[hpeer]

I have been buying ABC3 and 4 for quite a while now; USA, Canada, St Maarten. No problem.

I will mention again thatI did an accidental experiment. I kicked over a small bottle of Ospho which ran down the side of the boat in stripes. I only noticed it some days later and cleaned it off. The bottom had significantly less growth there. So then I tried it as an experiment and sprayed some Ospho on in places, which had noticeably less growth. Now I do it as a matter of course.

When I related this elsewhere Joe Chemist assured me I was full of it, brimming over. He had complicated reasons why the chemical reaction won’t work. Personally I think barnacles just don’t like the taste LOL.

And maybe my steel hull has some role in it.

So it did not stop growth, just slows it.

 

[Don L]

BTW because it is somewhere in this thread; I found out from the pesticide license listings that ABC4 has about half the copper of the ABC3.

 

[Don L]

So I FINALLY got a schedule for my haul out after trying for 4 months. I am having the yard do because, well I just don't want to. They said "you know that the PPG ABC3 paint doesn't set well". What the heck does that mean? In 2 years of research I haven't read anything like that and am not really even sure what that is suppose to mean. I am sure if they mean it doesn't dry fast and if you launch too soon it comes off that would be true. But can not see any issue with the paint drying and sticking properly as it isn't like PPG doesn't know how to make paint.

 

[colemj]

I don't know what that means either. It mixes and dries and stores just like every other bottom paint I've ever used. There isn't anything unusual about it or its composition compared to others. It's not some type of strange technology or weird coating - it's just paint. Ask them what that means.

Mark

 

[Don L]

Ask them what that means.

I am too scared and think I am in a "don't ask don't tell" situation.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

So I FINALLY got a schedule for my haul out after trying for 4 months. I am having the yard do because, well I just don't want to. They said "you know that the PPG ABC3 paint doesn't set well". What the heck does that mean?

It means they don't get a high commission for it...
Thats why I never ask "Whats the best XXX?"... because they will sell you the stuff/thing the salesman makes most or the shop makes most. Truly.

As for the yard doing the painting because you don't want to...... Here's my take: I've worked all my life and want to live as long as I can 'on the wallaby'. Sanding toxic chemicals that are designed to kill life is not my idea of prolonging my life no matter how many respirators I'm wearing. Same with the painting. Those solvents are going to get up the nose no matter what. To me its better to pay $$$ and have someone do it who is willing to accept the risk.

Glad you've got it finally sorted

 

[Don L]

To me its better to pay $$$ and have someone do it who is willing to accept the risk.

but it works out to a LOT of beer

 

[Don L]

So I FINALLY got a schedule for my haul out after trying for 4 months. I am having the yard do because, well I just don't want to. They said "you know that the PPG ABC3 paint doesn't set well". What the heck does that mean? In 2 years of research I haven't read anything like that and am not really even sure what that is suppose to mean. I am sure if they mean it doesn't dry fast and if you launch too soon it comes off that would be true. But can not see any issue with the paint drying and sticking properly as it isn't like PPG doesn't know how to make paint.

So got hauled today and the story i got is the the ABC3 is “soft” and the lift straps rub it off.

I think they just wanted me to buy paint from them, but that is done as I already have the paint.

 

[colemj]

It is an ablative paint, and will rub off on things like all ablative paints, but it isn't any softer than all the other ablative paints. In fact, I found it harder than some we have used in the past. Micron 66 and a paint by Blue Water Paints (I forget the exact one) comes to mind.

Mark

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

I think they just want me to buy paint from them,

Don, say that to yourself 100 times.

 

[Don L]

Well the ABC3 paint is on. It doesnt seem “soft” compated to others I have used. But I am spending an extra day in the yard to be sure it gets to fully dry. But I will say the fumes piss my eyes off.

 

[Don L]

I launched today. Near as I can tell none of the paint got taken off by the stands and lift straps didn't rub any of it off.

 

[fitboyawesome]

I have been buying ABC3 and 4 for quite a while now; USA, Canada, St Maarten. No problem.

I will mention again thatI did an accidental experiment. I kicked over a small bottle of Ospho which ran down the side of the boat in stripes. I only noticed it some days later and cleaned it off. The bottom had significantly less growth there. So then I tried it as an experiment and sprayed some Ospho on in places, which had noticeably less growth. Now I do it as a matter of course.

When I related this elsewhere Joe Chemist assured me I was full of it, brimming over. He had complicated reasons why the chemical reaction won’t work. Personally I think barnacles just don’t like the taste LOL.

And maybe my steel hull has some role in it.

So it did not stop growth, just slows it.

Go to a Sherwin Williams store and look at their super paint. Full retail price is 50-60 cents per gallon, but it is frequently "on sale" for 30 percent or more off. This is a good paint and primer combination with good coverage. You can use half the paint you would buy at a big box store, so your total project cost will be about the same. It looks great on the walls and is resistant to wiping and washing.

 

[Don L]

50-60 cents per gallon?????? Hard to believe even for the ugliest house wall paint known to man.

 

[TakeFive]

Go to a Sherwin Williams store and look at their super paint.

Welcome to Sailnet. This discussion is about anti-fouling paint for boat bottoms, which is a specialty paint that is totally different from latex housepaint.

...I will mention again thatI did an accidental experiment. I kicked over a small bottle of Ospho which ran down the side of the boat in stripes. I only noticed it some days later and cleaned it off. The bottom had significantly less growth there. So then I tried it as an experiment and sprayed some Ospho on in places, which had noticeably less growth. Now I do it as a matter of course.

When I related this elsewhere Joe Chemist assured me I was full of it, brimming over. He had complicated reasons why the chemical reaction won’t work. Personally I think barnacles just don’t like the taste LOL.

This chemist does not think you're full of it. Ospho is a strong acid cleaner. I don't remember whether you have ablative or hard paint, but in either case an acid wash might strip off a layer of the depleted paint fillers (which are inorganic oxides that would be dissolved by acid, similar to what Ospho does for rust) and expose fresh biocide, similar to what sanding would do. Just don't overdo it. I'll also mention that Ospho contains phosporic acid, which degrades to phosphate, contributing to algae blooms, eutrophication, and other damage to the environment when used in watersheds. So it might be banned in your boatyard.

 

[Don L]

Well the ABC3 paint is on. It doesn't seem “soft” compared to others I have used. But I am spending an extra day in the yard to be sure it gets to fully dry. But I will say the fumes piss my eyes off.

Well it has been 3 months since the PPG ABC3 Black bottom paint was applied. Since then I have been sitting in a slip in downtown Jacksonville FL right on the St John's River. The water here is dirty and hot and growth is pretty bad.

Just had the hull cleaned for the first time and the diver says he will clean my boat anytime. Had no hard growth just some algae and slime. Asked the diver if it could go 2 months till next cleaning and he say "sure as it was 3 months this time and it was good". That was a first I have ever heard a diver say that cleaning could go longer,

So it hasn't been all that long, but the PPG ABC3 $99/gal paint has already done better than the $275/gal Seahawk paint I used last time.

 

[marcjsmith]

nice report john.... I'm do to be pulled this fall. and I'll be doing a power wash likely a scuff sand and a few coats of ablative. and also figure out whether i want to invest in propspeed...

$230 a gallon X3 for the CSC is a bit upsetting to the wallet...

I dove on my boat a month ago to get rid of some crusty on the prop and do a scrub on the bottom. no real hard growth on the bottom. a bit of a beard on the waterline and rudder but deeper than that was slime. I was happy with the Micron CSC i used. it will be two full seasons.

I'll have to think about the PPG option...

 

[Don L]

Had the bottom cleaned to day. It had been 3 months since last cleaning and 7 months since the PPG ABC3 $103/gal paint was applied. The boat has been in a slip with high growth warm brackish water the whole time.

Diver reported the bottom was pretty clean and mainly slime coated.

Couldn't say the same about my prop/shaft that has PropGlide on it. But he said it came off easy so the growth may had released once spinning.

 

[TakeFive]

When I purchased my current boat in 2016 I stumbled onto Nautical ProGuard Ablative made by AkzoNobel (parent company of Interlux) for $90-100/gallon. https://www.wholesalemarine.com/interlux-pro-guard-ablative-antifouling.htm lt has no anti-slime additive, but has been 100% effective for me at preventing hard growth. In 2019 I had some repairs done under the waterline, and the yard touched up the area with some other brand of ablative paint, and that touch-up had a bunch of barnacles when I hauled out, so it appears that the ProGuard outperforms at least one other name brand of paint. For under $100/gallon I'm thrilled, and I slap on a new, thin coat if it every year just before launch. (It thins with ordinary Xylene from Home Depot, an additional savings vs. buying special "brushing thinner".)

Although the Chesapeake has lots of nutrients, it is probably not as challenging as your waters in Florida. However, it is another option to consider for others who cannot find the PPG paint.

My previous supplier for the ProGuard (Wholesale Marine) has stopped carrying it, so I'm looking for a new place that has it. If any of you find a place with reasonable price and shipping charges, please post it here. I really don't want to change my bottom paint because ProGuard works well for me, and anytime you change the paint chemistry there is a risk of having adhesion problems unless you strip it all off.

 

[MastUndSchotbruch]

When I purchased my current boat in 2016 I stumbled onto Nautical ProGuard Ablative made by AkzoNobel (parent company of Interlux) for $90-100/gallon. https://www.wholesalemarine.com/interlux-pro-guard-ablative-antifouling.htm lt has no anti-slime additive, but has been 100% effective for me at preventing hard growth. In 2019 I had some repairs done under the waterline, and the yard touched up the area with some other brand of ablative paint, and that touch-up had a bunch of barnacles when I hauled out, so it appears that the ProGuard outperforms at least one other name brand of paint. For under $100/gallon I'm thrilled, and I slap on a new, thin coat if it every year just before launch. (It thins with ordinary Xylene from Home Depot, an additional savings vs. buying special "brushing thinner".)

Although the Chesapeake has lots of nutrients, it is probably not as challenging as your waters in Florida. However, it is another option to consider for others who cannot find the PPG paint.

My previous supplier for the ProGuard (Wholesale Marine) has stopped carrying it, so I'm looking for a new place that has it. If any of you find a place with reasonable price and shipping charges, please post it here. I really don't want to change my bottom paint because ProGuard works well for me, and anytime you change the paint chemistry there is a risk of having adhesion problems unless you strip it all off.

Hamilton Marine has it! They even have a $20.- off promotion, look in their December flyer, they have it online.

I just ordered 2 gallons. Like you, I bought it in 2016, applied it in 2019, and saw the outcome this fall when I took the boat out. I was very satisfied. There were about a dozen barnacles on the hull (easily flipped off with a putty knife), even though the prop and shaft were covered in what seemed like several layers of barnacles (I used Pettit zinc paint on those, no antifouling). Not too shabby, after 3 years! My boat is just across the Chessie from you, at the mouth of Middle River, so conditions should be comparable.

I mentioned that I bought the in 2016 because I did have one issue with the paint. It was on sale in 2016 so I bought twice as much as I need, keeping one half for the next application. Usually, I only haul every two or three years, so the next application was in 2019, 2.5 years after purchase. I found that one of the cans had basically disintegrated, most of the paint had leaked out, having made a mess. I don't know whether this was a fluke or whether it is simply a bad idea to store antifouling for nearly three years. So this time I just ordered the quantity that I will apply next spring.