Non ablative bottom paint

[Margarita III]

My boat (25' Searay) has several coats of copper based paint on the bottom now. Very rough. Since it is no longer in the water for long periods, I would like to remove the old stuff and repaint with a simple non ablative epoxy, off white to match the origional gelcoat. I can't find such a paint in Interlux or Pettit and am not even sure a marine paint is necessary. Maybe somthing like Imron industrial paint is best. Any suggestions?

 

[Monterey10]

Many of the newer boats are using an epoxy bottom paint. The epoxy is hard as nails and will prevent blisters from forming on the bottom of the boat. (if your boat is inclined to have blisters.)

Taking the existing bottom paint off is tricky. It's poisonous. The guys at the yard are wearing paper suits, respirators and sanders with vacuum attachments. I've heard of some back yard jobs where people have used easy off or a wet sander. Just keep the stuff out of your lungs and off your body. It may be better off having a yard do the job.(properly)

 

[Flutterby]

If you change bottom paints to anything or nothing, you'll have to get down to the gelcoat first.
Why are you against ablative paints? They can be used on trailered boats just fine. Stick with a well known brand such as Interlux.

 

[Bob J]

Paul, Pettit makes a line of bottom paints called Vivid. It has a white in the line plus website shows formulas for 18 other colors by blending the 6 main colors. If you are going to leave boat in water for even short periods of time, you really should have some type of AF paint on bottom. Doesn't take long for those nasty sea creatures to make your hull home; especially in salt water.
Before I switched to ablative I used to remove old hard epoxy with a sharp 2.5"-3" wood chisel. Sorta like usin a razor to remove paint of window panes after painting. Just stay away from any radii.

 

[MikeeH]

Hard bottom paints lose effectivness when out of the water for even a few weeks; ablatives by virtue of their slothing off capability do not lose effectiveness when out of the water for even months. Hard "epoxy paints... meant to prevent blisters" are barrier coats and do not contain biocides that the boat needs to prevent growth of "stuff" on the bottom. Barrier coats and bottom paints are two completely different products with different processes and different purposes.

If you do strip the existing hard bottom paint you will probably remove some gelcoat during the process. For that reason it is advisable to apply a barrier coat before you apply a bottom paint otherwise you are likely to have blistering and delamination issues later on. I also agree that it's best to leave the striping job to the pros... its messy, hard and you can really screw-up the boat it not done properly.

 

[MIke F]

If yuo try to match the existing gelcoat, it will look like a repair job and may deflate the value of the vessel when you sell it. I would recommend that you apply the teflon/vinyl based bottom paint made by Asko-Noble (sp)-- I believe is called VC-17. It will give your modest protection and continue the appearance of bottom paint. It is super thin and very easy to apply. I have it on my vessel and find it works great (note I am in fresh water)