Bottom paint

[John B]

I have recently purchased a '77 Ty that surveyed out well and have the following plan for keeping her bottom clean.

Existing condition: the blue bottom paint is weathered but no blisters and feels chaulky, no flakes, some white showing through. I have no idea of the previous paint type.

My plan is to put Interlux Fiberglass Bottomcoat (Blue) on as a hard layer and then, after a season in the water, go to an ablative paint (possibly Interlux Bottomcoat ACT) job each following year. I will probably go with a Brown color for the ablative so I can see where I am getting thin as well as get back to traditional colors.

This is my first experience doing this type of work and really going into "uncharted waters".

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

John B

[James Mill]

John, I just did this to my boat, a 25. You may know this, but you must remove all bottom paint before doing a barrier coat, which is what I think you are referring to as a bottom coat. It is a tiresome process. Let me know more about the bottomcoat, is it an epoxy barrier coat?

--James



jtmceach@aol.com

[John B]

The first layer I am putting on (over what appears to be a sound bottom paint, I just don't know what it is) is not in the strict sense of the word a barrier coat. It is a hard antifouling bottom paint and I think I have heard people refer to it as vinyl. It's product name is Fiberglass Bottomkote by Interlux and is, by design, supposed to be able to go on over other existing bottom paints. It is not an ablative so the paint stays behind after the antifouling agent is spent.

What I was thinking was after this season and the antifouling chemical is gone, I will now have a surface that I know. And in subsequent years I will use a quality ablative paint that I know is compatible with the base layer I put on this year.

John, I just did this to my boat, a 25. You may know this, but you must remove all bottom paint before doing a barrier coat, which is what I think you are referring to as a bottom coat. It is a tiresome process. Let me know more about the bottomcoat, is it an epoxy barrier coat?

--James

john-brush@attbi.com

[Andy Denmark]

Actually, the Interlux Fiberglass Bottomkote is pretty darned good paint by itself. You could do a lot worse, and expend a lot of time and trouble, for not much gain by trying to get more sophisticated with this. Bottomkote is compatible with itself (imagine that!) and after the first coat or two this year, a light sanding with 80 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper used wet (with a touch of detergent in the water) will leave a nice smooth surface to roll on another coat. Bottomkote rolls very nicely, especially if you work from bow to stern using vertical strokes and keep a wet edge. Use a roller with about 1/4" nap and it will do fine.

This is the method we recommend to a lot of the DIY folks who want a good bottom with a minimum of really hard work and $$$.

Andy Denmark
CD-27 "Rhiannon"
Oriental, NC



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