Bottom paint Blister repair my vacation with West System

[aibuiltpc]

I know there is a lot of blister discussion but I figured I would post my experience and a question with regards to my usual practice of putting my boat in the water and the problems I have never had to deal with before.


My name is Ian, Sailing since 1977, a cruiser of the local bay and lately trying to learn as much as possible to maintain a larger boat and venture further away.

Every year I scrape, sand lightly, solvent the bottom and touch up. I have done this on 5 b oats to date then I got hold of number 6 last year a 1973 American Mariner 7.5.

A little power washing last fall revealed what I thought was gel coat pealing off and exposing actual fiber from the mat layer of the original layup. So a winter has passed and it is time to clean this up. I only have a short 3 days to do this and have grinded and sanded may way to clean hard surface fanning it out like a crater and then used West System epoxy 2 coats sanded between.

I am now considering using the WS barrier additive then a bottom paint?

I am a novice at this level of repair that I have attempted but am excited to have moved up a notch in experience. I have done through hulls, interior paint, wood and wiring rebuilt masts, but this is a big one and I need some advice on my last step and or any thing I missed that needs attention?

I will be pulling the boat this fall and properly doing the entire bottom I need to make this repair last this season. I repaired close to 100 spots from the size of a pea to the size of an orange. I usually use standard 100 dollar bottom paint, I am wondering if I should use the "wear away multi season" to better protect or just spend more on the barrier job?


Thanks sorry so winded

Ian

[epoxymoron]

Ian, I generally give the Blister Repair talk here at West System during our boat repair school so I'm sure I can help but I need a bit more info first. What I need to know is some detail about the work you've already done - did you simply coat the 'peeled' area with a couple coats of epoxy or did you do some filling? How did you fill the smaller ground out spots - what filler did you use? I'll keep an eye out on this forum for your reply then address your project so others might benefit.

But, since you're in a hurry you can call me at 866-937-8797 until 5pm EST today or tomorrow and we can talk it through. Also, at our web site Epoxy by the Leading Epoxy Manufacture | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy under 'how to use' > 'User Guide' and scroll down the page a bit and you'll find all our manuals which are readable and download-able including the Gelcoat Blisters: Diagnosis, Repair, and Prevention manual which is full of step by step instructions for various aspects of blister repair and moisture barrier application.

I must say here that if you power washed the bottom and peeled off gelcoat to the mat or beyond anything you might do in 3 days will be only temporary - a stop gap measure. Gelcoat peeling off indicates a wet laminate and applying a barrier coat over a hydrolized laminate can end up causing more problems than it solves.

I'll wait to hear back from you one way or the other. If you call, ask for Bruce.

[sailingdog]

Bruce—

Please read the special interest disclosure thread. Welcome to sailnet.

[epoxymoron]

Full disclosure: I am a tech advisor for West System.

The manuals I referenced and phone number I offered are all free. I'm not trying to sell anything. Of course, I understand how linking to our web site can be seen as free advertizing. My intent was not to scam anyone - only to provide a suitable answer to Ian's questions in the time frame he outlined in his post.

Sailnet, through it's forums, offer a great service to the boating community and I never intended to game the system.

Again - my apologies.

Bruce Niederer
Tech Advisor/Chemist
Gougeon Brothers Inc.

[sailingdog]

No worries...no apologies necessary, as i just wanted to make sure you were aware of the special interest disclosure rules... I'm sure that I speak for many of us when I say it is good to have you here and to have your input.

Originally Posted by epoxymoron

Full disclosure: I am a tech advisor for West System.

The manuals I referenced and phone number I offered are all free. I'm not trying to sell anything. Of course, I understand how linking to our web site can be seen as free advertizing. My intent was not to scam anyone - only to provide a suitable answer to Ian's questions in the time frame he outlined in his post.

Sailnet, through it's forums, offer a great service to the boating community and I never intended to game the system.

Again - my apologies.

Bruce Niederer
Tech Advisor/Chemist
Gougeon Brothers Inc.

[aibuiltpc]

Thanks,

I will call but it may have to wait a day or so.

I did finally finish to my liking. This is temporary just to stop or retard till next year. I do plan on planing the hull in the fall drying it in a hanger and planing through the winter.

I did finish a total of 3 coats of WS.

I did sand/grind out pea size blisters to 2-3 inches and orange size to upto 1 foot. 1st fill was epoxy/silica/shredded fiber thickness varied. 2nd epoxy/silica,1mil-3 mil. Third was a thinner less silica paint of epoxy. All sanded in between. 3 people 2 days. I don't think I missed any and was hoping the drying was sufficient enough through the winter last, I had no time for lights. A friend suggested that I do dry it but no time just hope. I did remove any fiber hairs or discolored hull that I could find.


I am hoping this will hold off any serious unrecoverable damage. This may be my favorite boat to date, not the biggest or prettiest but from the right angle it looks like a motor sailor when the canvas is up....

I am beat and just walked in from a final ablative coat, no barrier 422 just have to cross my fingers...My wife says I can by a better grinder...hehehe....Love the tools...


Ian

I'll post a pic

[epoxymoron]

Originally Posted by aibuiltpc

Thanks,

I will call but it may have to wait a day or so.

I did finally finish to my liking. This is temporary just to stop or retard till next year. I do plan on planing the hull in the fall drying it in a hanger and planing through the winter.

I did finish a total of 3 coats of WS.

I did sand/grind out pea size blisters to 2-3 inches and orange size to upto 1 foot. 1st fill was epoxy/silica/shredded fiber thickness varied. 2nd epoxy/silica,1mil-3 mil. Third was a thinner less silica paint of epoxy. All sanded in between. 3 people 2 days. I don't think I missed any and was hoping the drying was sufficient enough through the winter last, I had no time for lights. A friend suggested that I do dry it but no time just hope. I did remove any fiber hairs or discolored hull that I could find.


I am hoping this will hold off any serious unrecoverable damage. This may be my favorite boat to date, not the biggest or prettiest but from the right angle it looks like a motor sailor when the canvas is up....

I am beat and just walked in from a final ablative coat, no barrier 422 just have to cross my fingers...My wife says I can by a better grinder...hehehe....Love the tools...


Ian

I'll post a pic

Ian,

Sounds like you did as much as you could. Just go out and enjoy the boat this season and make the big plunge into it when you haul out. I look forward to hearing from you.

Bruce