Do I need antifouling paint?

wilsontowing

Cadet
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
29
When I got my boat last fall, the prev. owner kept it docked, so he had antifouling paint put on it. I am going to be painting my boat because of the smurf blue color it is, and my question is.. Do I need antifouling paint? It is fiberglass and will only be in freshwater, I will be trailering it everytime so at the longest it will be in water is if I stay the night on a Island. Or can i get by with just painting the whole hull one solid color? If so what is the best way to get the antifouling paint off, just orbital sander? Thanks..
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

No you do Not need anti fouling paint for your described usage. For proper prep, sanding and cleaning with acetone should do the trick. I highly recommend Pettits undercoater primer and EasyPoxy topside paint. It is easy to apply with foam rollers and yields a high gloss quality result. Make SURE to use the Primer!!!! Even though it says topside it can and is used all the time for the hull on trailered boats. Stands up very well over time.

Check this out.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=365820&highlight=1962&page=28

Good Luck with your Project
 

Shife

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
404
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

Do not sand unless it is your last resort. Bottom paint is nasty toxic stuff. That's how it works, it kills living organisms. If you sand you will need a full tyvek chem suit, full face respirator (no half face or paper, goggles won't protect your eyes from this stuff). It will take forever to sand it off. All of it must be removed before any type of barrier coat is applied. I have been there and done that on 40ft racing sailboats. You will spend 5 times more money trying to sand bottom paint than what it will cost you to chemically strip it.


I highly recommend this product:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10918|296162|309353&id=167849

It is applied to the hull and covered with a special paper. After a set period you peel away the paper and the bottom paint comes off with it. It will remove everything except the gel coat, so if you are blister free and your gel coat is still in good shape you will be able to forgo applying a barrier coat where the bottom paint used to be. If you sand you will be forced to apply a barrier coat to repair the damage to the gel coat from sanding.

The Peel Away seems expensive up front, but trust me it far far cheaper than the time and cost involved in sanding bottom paint.
 

mrdjflores

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Messages
1,169
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

i went through about 20 sheets of 80 grit (5" round with an electric DA sander) to remove all the AF paint and subsequent other paints (boat had 4 layers on the bottom of the hull)

22' boat
 

wilsontowing

Cadet
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
29
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

it seems that it may be just as easy to do new af paint? to paint the hull i can just sand and thin the old paint then do the primer and new paint right? if i was to do new af paint can i just scuff with sand paper and go over light the top paint??? Thanks P.s. I'm guessing its a no no to sand blast the paint?
 

Shife

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
404
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

it seems that it may be just as easy to do new af paint? to paint the hull i can just sand and thin the old paint then do the primer and new paint right? if i was to do new af paint can i just scuff with sand paper and go over light the top paint??? Thanks P.s. I'm guessing its a no no to sand blast the paint?

Do you know what kind of paint is on there now? There is much more to bottom paint than just sanding and reapplying. Most bottom paints are not compatible with each other. Some, such as Pettit SR21 and Interlux VC17 are basically the same thing and can be interchanged and applied over each other with minimal prep. Others must be completely removed before applying another type.

Here's a chart to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare/tech_bulletins/compatibilitychart.pdf

Another issue you will have is that you will need to use a trailerable bottom paint if you choose to reapply. Most do not tolerate trailer use.

You could hire someone to soda blast it, but that will cost more than a DIY chemical strip. I would not walnut blast a glass hull and I would not allow an amateur to soda blast either. If you compromise the gel coat you will foster an environment for hull pox (blisters) and it will bite you in the a** later on down the road. I cannot stress enough how much you don't want to try to sand this. I have sanded far more bottom paint in my racing career than anyone should ever want to expose themselves to. Trust me, a chemical strip will save you mucho time and money.
 

sprintst

Commander
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Messages
2,066
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

Since you're freshwater and trailering I'd go with the Interlux VC performance epoxy. Tough as nails and slick with teflon.

Check on Interlux's site to see what the prep is to go overtop of your previous bottom paint. The VC stuff goes on more like milk so next time I'll spray it on.

Just read the stuff for you and it look like they want the old bottom paint gone first.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2330
 

Shife

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
404
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

Don't spray epoxy unless you have a positive pressure respirator. Atomized epoxy is extremely hazardous to your eyes and lungs. Not typically a DIY operation.
 

cc190cc

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
198
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

If the paint is in ok shape, not peeling off, just scuff it up with a red 3m scuff pad. If you are going to sand make sure you use 300 or finer grit or you will see sand scratches through the paint.

If you use Easypoxy read the directions, you have to wait like 24 hours between coats or something like that, thats why i dint use.

Chad
 

Shife

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
404
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

If the paint is in ok shape, not peeling off, just scuff it up with a red 3m scuff pad. If you are going to sand make sure you use 300 or finer grit or you will see sand scratches through the paint.

If you use Easypoxy read the directions, you have to wait like 24 hours between coats or something like that, thats why i dint use.

Chad

Applying Easypoxy over an ablative antifouling will just ensure that the Easypoxy falls off after a few outings. Both Interlux and Pettit have charts detailing what must be done before the next product is applied. If the previous coating cannot be identified, it must be removed.
 

wilsontowing

Cadet
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
29
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

alright, I have no idea what type of bottom paint it is, its not smooth, its like an orange, almost like orange peel on a car but you can feel it when rubbed, and the paint is in good condition the only peeling is on the striping, i just cant stand the smurf-blue.. Also can I just paint from the af paint up, the af paint goes a bout 4inch above the water line. So could I just tape off down to about an inch or so of the af paint and paint from there up? And what is some good putty to fill in some gouges? Thanks
 

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Shife

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
404
Re: Do I need antifouling paint?

Sure, you can paint the topsides whatever you want (the topsides is the area between the rub rail and the boot stripe (waterline)).
 
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