Rookie,
One thing coming out in these posts is the difference between racers and cruisers. If you plan to race, follow Jeff''s advice of fine grit sandpaper. If you are a cruiser (as am I), sand with 80 grit paper -- which is what most
paint manufacturers recommend.
The roller needs to be solvent resistant, so buy it where it''s cheapest (probably anywhere other than a marine store.)
As for compatibility, the West Marine catalog has a good chart covering that - as long as you know what kind of
paint is on there now. The primary problem
paints are those with vinyl or teflon in them. In general, ablative
paints will go over just about anything else.
I have been using Pettit ablative
paints for many years and like them. As stated before, I sand/scrape off any and all loose
paint to get down to a solid surface for adhesion. If the ablative
paint is loose (cracking, flaking, etc.) the problem is due to the first (hard) coat of
paint the dealer put on my boat when it was new years ago. That
paint has lost its adhesion to the hull taking the newer ablative layer with it. All that has to come off in those areas. I feather in a layer or two of new
paint in those areas to make them as smooth as possible.
I then sand the rest of the
paint with 80 grit paper sicne I''m not a racer. With ablatives, I''ve found that I don''t have to sand all that much to remove the outer "dead" layer to get to a fresh layer the new
paint will adhere to. That may be due to the Pettit
paint I use -- or not. But there''s no need to arbitrarily sand through last year''s
paint if it''s still adhering.
About painting where the jackstand pads are, I''ve done it both ways. The preference if you have the time is to have the yard move the stands so that you can do those areas properly. But a couple of times I''ve been rushed and had to sand and
paint those areas with the boat in the slings. Even though the
paint didn''t have the recommended time to dry, it did fine those seasons.
The last thing I do to smooth out the high spots is to go over the entire bottom with a sanding device on a pole used for drywall. Much easier than hand sanding and you can buy varying grits of sanding screens for the head to suit your needs.
With two gallons you will have
paint left over and it will keep until next year. I put a piece of plastic wrap inside the can right on top of the left-over
paint to provide some protection, and that works pretty well.
I sail the Chesapeake, too, out of the mighty Patapsco river.
Finally, two sites to visit for more info:
www.yachtpaint.com (Interlux
paint site)
www.pettitpaint.com