Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered boat?

rebuilt

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This is my first boat paint job. I chose Easypoxy one part topcoat for the whole hull because of the ease of application. Roll and tip. It's a small (15') trailered boat. I also went with their white undercoater one part primer as part of the one part system.
That's where I may have made a mistake. In the fine print, on the primer can, it states, "Not for use below the waterline". Is that just a general disclaimer or are they saying to use a different primer? Yet Pettit states that the topcoat paint itself can be used below the waterline on a trailered boat. I hope I'm OK on this, the gallon of white undercoater primer is in the work shop, the money for this project about gone. Some help here?? Thanks, KR
 
D

DJ

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

The same rules apply, to the primer, as apply to the topcoat.. As long it doesn't sit in the water for more than 72 hours, you're fine.

I have used both of what you are using with great results.

If I could give you one tip, that would be to be patient, regardiing letting the topcoat "cure" before you splash the boat. Expose it to the sun, as much as you can, or keep it someplace warm. It gets considerably harder as time goes on.
 

BillP

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

Their primer is softer but will work fine with overcoats of Easypoxy and 72hrs is extremely conservative. Pettit is doing a major CYA on the time. I've kept Easypoxy (...and Interlux Brightsides...and West Marine Sea Gloss) in the water for 2+ wks at a time without a problem on trailer boats. I've also had rainwater sit in skiffs for months at a time without causing paint issues. Like already mentioned, these single part polyurethanes gets a lot harder after sitting a week or 4.

Why are you priming? It isn't necessary if going over virgin glass.

bp
 

tallcanadian

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

yeah, i agree. you will be fine if it's not left in the water. i trailer my boat so it's only in the water on the weekends. so far no problem.
 

rebuilt

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

Great news! I've got to prime it because the hull is 30 yrs old and whats left of the original gelcoat is dry cracked. It's not crazed, just weathered real badly. Man this is good news. What with this warm spell down south here, I might just be able to get it painted this week. I do plan to let it soak up some sun before I wet it. Pettit says to let it "cure" for a week before putting in water. I hope to have it ready by striper season. Thanks guys!, KR:):)
 

tallcanadian

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

be nice if you could post some pics. would love to see your project.
 

newbie4life

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

.........72hrs is extremely conservative. Pettit is doing a major CYA on the time. I've kept Easypoxy (...and Interlux Brightsides...and West Marine Sea Gloss) in the water for 2+ wks at a time without a problem on trailer boats.

I would almost think that the sitting in the water would be better than the 'underway' part. Water could be pretty corrosive (not so much the water, as much as the 'crap' in it) at speed...... no?
 

BillP

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

I would almost think that the sitting in the water would be better than the 'underway' part. Water could be pretty corrosive (not so much the water, as much as the 'crap' in it) at speed...... no?


I agree...paint on the boat's bottom gets beat up way worse than on the inside with standing rainwater. But then again my fishing boats usually have gas/oil, dead bait and fish gut grunge back near the transom that never makes it way out the drain hole. The paint doesn't notice that either.

bp
 

rebuilt

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

Tallcanadian, Here's the pics. The "bodywork" went real well. Extensive use of cabosill-gelcoat homemade filler. Tough sanding. Lots of it. But a lot cheaper than the "special" fillers sold. The new transom looks darn close to factory. Gelcoat-cabosill for smoothing over the new glass, rolled on then tipped out with a styrene dipped badger brush. More sanding. Then a primer coat. I had to basically resculpt the 1st 4 or 5 feet of keel. It was pretty beat up. Ground out the mashed, crushed glass, laid a hefty bed of homemade milled glass filler, a layer of 18oz roving, then a layer of 6oz cloth for a smoother finish. Faired out with the homemade cabogel (new word?) filler. Looks like new. I'm real happy to finally see it under a coat of something that looks like paint, eventhough its just primer. I made a lot of extra work for myself by not taping and papering better when I did the keel repair. I did tape and paper, just not nearly well enough. The boat is upside down, and the stuff ran everywhere. Also had some holes in the hull to fix. Some were bolt holes from the previous owner, some were cut throughs done when I cut the deck out of the inside. It's a small (15') tri-hull, and has more curves than a 23 year old woman. Read, lots of hand sanding. For some unknown reason, probably lack of experience, I didn't wipe the dribbles up with acetone soon enough. That oversight cost me a LOT of work to fix. No one can tell me that poly resin won't stick as a mechanical bond. When I went to chip the dribbles off, the original gelcoat came up with it, stuck to the dribbles. And that surface wasn't even properly prepped. I had to grind the resin runs off, then fair out and sand the grinder work. 1st coat of primer went on today. It actually looks like a boat again. I've got more pics to post, but am at the 5 pic limit. KR:):)
 

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rebuilt

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

The other pics. Primered. 'bout time. KR
 

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tallcanadian

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

you should post your pics on photobucket. it's easy and free. nice site. you got a great looking boat. did you remove the outer skin on the transom, or was it like that when you bought it? just remember though, no matter what, prepping is the key to a good paint job. after applying your primer, make sure it is sanded smooth and fair. it will the difference between a good paint job and a so so paint job. trust me on this one. lol. it happened to me.
 

ondarvr

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

Looks good, I like the new word "cabogel".
 

rebuilt

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Re: Primer question... White undercoater by Pettit OK for below waterline trailered b

I apologize for not keeping the project link updated. I just tied it to my signature, so now I don't have an excuse. This site has been good to me, it's kind of like a reciprocal duty to post progress. One of the links is full verbage, the tut. one. Might be boring for those who have already built one.The other is captioned pics only. Tallcanadian, I cut the old transom out completely, and fabbed up a new one. Full pics in the link. Hey Ondarvr, thanks. Coming from one of the resident resin experts, that's a nice compliment. KR
 
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