Zodiac bottom paint

[jerseyboy]

We bought a used inflatable over the winter and wanted to know if anyone paints the bottom of theirs. I plan to keep it in the water at our slip in NJ for the season so the kids can use it to putt around the bay in.

[GJH]

I first decided to paint the bottom of our Whaler after spending a few months living on moorings and having it tied off to the swim platform all the time as the family car, so to speak. Had it done in Westport, MA so it wasn't a warm water thing necessarily, though the water was fairly nice there in the summer and had a healthy current, which promotes growth. Glad I did it.

[gbharrington]

If you are going to keep it in the water you definitely want to paint the bottom. I bought white bottom paint so that it didn't stand out so much. Also you will want to get some flexible bottom paint for the portion of the tubes that will be submerged. I didn't do that, which was a mistake.

[Beckytek]

I used Aquagard inflatable bottom paint on my Achilles inflatable and it worked very well in the Chesapeake.

[saltshaker]

Your going to need to paint it if you leave it in the water. Is it a rib or does it have a soft bottom? Make sure you use a paint made for inflatables when painting any of the fabric. Not sure if there's a difference but I'd want to check compatibility with the boats material.

[luckydave215]

We've been over this a few times in the past, but here goes anyway. Paint made for inflatables is great for sticking to them, unfortunately it's also nearly useless for it's anti fouling qualities.
Experienced sailboat cruisers have an old trick to address this, it works very well:
Clean and tape for paint.
Apply a coat of SOLVENT BASED contact cement as a bonding layer.
Apply the ordinary bottom paint that works best in your area before the cement is completely dry (within 1/2 hour). Limit your choices to vinyl paint for it's flexibility and adhesion.
The dinghy can now be cleaned by a diver along with the mother ship.

[TopHattandTails]

Lake Erie use - my inflatable sits in the water April through October - hardly any use at all (maybe 1 hour a season). I use a spray on called Scatt Wax. Stuff is incredible. Never had to anything other than an immediate pressure wash on lift out in late October. I used to have to order it via internet, but lately of all places, Wally World carries it. 5 years using this and will continue.

[gbharrington]

We've been over this a few times in the past, but here goes anyway. Paint made for inflatables is great for sticking to them, unfortunately it's also nearly useless for it's anti fouling qualities.
Experienced sailboat cruisers have an old trick to address this, it works very well:
Clean and tape for paint.
Apply a coat of SOLVENT BASED contact cement as a bonding layer.
Apply the ordinary bottom paint that works best in your area before the cement is completely dry (within 1/2 hour). Limit your choices to vinyl paint for it's flexibility and adhesion.The dinghy can now be cleaned by a diver along with the mother ship.

Good post but I'm confused by the next to last and 3rd from last sentences, which seem to be contradictory.

[jerseyboy]

Thanks for all your input. You guys are always such a great resource. I tried to get the Aquaguard from Jamestown Beckytek suggested but it was back ordered. Since it's one of my projects for this weekend I'm going to try the Pettit Anti-Fouling for inflatables that I can have in a couple of days. I'll check the bottom half way through the season so we'll see how it holds up.

[luckydave215]

Good post but I'm confused by the next to last and 3rd from last sentences, which seem to be contradictory.

Inflatable tubes flex. A lot.
Experience has shown that vinyl paints put up with it better, with less cracking.
I don't care what kind of paint you apply, you can't fold up the tubes afterward without some of it flaking off. Vinyl just puts up with flexing better than others.

btw, inflatable paint puts up with flexing just fine. If only it killed critters......

[jerseyboy]

Dave if I use something like Weldwood first as you suggest, should I thin it a little or go full strength?

[luckydave215]

I've always just gooped it on full strength, but I don't see why you couldn't thin it if you want.
If you are planning to do this on a PVC boat, test the effect of the cement/thinner/paint on a sample first.
With a Hypalon boat, no common solvent is going to hurt it, but it could hurt the glued joints. So whatever you do, don't soak the joints forever with solvents. Straight-out-of-the-can contact cement dries in minutes (if not seconds), so no worries there.
I have been using this method for about 30 years with good results, and I heard about from several world cruisers who had done it forever.

[jerseyboy]

It's a Hypalon boat but I don't think I'll thin it after all. It's my project this weekend so we'll see how it goes. Thanks again to all that contributed.