Bottom paint

[Liquid Asset]

I know that people have asked what type of bottom pain before, but I would like to see if yall can help me know the differences in types of bottom paints and their advantages and disadvantages.

Unfortunetly when we purchased our boat we had to do a lot of work out of town in Panama City and the Marina who did this work screwed us in a lot of ways (not supprising to us). But there was not a lot we coudl do about where we got the work done since we had to do work before the boat could travel home. We hauled on friday to replace some thru-hulls and we found that the bottod job they did is flaking off because of the bad prep work. They were soposed to sand the hull down to gelcoat before painting, but they obviously did not since we can still see the blue undercoat that we there from long ago in the boats life. Durring survay there was no paint in a lot of areas and we coudl see the blue below the black paint and we decided to have them sand and re paint. They did not do the sanding correctly and our new black paint is flaking off in many areas.

Because of this, we are going to have to re-paint. What I can't figure out is how to make a good educated decision on bottom paint. It seems everyone has an opinion on what type of paint to use and not to use. Sorry for the long post.

 

[captddis]

Micron 66 hands down, nothing comes close

 

[Jackman]

I'm not a pro with this but I wouldn't attempt to sand the bottom of your boat...mainly because of its size. It would be an enormous task that I gaurentee you'dd swear after the back and neck surgery you'd need that you'd never do it again! I would locate somone who does soda blasting and get them to blast it down to the gelcoat. This should take about a day or less and then start with a good barrier coat and then the ablative of choice. I started to sand with mine, only 32ft and died half way through it after weeks (weekends) of work. Not to mention the chemicals in the bottom paint....you don't want to get it on you or breathe it in. Let someone else do it by sodablasting. For peace of mind watch them do it if you must. Most guys who do it go to your location when its on the hard.

 

[J's Dream]

Look for a quality bottom paint with a high copper (cuprous oxide) content. This number can be up to about 70% like in Petit's Trinidad SR. A low copper content does not have the ability to resist marine growth as well. If you can find an off brand with high copper, that'll work, but usually the store brands have 25%-40% copper. Spend the extra money on a good paint, and if you're in the south like me where hauling the boat is just so you can repaint, you can get an extra two or three years out of a quality paint (which is well worth the extra few hundred dollars on the initial cost of the paint).

 

[Genesis]

I've run Trinidad SR and have been happy with it, along with Micron's CSC - both have been excellent paints.

I get about 2 years out of a bottom job here.....

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

I put 3 coats of Micon CSC on our boat almost 3 years ago and was planning on hauling her out this spring to redo it but my diver says there is no need to as the paint is doing great.
The boat had Micon 66 when I bought it and it also had lasted over 3 years.
Preparation, Preparation Preparation is the key to any paint job.
I had the hull pressure washed when she was hauled. Then soda blasted (was new at the time and costed me $100 to have done by a company that was just starting out) which was a God-sent.... Saved a ton of time and does a super job.
I then waited a day to let the hull dry, put one coat on a day for 3 days then let it sit 2 days before having it splashed.
I used CSC the last time as a friend of ours was able to get the paint for me for $75 a gal thru his business.... So am not saying CSC is better than the "66"... But the price was right!!!

 

[Liquid Asset]

The marina I am hauled in does not allow media blasting. They say it is because of the EPA, but I dont think so. They will allow me to sand it with a vacume sander, or they will do it for a price. They actually dont have to bad of a price, it is the exact same as the soda blasting would cost. I will most likely let them do the prep work and i will then paint. I dont feel like having black bottom paint all over me. There was a guy in the yard sanding his bottom on Saturday and he looked like Papa Smurf.

We do not have a lot of growth problem here as long as we clean the bottom every 3 months. Fortunetly, the majority of what we get is the green algae growing on the waterline. Maybe the slime resistance is the way to go.

Have any of you ever heard of Bluewater paint?

 

[Genesis]

We're in an absolutely awful area for growth - our water in the bays (where all the docks are) is brackish and for some reason this encourages LOTS of hard growth.... so your paint really gets a workout.

 

[REBrueckner]

An ablative paint, like CSC, that is multiseason and which gradually sloughs off to reduce sanding and paint removal is the way to go. Initial preparation/removal/coating may be more work, but then it's advantageous for many years. I haven't seen comparative test results in quite a while but Interlux had a test boat in New Rochelle NY which I saw hauled about six or eight years ago...About 1/4 of the bottom was covered with rectangular squares of multicolored different bottom paints...so they at least do some real world testing..
The last test study I saw showed that different paints perform "best" in different sections of the country...It may have been a PowerBoats Reports analysis. So getting local advice is likely as good a way as any to make a decision.