What type of bottom paint to use

jben

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The captain and I are trying to figure out what bottom paint to use. Let me give you a few bits of info that we need to work around. First our boat is a 2001 33' Doral. We purchased it a year ago and at that time were told that they had recently bottom painted it. We both feel that they probably touched up the paint but did not do a full re-bottom paint. When we pulled the boat this fall there were places the paint is gone and the hull is exposed and other areas that are covered. I understand that it could be due to the ablative paint simply doing its job. We are located in Iowa and it is cold. We are assuming that it is ablative paint but are not 100% certain. What type of paint would you suggest to replace/repaint. What temperature does it need to be to do the job? What work needs to be completed prior to painting? How quickly if at all do we need to get it in the water after it's painted? Can we use an electric sander to scuff up the paint? I appreciate everyone's feed back!
 
First, we need to know if your boat will sit in the water 24/7 for the season. If you haul it between uses, some bottom paints become ineffective.

If you now have ablative type, it should feel somewhat rubbery to the touch. Either way it is not normal for it to lose patches of paint. Either the bottom prep was not correct or the paint which was used incompatible with the prior paint.

Read up on the different types of bottom paint and ask your marina neighbors what they use and why.
Good luck!
 
Thank you for your response! The thought is that it was not properly applied the first time. To shorten the number of questions is their a prefered Ablative paint? Can the hull be sanded by an electric sander versus by hand. Just wanting to save some time and obviously save the back.
 
Sounds like you have an ablative on there now. When you rub your hand over the paint is it chaulky? If yes, you do have an ablative on there. Ablatives are meant to wear away so the next question is, where are the bare spots? If they are in areas of normally high wear (bow, transom areas, keel) then it may be that the previous owner only had a single coat on there. In if that's the case there is no need to sand the old stuff completely off, just a quick rough-up so the next 3 coats you need to apply will hold. BTW, you cannot apply a hard paint on top of an ablative.

If the paint is not an ablative and it seems to be coming off in chunks or flakes I would bet that you have an improperly applied hard paint. In that case I'd suggest that you get the bottom completely re-done. By that I mean sandblast down to the gel coat followed by a properly applied barrier coat and finally your bottom paint. I prefer ablatives because they don't loose their properties when the boat is hauled for long periods and they do not build-up over time.

Best of luck. Keep us posted.
 
jben
It is true that it is cold in Iowa (now) but I doubt that you can make that a consideration (other than it will be stored out of the water during winter) for the water temp as Iowa's water can be quite warm during boating season. Here is the numbers to Interlux Paints (1 800 468 7579) Pettit- (1 800-221-4466). I am trying to determine the best as well, however I do occasionally trailer the boat and a hard paint may not apply as it may be out of the water for more than 48 hours. Could the bare spots be caused by beaching the boat? Maybe by heavy cleaning? Or is it flaking off?
 
quote:

Originally posted by jben

Thank you for your response! The thought is that it was not properly applied the first time. To shorten the number of questions is their a prefered Ablative paint? Can the hull be sanded by an electric sander versus by hand. Just wanting to save some time and obviously save the back.






To save a buck by scuffing it on your own shouldn't be a big deal... By sanding it all the way down on your own with an electric sander will one of the most miserable experiences of your life. It is a very difficult, messy and toxic mess.
 
I use Interlux Micron on my boat... I trailer it for the most part but the previous owner kept it in a slip for several months each year... So far so good, the paint has held up fine and doesn't get ugly when it sits on the trailer out of the water......
 
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