Question on Bottom paint.

[commando57]

When I bought my boat it has some kind of silver paint on the bottom. When I washed the boat off after pulling it out of the water a bunch of it came off. What is it called so I can buy some to repaint it back? Thanks for reading this.

[Sabreman]

Commando - Can you provide some more info? Was the boat stored in the water for an extended time or was it daysailed? Did the paint came off in chips from a powerwasher or did it wear off? Fiberglass boat or some sort of metal?

[sailingdog]

Commando—

When asking a question, it is generally helpful to provide as much information as possible. The make and model of boat at a minimum would be suggested. In the case of your question, whether the boat was stored in water or on a trailer and what it is made of would also be very helpful.

If the boat was normally stored on a trailer, it may not have had an antifouling bottom paint applied. None of the antifouling paints on the market that I know of are "silver" in color, though some may be grey.

When you washed the boat, was it a pressure washer or just a hose. If it was just a hose, I doubt it was a bottom paint of any sort, or the prep job the previous painter did was truly pathetic.

Most anti-fouling bottom paints I know of, excepting the ablatives, will generally not come off with even a pressure sprayer, unless you are intentionally trying to remove the paint provided the surface preparation was done properly. Some of the hard epoxy-based paints won't come off to a pressure sprayer at all.

Would also recommend you read the OP of the thread located HERE, as it will help you get the most out of sailnet.

[Freesail99]

Also with bottom paint, WHERE the boat is important. A Florida boat would use different bottom paint, then a lake Erie boat.

[commando57]

The boat was a Chesapeake Bay boat, before I got her, she had been on the trailer (it was his 3rd boat) for a while (an unknown amount of time). I put her in Lake Anna in Va for the next 10 months (just came out). She is a fiberglass Potter 1977 or 8 vintage P-15 hull 667. I power washed it before any of the Lake Anna mud/algae had set up on her bottom. When I was done and the water dried under the boat there was a bunch of silver (I guess they could be gray) flakes on the blacktop. All I wanted to do was find out something to search on. I searched on bottom paint and got 500 pages of returns. I really thought I had included enough info. I am going after that ablative word now, thanks.

[camaraderie]

I am thinking the prior owner may have used Interlux VC17 since it ages to a grey finish. For FRESH water like Lake Anna it is a good choice. For salty like the Chesapeake I would use Petit Trinidad or TrinidadSR
The VC17 is thin stuff and given the age of the boat...you might first want to start off doing a barrier coat as protection for the glass...followed by the VC17.

[commando57]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

I am thinking the prior owner may have used Interlux VC17 since it ages to a grey finish. For FRESH water like Lake Anna it is a good choice. For salty like the Chesapeake I would use Petit Trinidad or TrinidadSR
The VC17 is thin stuff and given the age of the boat...you might first want to start off doing a barrier coat as protection for the glass...followed by the VC17.

Thanks a bunch, My dream is to hit the Chesapeake in her but, with the price of gas, I probably will stick to Anna. On weekends the wife and I crew on big (relative to the potter) racing boats when the Lake up here is insane. Untill it gets real hot we sail the Potter weeknights almost every night.

I checked the paint out here: http://www.wholesalemarine.com/pc/IL...th+Teflon.html

I would be using the brown color? To match up with the gray? Thanks again.

[sailingdog]

Lake Anna is a great place to sail a smaller boat. You'll definitely want an ablative if you plan on using the trailer to store the boat between trips to the lake, since an ablative can generally stand drying out without becoming deactivated, which is a problem with many of the hard epoxy paints.

[camaraderie]

Commando...yes, the dark brown on your link is the right paint if you want it to turn grey eventually. Also on that link is the barrier coat I was talking about. This would allow you to get a smooth finish and prevent future blisters and would make a good base for the rather thin VC17 to stick to.
Dawg is right about ablatives not losing "power" on trailers but the downside is that they get all over everything when you haul out if you do trailer sail the boat.

[sailingdog]

I think the suggestion for the barrier coat is a good idea, especially given the age of the boat. If you want to barrier coat the bottom, there are a few threads on it.