Help with bottom painting.

[newskipper]

Hi,<br /><br />My questions could sound naive but I am an entirely new boater and would appreciate your advice. <br /><br />The pre-owned boat I’ve boat has the bottom painted by an ablative paint. The coat is pretty good yet and a pro told me that I am OK for one more season. But since the boat is and will be sitting on dry land till at least February I believe it would be better to put two more coats of an ablative paint now and thus to make it OK for another two seasons and avoid lifting the boat out of the water next year. Is it correct?<br /><br />The same pro told (and I saw it too) that there was another type of paint put on the bottom prior to the ablative. In those spots, the ablative does not sit well. Should I sand and put a coat or two right on top of that “other” paint or should I sand it completely off, down to fibreglass, prime and put ablative only after that?<br /><br />There are a few bare tiny spots on the bottom – no paint at all. Should I prime them (very little spots) or I can just apply the paint?<br /><br />And the last one, please. If I paint the bottom now with an ablative but the boat will be on dry land storage till February, is it OK for the paint? Could the paint lose its features, quality?<br /><br />Any reference to boat painting reading would be appreciated.<br /><br />Thank you.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

Dont paint now!!!!!Wait until the spring or a few weeks before it hits the water.A light sand and wipeoff of the bare spots will be good prior to a coat of albative paint.ONLY use albative over albative.I would surely give a coat before you put it in the water.Charlie

 

[newskipper]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

Charlie,<br /><br />Thank you. I actually started sanding it but after reading last night some Web pages I've got the question: whether it is worth painting right now. So, the paint will bot not be as effective?<br /><br />Thanks.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

You must have good water!<br /><br />If we left a boat in for two seasons without lift-out, bottom paint or not, it would weigh twice as much!<br /><br />Still, I love the sunshine here (our main culprit!), and I believe in hauling out once a year to check over everything.<br /><br />Belt and braces ... always!<br /><br />Ciao

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

Most bottom paint will "dry out" and loose its effectiveness if not launched within specified amount of time.. The amount of time varies from paint to paint.. Can be anywhere from a few days to indefinate.. <br /><br />I'm prone to "overkill", but if it were me, I'd strip all the old bottom paint off and start with a epoxy barrier coat like "Pettit-protect" or "Interlux Interprotect" which you could do now... Then bottom paint a week or so before you launch in the spring...<br /><br /> http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/ Everything you would ever need to know about Interlux paints..

 

[Solittle]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

Two coats will not give you two seasons.<br /><br />Could you give us a bit more info - - for example fresh water or salt? Do you keep it in the water?

 

[newskipper]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

Thank you for your replies!<br /><br />The boat is 4 years old. She has been in fresh water for all 4 years (lake Michigan). From now on it will be in salt water only (British Columbia). <br /><br />As I mentioned in the first posting now she is sitting on dry land (till February). <br /><br />I examined the boat yesterday. The ablative paint she has on is in good shape. No blistering or something like that.<br /><br />I would like to put expoxy barrier but if the paint is OK for one more season I would like to use the boat for one more season and remove the old paint completely and apply epoxy next fall. <br /><br />What would you say about such a plan?<br /><br />Thank you.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

Welcome to the forums … and your new used-boat. Don’t sweat the learning curve. Cool thing about boats is anything can be fixed/replaced if needed. You will now spend the rest of your waking hours trying to figure out how to prevent that. <br /><br />If someone with knowledge told you the bottom coat is good for one more season (year) then it is likely good for at least one more season and you can wait until next year before doing anything. Other than that, follow Snapperbait’s advice in his posting above.

 

[newskipper]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

I examined the boat bottom one more time and believe it is worth applying the epoxy barrier and new paint without delay. The paint condition is marginal and I want to be able to use the boat without any stressful thinking about the bottom paint condition.<br /><br />Snapperbait advised that the epoxy barrier can be applied right now. But the Interlux booklet recommends certain temperatures for this procedure. Would it be OK if the epoxy is applied at the temperatures close to 0 С that we have now in B.C.? <br /><br />The booklet actually recommends two types of Interprotect 2000E/2001E and 3000/3001. The second is for temperatures down to 0 C. Is it the only difference between the two?<br /><br />The booklet recommends applying the bottom paint in a few hours after the last epoxy coat was applied. Does this mean that if I have to apply the paint in spring, I will have to sand the epoxy first?<br /><br />The last one: what is the most efficient way to remove the old ablative paint – sanding or washing it off with some chemical stuff like a solvent?<br /><br />Thank you.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

i may be wrong, but aren't barrier coats intended more for boats that will spend most of their lives in the water, such as large yatchs?<br /><br />i bring it up because it sounds like the suggestions thus far are overkill. unless i'm missing something, i would just clean the hull well, light sand to remove loose paint, clean again, then apply one to two coats of new ablative paint. i would use interlux micron csc, as it has served me well. my boat stays in the water from march - december, and i easily get thru the full season with one heavy coat.<br /><br />not disagreeing with anyone, as i admit i don't know everything about bottom paint, just what has worked for me.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

As far as epoxys go, with temps that low, I'd wait for warmer weather..<br /><br />Interprotect 3000 would have to be painted over with 2000 or outher suitable primers before you could apply bottom paint... IMO, 3000 is about a worthless product..<br /><br />You could also use a product called "Gluvit" as a barrier coat.. It's a two part epoxy , and it's what i used.. You would have to sand Gluvit before you painted, reguardless of the amount of drying time...<br /><br />As for removing old bottom paint, sandblasting is the way to go, but expensive... Best bet, buy lots of heavy grit sandpaper for the powersander.. <br /><br />Be sure to wear a good dust mask...(nasty stuff in bottom paint)..

 

[newskipper]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

I cannot resolve a funny question: how to paint the bottom spots that are not accessible due to the 4 supports and 2 blocks that keep the boat sitting on dry land. <br /><br />I can sure ask to lift the boat but it is CND$150 every move. If I go this way, it looks like I need to get it moved at least two times to cover the spots: first for removing the old paint, sanding and applying epoxy barrier and after that to paint it.<br /><br />Is there any way to get around? Thank you.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Help with bottom painting.

do a search on this site for bottom painting. lots of threads and posts where people offer their methods of doing this very thing. i've done it two ways- jacking it off the trailer in different locations to get to the hidden areas, and also pulling the boat off the trailer and onto jack stands.