Antifouling -- Micron 66 vs Micron 77?

[jhulmer]

Yes DH. I switched to Micron 66 from Micron Extra 10 or 12 years ago and have been very happy with it in the Gulf of Mexico ever since. If I scrub the hull once a year I can get 2 years as well before recoat. However, it is not recommended for fresh or brackish water I have routinely retreated up freshwater rivers to seek shelter with no noticeable ill effects.

I have friends that are using it in Maine with the same results. I highly recommend, but it is pricey.

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by nhschneider

We applied 7 gallons of Micron 66 while we were in Trinidad (3 complete coats and one additional on the leading edges and waterline) and sailed up to Maine, back south - went up the Potomac for 2 weeks - then hauled the boat in Norfolk for the winter. Once out of the water we saw that the paint was failing badly, flaking off in many places even though it was only 6 months old. A call to Interlux informed us that Micron 66 is for salt water only- our trip up the Potomac had ruined it.

Fair winds and calm seas.

Good to know! My trips into freshwater is to run from named storms and have generally only been there for no more than a week. I have not had any problems with Micron 66 failing from that excursion. However, it's likely that the water is more brackish then freshwater.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

I think if you research this you'll find that this bottom paint was never intended for fresh water and it will ruin it and these folks are not the only ones that found out the hard way.

No offence, but I still don't buy it. There are a log of conflicting information out there.
If salinity is necessary to keep the paint stuck on the bottom, what happens when the boat is out of the water and rained on?
Not suitable for fresh water means it will not perform its function.
By what I found out, prep for re-application is fundamentally important for adhesion.

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

No offence, but I still don't buy it. There are a log of conflicting information out there.
If salinity is necessary to keep the paint stuck on the bottom, what happens when the boat is out of the water and rained on?
Not suitable for fresh water means it will not perform its function.
By what I found out, prep for re-application is fundamentally important for adhesion.

it is well documented by the manufacturer on the can. .


it is not recommended that Micron 66 be left out of the water more than 30 days IIRC.

[Dockhead]

[QUOTE=robert sailor;2600076]

Originally Posted by wannacat

We've been using Interlux Ultra for 8 years now. Re apply 2 coats every 2 years and it works great. Boat sits in Lauderdale up the New River, not moving for 9 months approximately, then in The Bahamas cruising for the other 3 months. It looks like you could easily get 3 years out of it with the conditions we're in. Cheaper than Micron 66 also.[/QUOT

You are in a unique area..It's fairly well known that anything that grows in salt water will be killed by fresh water and vise versa so your big strength is your environment, not so much your bottom paint.

Yes, I've been going into the Baltic the last four years, and I suppose Micron 66 would fail in that brackish water. Does anyone know how fresh the water needs to be to ruin it?

But I have no such plans this year and probably not next, so Micron 66 should be ok. As long as it doesn't mind being taken up the Hamble River and such estuaries, which are still pretty salt.

Yes, alternating between the Baltic and the Atlantic was surely good for fouling. No such advantage this year.

[nhschneider]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

it is well documented by the manufacturer on the can. .


it is not recommended that Micron 66 be left out of the water more than 30 days IIRC.

I remember reading that Micron 66 was for salt water only before we applied it but, at the time, we never expected to be in fresh water. Furthermore, I thought that, at worst, it would be ineffective in fresh water - not fail like flaking off. When I called Interlux, the guy I spoke with asked if the paint was ‘flaking off like corn flakes’, which is exactly what it looks like. Even though I was very disappointed to be out US$2,400 in bottom paint, I could only blame myself. However, realistically, I doubt I would have remembered that the bottom paint I applied in April was inappropriate for a destination in September. My memory just isn’t that good.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[DotDun]

FWIW, Micron 66 lasts ~18 months in my location. I've found that SeaHawk Biocop TF lasts at least 24 months and trying for 3 years on the latest application.

[Mlp48]

66 failed from a storm-driven decline of salinity and Interlux claimed they had "never seen such a thing". Not so -- so I will NEVER using any of their products again. What's really too bad is that their agent and liar is now with Petitt.

[Geoff54]

Micron 66 was recommended to me last summer. I was aware of the issue with fresh water and, as I keep the boat on a mooring in Boston harbor which is brackish, I contacted the manufacturer. I was told that it would be alright most of the time but one good storm that reduced the salinity could ruin it, so they didn't recommend it. Apparently fresh water softens the paint which releases all the biocide and, if softened enough, the paint flakes off. I went with Micron Extra but too early to report on it's effectiveness. I'd never heard of Micron 77... I don't think that it's available in the US.

[Mlp48]

I'm sorry.. I know nothing about 77. If 66 is that salinity influenced, what are we supposed to do ? Stay at sea ?? My experience was this: a boat purchased in Maine had 66 on its bottom and then the boat came to the mid-Chesapeake. There was no issue in the 1st year and antifouling was actually remarkable. We asked, "What kind of paint is this ?" and had asked only because compatibility can be an issue. We thought nothing of salinity .. so 66 was reapplied. In the middle of that summer, a hurricane looped around us and to the west of the Chesapeake but unloaded itself in NY and that flowed down the Susquehanna into the Chesapeake. Fall came and the boat was hauled and after a month ashore, "cornflakes" aplenty. Interlux was called and their sales/tech rep said he had "no idea as to why the failure had occurred". As time went by, we were told of other similar tales of failure. One story was about a 100' sailboat berthed well upriver and that had complained -- after they saw their bottom cornflaked. They got a gratis paint strip with coats of another paint. We got a free bucket of Pacifica which was wholly ineffective. Accordingly, I had to strip the bottom 2x: 1st the 66 and then of that worthless Pacifica. INTERLUX NOT PURCHASED HERE.

[Boatguy30]

It does fail mechanically in freshwater or used to. Came off in a brackish canal in Ft Luaderdale on my boat.

[Library70]

3 years ago I called Interlux and asked them about Micron66, the rep said "Great paint but don't use it in fresh water it will fall of the boat."

[senormechanico]

As we speak, I'm giving up on Interlux Micron Extra. I'm going to switch to Trinidad SR.
Five years ago, my friend's boat who keeps it at our dock painted his bottom with Trinidad SR at the same time I painted with Micron Extra.
I repainted a few years ago with the same AND added my UltraSoniTec antifouling system.
No barnacles except a few on the prop and my knot meter never fouls, etc, but I do get a bit of slime.
My friend's boat which almost never moves?
A tiny bit of slime on five year old paint !!

[GTom]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I am struggling to find any Micron 77, the discontinued antifouling which has performed so superbly well the last two years. It's by far the best antifouling I've ever used. Eye-wateringly expensive, but really worth it, because has worked solidly for two full years and so well that I've been able to scrub less often (three times a year vs four or five times).

I have found, however, some Micron 66. Does anyone have any experience with how well this performs compared to the Micron 77?

Hi Dockhead, it seems to be on stock at Yachtchandler's.

[philiosophy]

It is not BS Micron 66 is not for fresh water. I have known several people who have had it fail in fresh water. It is as good as it gets for ablative bottom paint. Just keep it out of even brackish water. Salt water only. The company tells you that before you buy it or after. You have but to ask.