Be The Change - Bottom Paint

[Billy Buck]

I’m in the middle of my first foray taking anti fouling off the bottom of a boat. In a word - disgusting. Another word - disappointing. This can’t be the best we can do as yachtspeople.

I don’t know what paint is on my boat. I did find a quart of Interlux something but it’s gone and I don’t recall what it was other than it matched the colour on the bottom of the boat. Some of the paint is coming off like chalk, other sections the paint is hard as steel. Feels like two different products.

I’ve sanded which I can’t in good conscience continue to do. Unless I tent the boat and use a dust collection system which costs money I don’t have. I’d like to think there’s an accessible way through this.

I’ve used Interstrip and scraped which, unless I glob on in ways that will call for 18 gallons of the stuff, has been ineffective.

What do I do next? Is there a product to contain and or seal in this paint and then apply a new bottom paint over? That won’t cost me a fortune. That I can still get a nice, smooth finish with? I’m looking at Aqua Guard and Pettit Ultra Eco.

What can we do to make anti fouling a responsible endeavour? What can I do to the bottom of my boat?

[slug]

Typically you use a “tie” coat

A primer before antifoul

Google international paints

[Jim Cate]

when I did a "back to gel coat" job on our previous boat I used a carbide scraper as the primary removal tool. Lots of work, but the paint came off in fairly large bits that fell to the ground and did not become airborne. Use of a drop cloth under the work area makes cleanup fairly straightforward. And FWIW, the 17 years worth of hard bottom paint made around 400 lbs of "stuff in the barrel" when I was done.

Touchup sanding after scraping left a nice surface for primer and new bottom paint.

Jim

[Allied39]

I am constantly dumbfounded by how many folks get themselves covered in bottom paint.
A dust collection system involves a rigid 6 inch random orbitol sander and a rigid wet/dry vac . Buy an extra hose. The rigid 6 inch orbitol is ready to connect a vac. A couple of dollars on the right size pvc and a heat source and you can knock up an adapter in about 3 minutes.
All that costs under $200 bucks from home dopey. If you do not have $200 to keep toxic bottom paint off your skin and out of your lungs then there's nothing to say......other than stop until you do.
Seriously, it's not that hard. You can set this up and be clean at the end of a days sanding.
Set it up and then run 40 grit paper. Clean the filter often by taking the top off and placing the whole top of the vac in a big garbage bag. Bang on the filter from outside to dislodge the dust. All the dust stays in the bag.
Remember, no matter what, this will take time. Other than throw money at this (soda blast or pay some one)it's what is gonna have to be done.
Good luck!
This message for the OP, not interested in argueing or dealing with the trolls.

[gamayun]

Yeah, I'm with Allied. When I took all the flakey, chalky bottom paint off my boat, maybe 30 years worth, there must have been about 200 pounds of it. All this copper and other nasty stuff would eventually flow to some waterway when it rains. It's a lot of time to sand -- I tried scraping and didn't have the money to have someone blast it off -- but totally happy now to have done the work.

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by Allied39

I am constantly dumbfounded by how many folks get themselves covered in bottom paint.
A dust collection system involves a rigid 6 inch random orbitol sander and a rigid wet/dry vac . Buy an extra hose. The rigid 6 inch orbitol is ready to connect a vac. A couple of dollars on the right size pvc and a heat source and you can knock up an adapter in about 3 minutes.

I'd consider adding a five-gallon-bucket cyclone to that.

[Rucksta]

Scrapper is good for bulk removal.
There's nothing like a good sand to get the finish.

Yes soda blasting works but a good starting surface is needed to produce a good finishing surface without a sanding process.

Sand wet with an air powered orbital sander.
400lts / min will keep pace with two 6" sanders on a 75% duty cycle.

Rig sprinkler hoses on the toe rail.
Clean up the mess with the fire hose or if you are at a yard like Boat Works the staff do this duty daily.

An environmentally conscious boat yard will have a containment system for the run off.


Consider ultra sonic foul reduction.
It can increase the time between recoating.

[LittleWing77]

Can't go wrong with Jim Cate's advice. He's only been sailing and maintaining their own boat for - what - something like 50 or 60 years now...?

And that Mad Max look in your eye, Billy (second pic), I can see it's going to be either you or the boat! Keep it simple - lots of sweat equity, but a beautiful and personal pride result in the end.

Did it myself last Spring and it was my shoulders and neck that got hit hard, holding the damn grinder over my head for days on end... (30' boat). Wish I'd had Jim's advice then. I think I was being too timid. Shouldda started off with a scraper.

Good luck!
LittleWing77

[Billy Buck]

Thank you Little Wing77. Much appreciated. I will go with Mr. Cate’s advice.

[flyingfin]

You are painting the bottom of your boat, not a Ferrari. Only the fish will see it. And anti-fouling works in part by sloughing off when the little animals try to attach to it. I see too many OCD painters wasting their efforts in simple bottom jobs

[TideTime]

The product I used 15 years ago to remove 17 years of anti-fouling paint on boat (so-called "yard maintaine") I purchased was a chemical remover called Peel Away. This was a paste like product that you covered with a laminated paper (supplied with product) and, yes it involved work, but much more effective with less effort and cleaner than attempting to remove paint via sanding. I removed all paint to original gel-coat, lightly sanded, then barrier coated using Interlux InterProtect 2000 prior to applying Pettit Trinidad (probably the best hard bottom paint). You might consider applying a tracer coat of one color followed by final contrasting coat. I have recently switched to an ablative paint, but wish I had stuck with Trinidad.

[barnakiel]

We used a commercial grade power wash and asked our boatyard guy specifically to go hard on and close in. Intimate, brutish even! We paid him a small fee over what the boatyard paid him in his hourly.


Worked charms. About 2hrs work on a small hull.



b.

[clakiep]

Originally Posted by Billy Buck

I’m in the middle of my first foray taking anti fouling off the bottom of a boat. In a word - disgusting. Another word - disappointing. This can’t be the best we can do as yachtspeople.

I don’t know what paint is on my boat. I did find a quart of Interlux something but it’s gone and I don’t recall what it was other than it matched the colour on the bottom of the boat. Some of the paint is coming off like chalk, other sections the paint is hard as steel. Feels like two different products.

I’ve sanded which I can’t in good conscience continue to do. Unless I tent the boat and use a dust collection system which costs money I don’t have. I’d like to think there’s an accessible way through this.

I’ve used Interstrip and scraped which, unless I glob on in ways that will call for 18 gallons of the stuff, has been ineffective.

What do I do next? Is there a product to contain and or seal in this paint and then apply a new bottom paint over? That won’t cost me a fortune. That I can still get a nice, smooth finish with? I’m looking at Aqua Guard and Pettit Ultra Eco.

What can we do to make anti fouling a responsible endeavour? What can I do to the bottom of my boat?

Attachment 219160

Listen, where the old paint sticks and is hard as steel just leave it there. It is obviously a formidable primer. Just sand it to have a rough surface and paint it over with the paint You choose.

[Lancerbye]

11 years ago, two years after I had purchased the boat I went for a haul out to paint the bottom. Finding chunks falling off and 20 years of old bottom paint I decided to bite the bullet and go for a down to the gel coat removal of the paint. There were multiple types of paint layers which had different hardness. I decided that this was going to be too much of a job at my age, so I let the yard do it. It had to be tented from the rails down. Two young men took three weeks using scrapers, chemicals, grinders and sanders to get down to the gel coat. Another week to apply 5 coats of Interprotect and 4 coats of ablative bottom paint. It was expensive but looked good after all was done.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Billy Buck

I’m in the middle of my first foray taking anti fouling off the bottom of a boat. In a word - disgusting. Another word - disappointing. This can’t be the best we can do as yachtspeople.

I don’t know what paint is on my boat. I did find a quart of Interlux something but it’s gone and I don’t recall what it was other than it matched the colour on the bottom of the boat. Some of the paint is coming off like chalk, other sections the paint is hard as steel. Feels like two different products.

I’ve sanded which I can’t in good conscience continue to do. Unless I tent the boat and use a dust collection system which costs money I don’t have. I’d like to think there’s an accessible way through this.

I’ve used Interstrip and scraped which, unless I glob on in ways that will call for 18 gallons of the stuff, has been ineffective.

What do I do next? Is there a product to contain and or seal in this paint and then apply a new bottom paint over? That won’t cost me a fortune. That I can still get a nice, smooth finish with? I’m looking at Aqua Guard and Pettit Ultra Eco.

What can we do to make anti fouling a responsible endeavour? What can I do to the bottom of my boat?

Attachment 219160

That's looking grim Billy How big is this boat and please don't tell us you're trying to do it by hand. Go to Harbor Freight and buy a cheap orbital sander with shop vac ( all their stuff is cheap, meaning you'll probably consider tossing it after this job is done) You'll probably spend more in sand paper. If you're trying to reach the gel coat, this is a big job, even with power tools. Don't gouge the gel coat. If you'd like to not do this again any time soon, then apply three coats of good primer over the gel coat and spray on a couple of coats of Sea Coat. This is a clear, non-ablative finish coat which is slicker than snot and will last for eight years (they say).

Ps; start using your face mask