Bilge painting

[navis92]

Hello all!
I am new to the forum, I did a google search about bilge painting and found an amazing wealth of information on this forum. The one thread I found was almost a year old so I thought I had better start a new one.

I have just about finished the final layers of glass on a 300+ hour total transom, mounts and bilge rebuild. What I read in the other thread is that you should not use the interlux bilgekote as it will flake off and make a huge mess. I also read that the best option (apart from gel coating) is to use interprotect 2000E, it however seemed like this brought up a bit of a disagreement between the bilgekote and 2000E, so I am unclear on what to use. Because there is no existing gel coat in most areas in the bilge do I need to first use interlux epiglass? If so how many coats? How many coats of the 2000E do I need?

Any opinions are very appreciated
Thanks!!!

[jgeissinger]

I'm sure you will get a variety of opinions, but I can tell you what I actually did. I used some leftover Interlux Brightsides, because, well, it was left over. It has been in an often wet and neglected bilge for eight years now and none of it has flaked off, worn off, etc. I did zero prep other than a thorough cleaning. UV is the biggest destoyer of paint. The bilge is actually a fairly benign place for a painted surface. Again, this is real experience. I would not hesitate to use Bilgecoat, if that was your original question.

[mitiempo]

I'd second Interlux Brightside. Easy to apply, long lasting paint. They (Interlux) say you have to clean with their propietary cleaner and use their primer, but I just clean and wipe with acetone before painting and have no problems.

[jarcher]

Here is a dumb question... What happens if a bilge is not painted?

[celenoglu]

The bilge should be painted to protect it from osmosis danger. Water penetration to the hull is from the sea by osmosis, or through defective gelcoat. Another source is the water in the bilge. Painting the bilge with epoxy or two part poliurethane paint will protect the hull.

[sailingdog]

Bilgekote is a paint. If you have a wet bilge, most paints will let some water through and will blister and peel... This is why you really should use Interprotect 2000E, instead of a paint. It can withstand being submersed for long periods of time with no ill effects.

Interprotect doesn't need a primer to be applied to raw fiberglass. Just wash the fiberglass well, de-wax/de-grease it, then sand it lightly.

[T37Chef]

I'll 3rd the suggestion for Interprotect 2000 or similar. Just makes sense.

[jgeissinger]

I felt certain that someone would come along and say that you cannot possibly do what I have, in fact, done. I will reiterate: I have an often wet bilge that has had a painted surface for eight years with zero lifting, peeling, or any other sort of failure, and is actually still glossy. navis92, it is your boat and you can do whatever you want. I was just trying to give some real life, factual, time tested personal experience.

[T37Chef]

Navis,

If I remember correctly, Sapperwhite, had inquired about the same thing about a year ago. I don't know what he ended up doing but you might try a PM to him.

[navis92]

Wow, thank you all for the help and input!
It sounds like bilgekote is an acceptable product. But, I think I will go with the interprotect 2000E just to be safe. They recommend 2-3 coats for above water application and 4-5 for below water, so I am guessing that I should probably go with the 4-5 coats. As well, they say that you need to first use epiglass resin as a base coat before using the 2000E, is this necessary? I am using unwaxed resin. Finally, do you need to overcoat the 2000E with another type of paint to seal it up? Or can you just leave it bare? Thanks again!
Sorry about all the questions, this has been a HUGE job, and I only want to do it once, as well, I have been very precarious and making sure to have everything looking good, so I don't want to muck it up with the paint :P