Boot Top is blistered Awlgrip/Imron

[studentt]

Our new old boat came with a blistered boot top. It is either Awlgrip or Imron. What is the best way to resolve the problem?
Thanks.

[sailingfool]

Have a professional sand prime and repaint the boot top. For a good fix, he will need to do the entire boottop on one side. Maybe $20-30/foot as a guess.

I would expect the blisters come from moisture, either because the boat is sitting low in the water or the hull was shrink-wrapped. The pattern of blistering might allow you to figure out the cause.

[studentt]

Originally Posted by sailingfool

Have a professional sand prime and repaint the boot top. For a good fix, he will need to do the entire boottop on one side. Maybe $20-30/foot as a guess.

I would expect the blisters come from moisture, either because the boat is sitting low in the water or the hull was shrink-wrapped. The pattern of blistering might allow you to figure out the cause.

I do not wish to have Awlgrip reapplied. I am interested in the best way to remove the existing blistered boot top. I intend to use Easypoxy for the new boot top as I have had good experience with that product.

[121Guy]

Hi Student,

We have a saying...."if it's in the water, gelcoat it...if not, paint it". If you are at all familiar with gelcoat, and if the boot top is partially submerged, I'd consider gelcoat as a permanent solution. All paints, need to breath or they blister so whatever you apply, enamel, epoxy whatever, will look fine for a while but will then need to be redone. There is a reason why all boat builders use gelcoat below the waterline. If you want to use paint, I'd consider raising the bootop so that none of it sits in the water. This has the added benefit, if you bring the bottom paint up higher as well, to help eliminate waterline fouling.

Hope this helps.

[RichH]

Good advice given already .... Topside paints (all topside paints) will usually always blister when they are constantly wetted or submerged. The only way to remedy for waterline applications is to sand down, apply a barrier and then spray on gelcoat. Spraying gelcoat isnt all that hard.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by studentt

I do not wish to have Awlgrip reapplied. I am interested in the best way to remove the existing blistered boot top. I intend to use Easypoxy for the new boot top as I have had good experience with that product.

if you brush a one-part paint next to a professional finish, for the length of the boat, I would suspect that the the result may stand out like a sore thumb, regardless of how well it is done.

[studentt]

The boot top is not in the water now. The areas where the blisters are visible are along the bottom edge. Most of them are tiny, but a few are large and growing. It is obvious to me that it must be removed. The question is how? Sand? Scrape? Chemicals?

OBTW: I have never had any blistering with the Easypoxy, and I have used it for many years, on several boats.

[RichH]

Sand it down, fill with filled/thickened epoxy and apply a barrier coat. That way only the paint will fall off/blister but will not continually create new blisters in the laminate. If the hull is 'dipping' due to wave action, thats enough to blister topside paint.
Your hull is generating blisters most probably because there is a fault (incomplete wet-out, etc. etc.) in the cosmetic matting layer behind the gel coat.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by RichH

Sand it down, fill with filled/thickened epoxy and apply a barrier coat. That way only the paint will fall off/blister but will not continually create new blisters in the laminate. If the hull is 'dipping' due to wave action, thats enough to blister topside paint.
Your hull is generating blisters most probably because there is a fault (incomplete wet-out, etc. etc.) in the cosmetic matting layer behind the gel coat.

I don't think you want to put barrier coat above the bottom paint. ANy gloss paint that you apply over it will be raised and all orange peel. If the situation does call for a barrier coat, then it needs to be covered by ing the bottom paint. I doubt that is needed.

[studentt]

Originally Posted by sailingfool

I don't think you want to put barrier coat above the bottom paint. ANy gloss paint that you apply over it will be raised and all orange peel. If the situation does call for a barrier coat, then it needs to be covered by ing the bottom paint. I doubt that is needed.

I agree. There are no blisters in the layup nor in the gelcoat. The boot top was poorly chosen, and I intend to remedy the situation. Again I have no experience with Awlgrip and am leaning towards sanding it off.