Pontoon Bottom Paint

mustangman

Cadet
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
13
I live in Florida and have posed this question to different manufacturers and have not been able to get an answer. I leave my boat in salt water and for the last 2 years I have used Blue Water Marine Shelter Island bottom paint. I do not like it at all. It still allows barnacles slime and any other critter that wants to to stick on my pontoons. The ONLY thing it helps with is making them a little easier to scrape off. I want to change this year to a different manufacturer.

My question is: If you properly prime the pontoons so there is a primer barrier between the outer paint and pontoon what difference does it make what outer coating type paint you use. All of the paint manufacturers say to only use their version of Aluminum bottom paint which is always more expensive.

I would certainly appreciate any input or experiences you may have had. Thanks Bill L.
 

HarborRat

Seaman
Joined
Jan 3, 2014
Messages
51
Re: Pontoon Bottom Paint

I'm also in Florida (SW) and keep my toon in the saltwater. I've tried many different paints in the past with no success. Last year I put on Interlux Pacifica plus and when I pulled it this year to do maintenance there were no barnacles OR slime. I'm not sure if it will last a full two years but so far it is much better than anything else I tried (including copper based paint on my fiberglass boats). I should have coated my transducer with it too, as the transducer paint I used did not do much....completely covered in growth I can't remove in the same time period.

If you use a good sealer on aluminum they say you can use copper paint....but I wouldn't risk it.
 

mustangman

Cadet
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
13
Re: Pontoon Bottom Paint

Awesome HarborRat. Thank you. I have been looking for a first hand account of someone using a particular brand that actually works. I don't have any brand loyalty just want something that works. I am going to try it.
 
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