is the only finish you need if operating from a
trailer.
CM
Charles T. Low
Where are you? Who did you ask for advice? There are many hundreds of
thousands of fibreglass boats around, and these must all be questions that
have been answered many times before.
First off, I agree with the other poster that "bottom paint" is not needed
unless you leave your boat in the water between uses. But you do say you
leave yours in the water.
I find the "over 20 mph" thing a bit spurious. There are many types of
bottom paint, and many levels of quality. The common copper-based paints do
wear off, and many boaters touch theirs up every year or so. No big deal. On
my 26-footer (www.ctlow.ca/Trojan26), it takes me under two hours, start to
finish. (I do end up with sore muscles!) Wash it in the Fall after haul, and
then mask and paint in the Spring.
Some boaters use a primer of a contrasting colour, so they can see when the
outer layers need re-application.
Then there are teflon paints, which require quite a bit of surface
preparation. And many others. I'm not the expert on this. Boating magazines
occasionally publish articles about this. There are many books on boat
maintenance which will cover this - check www.amazon.ca.
Unfortunately, I think that often, when a paint is first applied, the
surface preparation damages or removes the original gelcoat. That's just the
way it has to be. So, just removing the paint often isn't good. Forever
after, you have to have something on the bottom, or else redo the gelcoat,
which is quite a production, and best done professionally (I think).
Copper paint slows a boat down. I don't think there is any question about
this. It slows it down less than a green growth of marine slime. The best
bottom is probably a very highly polished gelcoat which is kept out of the
water, or frequently cleaned by a person in the water. With a boat your
size, this is certainly possible, although needs to be done more often than
you would think, depending on water temperature, sunlight, and the water in
which the boat sits, among other things, so can get to be a pain if you're
pressed for time, or if the water is cold for much of your boating season.
So, almost all of the 130 boats in the water at the Brockville Yacht Club
(www.byclub.ca) are bottom painted. There are many variations. If and when I
have questions, I have no trouble finding knowledgeable advisors among the
membership. My mechanic also sells me a paint (copper) at over 60 bucks a
litre, but it's very good. I forget the name - he remembers.
Is your alkyd paint an underwater paint? Most above water paints say
explicitly on the can not for use below the water line.
A previous boat of mine (www.ctlow.ca/StellaB/StellaB.html) had an epoxy
primer with regular copper paint (high-end, not the cheap stuff) over that.
What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to keep the bottom clean? Go
fast? Do as little work as possible? Let us know and somebody will be able
to give you a more specific answer, or I'll ask around and post my findings
for you here.
====
Charles T. Low
ct...@boatUNdocking.com - remove "UN"
www.boatdocking.com
www.ctlow.ca/Trojan26 - my boat
====
"John Blaze" <spam.jo...@eudoramail.com> wrote in message
news:MlRva.6761$945....@tor-nn1.netcom.ca...
Capt. Mooron
> First off, I agree with the other poster that "bottom paint" is not needed
> unless you leave your boat in the water between uses. But you do say you
> leave yours in the water.
Where did he state he left it in the water for prolonged periods????
I have never heard of a power boat of that size using any anti-fouling of
any type. It's a 16 foot fiberglass boat.. my rowing dory is 18 feet long
and sits all season in saltwater with no antifoul and no great accumulation
of marine growth.
CM
"the other poster"
John Blaze
2nd, I have done the first coat of 2 part epoxy last night. The boat looks
great! I hope it lasts all summer in the water.
it's a 1959 boat, with a 60's motor, so last year I revamped it just up to
the point of running well without spending lots of money.
This year I am painting the boat in and out, adding seats and hiding /
properly wiring the boat.
Hopefully it'll be done by the weekend!
"Capt. Mooron" <over...@mooron.ca> wrote in message
news:F9Zva.56516$cB3.4...@nnrp1.uunet.ca...
Steve Thomas
>
> > First off, I agree with the other poster that "bottom paint" is not
needed
> > unless you leave your boat in the water between uses. But you do say you
> > leave yours in the water.
>
>
> Where did he state he left it in the water for prolonged periods????
***********
So I'm going with a 2 part epoxy. HOPEFULLY it won't flake off next year
when it sits in the water ALL SUMMER
***********
<snip>
Sounds like he's already decided anyway.
I got tired of all the sanding every year with Interlux Fiberglass
Bottomkote, so this year I switched to VC17, which is what a lot of people
use on sailboats in fresh water. I wonder if what he sees flaking off isn't
anti-fouling paint that was already on the boat and not the original paint
itself? My old nemesis comes in several colours, including white. It is
classified as a hard paint, and not ablative, but it does build up and flake
off with the annual power wash at haul out.
Capt. Mooron
I've had 20 years of fresh water experience on Great Slave Lake... I have
never seen anyone put antifouling on their powerboats.. even vessels up to
30 feet... for summer immersion. It seems it is much easier to haul the boat
out on the trailer and powerwash the hull every once in a while.
I concur with your suspicions that the paint he sees flaking off is not
original to the boat.. and if it was.. I'd be very concerned since gelcoat
should not flake off. :-)
CM
"Steve Thomas" <sthoma2...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:dY6wa.777$nT5....@news20.bellglobal.com...
Capt. Mooron
What I can't understand is that a powerboat that size can be easily removed
via the trailer and powerwashed when needed. Why would you put 2 part epoxy
paint over perfectly good gelcoat unless you had osmosis problems?
It seems like a lot of work and a bit of overkill.
CM
"John Blaze" <spam.jo...@eudoramail.com> wrote in message
news:mQ6wa.6816$945....@tor-nn1.netcom.ca...
John Blaze
five times!
So the paint above the water line is in great shape and would take forever
to sand off!
The stuff below the water line was some of the old paint flaking off. In
fact it was all flaking off.
So it was either sand the whole bottom of the boat and apply a new gel coat,
or just paint the bugga.
So, I am painting it and may take it out of the water in the week to save
painting it next year.
Either way this is a live and learn thing.
Thanks for everything guys, next year I will be asking more about gel
coating and such!!!!
HAPPY BOATING!!!!
"Capt. Mooron" <over...@mooron.ca> wrote in message
news:yp7wa.56625$cB3.4...@nnrp1.uunet.ca...