Last 3 years using Rustoleum on sailboat prop prior to that Pettit for many years. Barnacles depend on the year here in the Chesapeake. Some years with Pettit, I had lots of barnacles, some very little. In the last 3 with Rustoleum, 1 year none, 2 years with minimal. One comment was Pettit is harder. I think that is correct and to me who likes to start fresh each year, that was a draw back. The Rustoleum is easier to remove. This year I used 3 coats (instead of 2) on bare bronze prop and still too cold to dive and check.
Pettit barnacle buster vs rustoleum cold galvanizing compound
-
SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!
-
The winner of the February SailNet Captain of the Month is Howard @HPeer. A new competition starts April FOOLSDAY!
21 - 33 of 33 Posts
Joined
·
2,072 Posts
- Reaction score
- 958
I used Propspeed the first year I bought my new-to-me boat. I'm in Long Island Sound at a slip. When the boat was hauled at the end of the season, the prop and shaft were covered in barnacles. For the price ($300 for 200ml), I expected better; a lot better. Last year, I tried cold galvanizing zinc spray paint. I think the can was $8 at the local hardware store. Not knowing any better, I put on the equivalent of a coat and a half of that stuff. At the end of the season, I was disappointed to see barnacles; not as many as with the Propspeed, but still more than I had expected. This year, I put three full coats of the zinc paint, following the directions on the can for drying and reapplying. I'm hoping that gives improved results. My friend was also painting the shaft and prop on her boat at the same time. She recommended the Petit spray paint she uses and swears by. I looked it up when I got home. 93% zinc.
Joined
·
27 Posts
- Reaction score
- 6
Same as rustolium
Joined
·
5,566 Posts
- Reaction score
- 1,458
I use my boat. A lot. I am retired and only live a mile from my yacht club. I know many fellow club members who also use Pettit BB and their experience is similar to mine. It helps, but no way it completely stops barnacles. At least on boats kept on a mooring in our harbor.
Joined
·
27 Posts
- Reaction score
- 6
Well all I can say I have had excellent results with RUSTOLIUM
Joined
·
25,122 Posts
- Reaction score
- 9,225
Is your Silverton a power boat? I'm not familiar with Silverton sailboats, but who knows. The surface slough impact of being underway on a sailboat vs powerboat are very different animals.
Joined
·
27 Posts
- Reaction score
- 6
Yes it’s a power boat, BTW, silverton was part of the Luhrs marine group, builders of Hunter sail boats
Joined
·
5,628 Posts
- Reaction score
- 2,145
Well that could very well explain why you have different results. Most of us use our sailboats a lot. But our engines, not so much, so they are more prone to marine growth. This is a sailing forum. I think your experience is largely irrelevant to the rest of us. The widely known fact that Warren Luhrs was the founder and former builder of Hunter sailboats really has nothing to do with this.
It's a real stretch to make the claim that two paints are "the same thing" just because they act similarly for a use case that where almost anything will work and is irrelevant to that of sailors. There is ample evidence that these paints are very different, even if they perform similarly in one very specific instance.
As I pointed out above, I've used both and I know from my own experience that they are different.
- Reaction score
- 192
I think it depends on the year. It seems like some years there is more growth than others. We’ve used the Pettit and had terrible results one year, good results another. That being said, we have used the Rustoleum for two years now and have been very happy with it. It’s been just as good (or better in the case of our one bad year) than the Pettit for a fraction of the cost.
Yes, I know this is an old thread…some swear the CG paint is just as good, or better than Pettit. Some swear it is not. My question, anyone see any issues mixing the two? 1-2 coats of CG and 1-2 coats of Pettit? They both list zinc at 93%.
Joined
·
5,628 Posts
- Reaction score
- 2,145
I think that would be risky for a variety of reasons. The solvents could be incompatible and "cut into" the other paint too much (or not enough). This, and differences in surface energy, hardness, and thermal expansion coefficients of the dried films could lead to loss of adhesion. As I mentioned in my post #13, in my own experience using both products, the CG dries to a softer, rougher, more porous paint film that I could scratch off with my finger. Barnacle Buster is a tougher, more durable film designed to withstand the high shear of a prop spinning in water. I suspect that if you coated BB onto CG, the BB may delaminate from CG.
On the other hand, it might work fine, but you'll be the guinea pig. Why risk it for a few bucks savings? Either way, let us know what you did and how it worked out. I'm happy to be proven wrong. Disclaimer: My career has consisted of product development of automotive paints (OEM and refinish), adhesives/resins/hair spray polymers, and for the past 23 years, inkjet inks. I know a little about this, but do not claim to know everything.
Joined
·
5,628 Posts
- Reaction score
- 2,145
Just this morning I realized that I'm not following my own advice. I had forgotten that I actually do coat two different paints onto each other. After a few years of using Barnacle Buster (only) on my running gear, I came across a clearance sale on Pettit Hydrocoat Eco (white non-copper waterborne ablative paint) for about $10 for a quart. I decided to give it a try.
For the past few seasons, I put a couple coats of the white ablative paint over top the Barnacle Buster on my prop and shaft. It has helped cut down on the amount of hard growth, and also protects the Pettit paint so that I get more than one season out of it (I hate using spray cans, since over 50% of the paint misses the target.). I knew that a waterborne ablative would not attack a fully dried hard solvent-based paint, and if it failed to adhere it would be no big deal because it's supposed to ablate off anyway.
So far results seem to be pretty good. I do hire a diver once a year to do a mid-season de-slime on the hull, and he says there is nothing on the prop blades, and only a few on the hub, shaft and strut. At end-of-season haulout I typically see only a few barnacles on shaft and prop hub, which it much better than I was seeing with just the BB paint. I like having the BB paint as the bottom coat because of the anti-corrosive properties of the zinc (although the folding prop does have a very large anode).
So I'm being a bit of a hypocrite in suggesting not to mix paints. If there is a major problem, like incompatible solvent attack, you would probably see it right away (the underlying paint would start to wrinkle under the topcoated paint). It would create a bit of a mess, but nothing a rag soaked with solvent, or a wire brush, couldn't solve. Then you just start over again, having learned a good lesson. But it might actually work fine. If you decide to try it, I'd put the BB down first, then the CG, since you want the harder paint underneath the softer paint.
For the past few seasons, I put a couple coats of the white ablative paint over top the Barnacle Buster on my prop and shaft. It has helped cut down on the amount of hard growth, and also protects the Pettit paint so that I get more than one season out of it (I hate using spray cans, since over 50% of the paint misses the target.). I knew that a waterborne ablative would not attack a fully dried hard solvent-based paint, and if it failed to adhere it would be no big deal because it's supposed to ablate off anyway.
So far results seem to be pretty good. I do hire a diver once a year to do a mid-season de-slime on the hull, and he says there is nothing on the prop blades, and only a few on the hub, shaft and strut. At end-of-season haulout I typically see only a few barnacles on shaft and prop hub, which it much better than I was seeing with just the BB paint. I like having the BB paint as the bottom coat because of the anti-corrosive properties of the zinc (although the folding prop does have a very large anode).
So I'm being a bit of a hypocrite in suggesting not to mix paints. If there is a major problem, like incompatible solvent attack, you would probably see it right away (the underlying paint would start to wrinkle under the topcoated paint). It would create a bit of a mess, but nothing a rag soaked with solvent, or a wire brush, couldn't solve. Then you just start over again, having learned a good lesson. But it might actually work fine. If you decide to try it, I'd put the BB down first, then the CG, since you want the harder paint underneath the softer paint.
21 - 33 of 33 Posts
