Bottom Paint

Vitaliy · Post by **Vitaliy** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:02 am

Has any one used this stuff? comments?

http://www.iboats.com/Black-Fiberglass- ... _id.730243

im trying to find a decent price solution for my bottom job for when i get back but honestly i don't think i want to spend another $850 for 3 gallons of interlux micron... any thoughts or suggestions?

lawyerdave71 · Post by **lawyerdave71** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:43 am

I use this paint in blue though.

It went on very well.

It works well, but I am in Lake Michigan and I am cheap!

My boat is coming out tomorrow or Thursday so I will let you know how it held up after a season and a pressure washing.

Vitaliy · Post by **Vitaliy** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:52 am

that would be awesome man, and honestly it has nothing to do with cheap, i just dont see a reason to purchase something for 4x the price that will do the same job.... however also i dont haul my boat ever season, i get it bottom scraped twice a year and try to haul it every year for inspection purposes.... this time since i got deployed on short notice and still will be for a few more months i didn't get a chance to yank her out of the water so she will sit for a little over 1.5 before she gets some love.

Vitaliy · Post by **Vitaliy** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:55 am

also still debating if i want to do it the "proper" way and sand the micron off first then repaint with primer and then that stuff or just power wash and glob over...

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:09 pm

Unless , you have a build up the proper way is to wash and lightly sand , being Micron CSC is a ablative you should not have a heavy build up . I normally power wash sand as needed and paint , no issues with areas I don't sand . using 3 gallons of paint you should get 2 good coats and that should last 2 years ( 1 year per coat of ablative ) . I have very good luck with west marine paints . I use the PCA Gold myself .

Remeber you have ablative paint . you can only cover it with a ablative paint . if you go with a hard paint the ablative has to be completly removed . But it is ok to put ablative over hard paint.

Vitaliy · Post by **Vitaliy** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:15 pm

well soon ill be approaching that mark with the ablative paint, however i was thinking of putting down the next coat with the pain referred to in the first post, do i still put down the primer coat on top of the old paint and then 2x of the bottom paint?

originally the boat was completely striped when i first got it, it had so much paint kegged onto it that the poor guy that was doing it spent dam near 3 weeks grinding it off at about 10 hours per day... it was a lot of paint... after that she received 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of interlux micron... but as i said the price tag was a little high for me and i wanted to see if this would be a suitable replacement...

Lawman · Post by **Lawman** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:29 pm

$850 does seem high, i used this Interlux ACT, it's ablative and works very good but it's not multi-season, only seasonal.

http://www.boatersland.com/int-fbkactg.html

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:18 pm

primer coat ? no primer should be needed over the bottom paint .

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:28 pm

prowlersfish wrote:Unless , you have a build up the proper way is to wash and lightly sand , being Micron CSC is a ablative you should not have a heavy build up . I normally power wash sand as needed and paint , no issues with areas I don't sand . using 3 gallons of paint you should get 2 good coats and that should last 2 years ( 1 year per coat of ablative ) . I have very good luck with west marine paints . I use the PCA Gold myself .

Remeber you have ablative paint . you can only cover it with a ablative paint . if you go with a hard paint the ablative has to be completly removed . But it is ok to put ablative over hard paint.

+1

I got 3 years (fresh water) out of my original application of 3-4 coats Micron CSC, with just touching up bad spots each spring. Last year I gave it 2 more coats, and as of haulout this year I have a half dozen spots (including a couple from over-agressive power washing by the marina) that just need a splash and I am done.

With Bottomkote I think you need to reapply every year. Since it works on a leeching principle, it leeches all the bad stuff out and becomes less and less effective of an antifouling over time. Even if you still have good coverage, it might do nothing to retard growth (which will affect speed and fuel economy by 10, 20, 30% or more).

Also Paul's comments re hard over ablative ... Check out the Interlux charts for exactly what you have (there are differences depending on if it is Micron CSC or Extra, or 33 / 44c, and if you use Bottomkote, Bottomkote XXX, or Bottomkote ACT in the 2-3 year old chart I have). You are likely either 'heavy sand and apply', or 'remove all paint'...

I switched from VC17 to Micron CSC. 'Remove all Paint'. 100 hours labour for my F32. Even wearing a mask, I had blue snot for about two weeks.

boatsnbars · Post by **boatsnbars** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:32 pm

I switched to water based HydroKote. It's ablative, cleans up with water and works great.

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:01 pm

Stay away from the hard shelled paint or hard/ablative hybrid. I say pure ablative all the way. How long it lasts is dictated by the number of coats you put on and the type of boating you do. Apply addittional coats on leading and trailing ends as these will wash away faster. The hardest part is prepping if you have a hard shelled paint on already as you should remove it because it just eventually flakes off and takes your expensive overcoats with it. But after that, never flake again. Doesn't need to be painted every year like most hard shelled paints that leach out thier biocide and are then ineffective, reactivates once in contact with water after lay up, cleaning or removal is simply a matter of wiping off, and doesn't have to be launched 48 hours after application. IMO, for our type of boating, ablative is best.