BOTTOM PAINT

Wireman

Active Member
What would be the best paint to use below the water line that is non ablative
My boat never stays in the water more than one day at a time and is always trailered.
At present there is ablative paint that has been on the boat for the past 15 years tha'ts how long I've had the boat so I just would like to clean it up
Thanks in advance
 
You did not mention what your hull is made out of. I understand Micron CSC is good for glass, wood and a properly prepared and primed steel hull, but is not recommended for Aluminum hulls and fittings. I also understand it will stand up better to being dragged up on a trailer, but will not be as effective at keeping the hull clear of growth if you leave it in the water for any length of time, especially in the summer or tropics, compared to highly ablative paint.

Have never done it, but it could be worth exploring to see if it would be possible to completely remove your existing paint and end up with the original good condition high gloss gel coat, assuming the hull is glass. Did they sand the gel coat first? Did they prime it before the soft ablative paint? You could try a test patch restoration before making the final decision to repaint or try to remove. One wonders how well a less ablative paint will bond to a highly ablative paint. Would you need to remove the highly ablative paint first? My highly ablative paint is so soft you can pretty much scrub it off with a rag when wet from pressure washing. You have to be very careful with the power washer to just clean off the surface scum without removing the highly ablative paint. If you are sanding that toxic stuff you may want a respirator.
 
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Micron csc is good stuff but is ablative.. removing the old stuff and applying an epoxy of some kind like interprotect would be ideal or just your original gel coat if it’s still in good shape is also fine for a trailer queen.. be prepared though it can be a messy labor intensive job having it soda or dustless blasted would set you up well to apply the epoxy coating.
 
Micron csc is good stuff but is ablative.. removing the old stuff and applying an epoxy of some kind like interprotect would be ideal or just your original gel coat if it’s still in good shape is also fine for a trailer queen.. be prepared though it can be a messy labor intensive job having it soda or dustless blasted would set you up well to apply the epoxy coating.
My boat has an ablative bottom paint that I hate because I trailer my boat.. it is possible to have this removed and go back to the original gel coat?
 
My boat has an ablative bottom paint that I hate because I trailer my boat.. it is possible to have this removed and go back to the original gel coat?
You can strip it and power wash it but it’s really messy business. Best done by a boatyard in my opinion, or have the hull blasted and paint on an epoxy coating.
 
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IMO most bottom paints create drag & performance (speed/mpg) suffers. I went from ablative to teflon & realized a significant MPG improvement. For a F/G boat that is in the water less than a week or so at a time I'd go polished gelcoat.
 
My boat has a glass hull, my next question do I need to remove all the antifouling paint before I can apply any type of paint
 
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