Cerm Kote-54 ceramic epoxy for bottom of boat

[RogerBoat]

I have been searching for a solution to create a barrier coat on the bottom of my 35 yr. old fiberglass cabin cruiser used in fresh water. The gel coat shows it's age, with cracks and other repairs made over the years. Grinding off the gel coat and starting over from scratch isn't an option for me. In my literature search, most paint systems discourage using their epoxy products over surfaces like I am dealing with.

I ran across the above titled material originally designed for oil rig operations and for sealing inside fuel tanks. The literature provides outstanding characteristics for adhesiveness, barrier sealing and elacticity. They even recommend against primers since the adhesive characteristics of their product are better than most primers. Price is also attractive. Sales rep says the product has been around for years, but have had trouble introducing it into the marine boat market because boat shops are tied to tracitional epoxy application methods.

I am curious if anyone out there has experience with this product or knows reasons why I don't want to go with this product.

 

[Star]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Hey Roger,
I worked in a manufacturing plant that used a product called flake prime. it was a two part epoxy that contained a ceramic filler. I surely don't know that it is the same but it was also used to line tanks. It bonded very well but the finished was close to medium course sand paper. It did not take impact well at all. And like epoxies it will absorb water to some extent.

 

[RogerBoat]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Thanks for responding. I noticed I mispelled the name of this product....CeRamKote - 54.

Am I missing something?.....(I'm still learning)..I thought Epoxies were the king of barrier coatings. I definitely want to keep moisture out of the fiber laminents. I picked this out because it was an epoxy that provides significantly better penetration qualities than traditional epoxy.

You may be right about the finish, I need to dig deeper. I am led to believe it is a ceramic finish easy on water firiction, but the specs say to over coat it if estetic appearance is important....but, it's underwater, I am not concerned about that.

Again, aren't I looking for a barrier coat to keep water out of spider cracks made of epoxy?

Thanks

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

I just spent several minutes reading the Data sheet on this product and it appears that it would be an excellent candidate for your application. I believe Star is incorrect in his statement about epoxy. Gelcoat is not impervious to water absorption but epoxy is. This CeRamKote looks to be a very high powered product but I only know what I read. Do not know about cost or longevity in a marine environment. It might not even be available for normal consumers. But it appears to be worth looking into and could be a viable marine deck coating.

http://www.ceram-kote.com/products/index.htm

 

[andgott]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

There are a lot of products out there that are labeled/marketed as "industrial" that are perfectly suitable for marine use... Just because it doesn't say boat on it doesn't mean it can't be used. Of course, no one really wants to be the first to try them out, though!!

The paint system that I used on my last boat was not developed for marine applications initially, it was an industrial finish. It was modified to meet milspecs for government use, then rebranded and marketed as a marine paint as well. I was a bit hesitant to use it at first, because I couldn't find too many people who had actually used it, but gave it a shot, and loved it... It was a fraction of the cost of comprable 'marine' products.

 

[sprintst]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Sounds like cool stuff. It sounds like it would work but would be nice to get feedback from someone who has tried it.

The one think I did was the Interlux Ne2000 high build 2 part epoxy primer and Interlux VC performance epoxy. Thge primer has some funky plate technology in it to be extra waterproof...or so they say. The VC bottom coat is make for trailered boats and has teflon in it and is as hard as nails. It one of the things I was exceptionally happy with as there were lots of options out there.

 

[oops!]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

i really dont understand this.

the key to any job is in the prep.

if you want to repair your boat with this epoxy product you are asking about, you need to prep exactaly like you would do with a standard gellcoat repair.

we know that gellcoat lasts for over 40 years,,,,,so why do any thing different?

an epoxy coating wont protect you from a really good whack on a trailer....or a whack on a rock when you beach the yacht.

so what is the difference?

gellcoat is not water impervious, but it is good enough to keep you boat afloat for over 100 years if you kept it in the water.
so if that isnt in the range of water proof, im not sure what is.

 

[RogerBoat]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

The reason I am avoiding restoring the gel coat may be my ignorance of the process. My understanding is that I must remove the old jel coat down to fibers showing. While orbital sanding can eventually remove the flat surfaces, the ribs would probably require a lot of hand sanding. This is a lot of material to remove and seems overwelming to me.

Hence, I am looking to build a new surface that can adequately adhere to the older 35 yr surface. Please advise if I am missing a easy way to strip the old gel coat. Thanks for your input.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

Re: Cerm Kote-54 ceramic exoxy for bottom of boat

My understanding is that I must remove the old gel coat down to fibers showing.

Pretty sure this is not the case.