Barrier coat followup.

[Richard Formica]

Last winter or early spring there was a thread about what to do with those dime sized blisters in the gel coat. I would like to give followup to that discussion. Last fall I stipped the bottom of my 36. The boat had been in the south before I bought her, kept in the water year round. She had numerous coats of Petit Epoxy on the bottom. After thoroughly stripping the bottom, I found areas of small superficial blisters. These were dime sized, as other have described, and limited to the gel coat. I addressed these in the following way. Stripped and completely sanded the hull. Opened up as many of the blisters as I could. The truth is while sanding the hull many of these opened. I allowed the hull to dry. This was aided by a very warm September last year. I chose the Interlux Product. First I used 1000 to seal the base of the blisters. This is messy and will run. Then I put two coat of the 3000 on the entire hull. The direction are very clear regarding temperature and time between coats and I followed them exactly.
Then I took some 3000 and mixed in the West Marine Low Density Filler. I made this the consistency of oatmeal. I used this to fair the hull. It was easy to sand after it dried. I was very pleased with the result. To finish I applied 3-4(can't quite remember) coats of 3000. This was more than the instructions called for but I decided to finish using what I had purchased. The direction do imply more is better and the person at the help line confirmed this. Multiple thin coats are better than a few thick coats. I let this stand over the winter. In the spring I lightly sanded the hull, 100 grit paper, and apply a bottom coat of blue Micron CSC and a tip Coat of green Micron CSC. I chose not to use the the bottom prep and apply the bottom paint 'hot' at the advice of a local old timer.
The boat came out yesterday. She is moored on the Connecticut River and I sail in the Sound. The bottom was clean after a full season, April through December. The bottom looked pristine. Next spring I will merely touch up a few spots with fresh Micron and she will go back in.

I recommend this to everyone. I am relatively inexperienced and had no trouble with this. My total expenses were about $500 dollars. (Buy the 3000 through Defender Industries) Which included enough Peel Away Paint Stripper to thoroughly clean the hull and money wasted on the West Marine equivalent. The time commitment is substantial. However, most of it is in hull prep which can be done whenever time presents. Using the 3000 is easy because you have more time between coats and can be used at colder temperatures, which is helpful in the northeast. I would just apply a coat before work come back in a few days and do a second coat etc. When I had this job priced by a yard it was close to $5000.00. So there is a substantial savings to be had.
Happy Holidays.
rich
s/v Inerarity



richard.formica@yale.edu

[John Schanafelt]

Rich and other do-it-yourselfers.
Thanks for your story. Beats all the adv. hoop-la. Just a quick comment on the grit of the lite sanding paper. 100 grit open coat paper will remove a lot of material in a hurry. As a cabinet maker, I use 100 grit on hardwood to level joints. 150 or 180 grit would preserve your investment in materials and give you a very faired surface. The old less is more thing.
John

Last winter or early spring there was a thread about what to do with those dime sized blisters in the gel coat. I would like to give followup to that discussion. Last fall I stipped the bottom of my 36. The boat had been in the south before I bought her, kept in the water year round. She had numerous coats of Petit Epoxy on the bottom. After thoroughly stripping the bottom, I found areas of small superficial blisters. These were dime sized, as other have described, and limited to the gel coat. I addressed these in the following way. Stripped and completely sanded the hull. Opened up as many of the blisters as I could. The truth is while sanding the hull many of these opened. I allowed the hull to dry. This was aided by a very warm September last year. I chose the Interlux Product. First I used 1000 to seal the base of the blisters. This is messy and will run. Then I put two coat of the 3000 on the entire hull. The direction are very clear regarding temperature and time between coats and I followed them exactly.
Then I took some 3000 and mixed in the West Marine Low Density Filler. I made this the consistency of oatmeal. I used this to fair the hull. It was easy to sand after it dried. I was very pleased with the result. To finish I applied 3-4(can't quite remember) coats of 3000. This was more than the instructions called for but I decided to finish using what I had purchased. The direction do imply more is better and the person at the help line confirmed this. Multiple thin coats are better than a few thick coats. I let this stand over the winter. In the spring I lightly sanded the hull, 100 grit paper, and apply a bottom coat of blue Micron CSC and a tip Coat of green Micron CSC. I chose not to use the the bottom prep and apply the bottom paint 'hot' at the advice of a local old timer.
The boat came out yesterday. She is moored on the Connecticut River and I sail in the Sound. The bottom was clean after a full season, April through December. The bottom looked pristine. Next spring I will merely touch up a few spots with fresh Micron and she will go back in.

I recommend this to everyone. I am relatively inexperienced and had no trouble with this. My total expenses were about $500 dollars. (Buy the 3000 through Defender Industries) Which included enough Peel Away Paint Stripper to thoroughly clean the hull and money wasted on the West Marine equivalent. The time commitment is substantial. However, most of it is in hull prep which can be done whenever time presents. Using the 3000 is easy because you have more time between coats and can be used at colder temperatures, which is helpful in the northeast. I would just apply a coat before work come back in a few days and do a second coat etc. When I had this job priced by a yard it was close to $5000.00. So there is a substantial savings to be had.
Happy Holidays.
rich
s/v Inerarity

johnnyd@sydcom.net