Bottom paint myths Urban legend or facts

Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Time to order my bottom paint and everyone seams to be the expert.

Last year I witnessed about twenty fellow boaters adding the new secret ingredient to there bottom paint. Cayenne pepper These guys sware by it! I watched in awl while they mixed there wicked brew. Adding there spices such as cayenne pepper,
Chile pepper, ghost pepper paste, and my all time favorite Slap your mama hot sauce. :eek:
Looking at this objectively and not knowing what what exactly the marine life culinary taste buds are. I tried to look at the as objectively as I could. I don't particularly like really spicy foods and I have gotten ghost pepper extract on my hands, and it does start to irritate my skin so maybe this does work.

If it does work then why are the marine stores marketing it? They mark up everything else they sell what not pepper paint!
If it does work is there any documented prof?

The only thing I have added to my paint is cooper dust. I would cut a piece of old cooper pipe and grind it down using my bench grinder. I would place a bucket under the grinder wheel and grind away untill I had about 1/2 lb or so then mix it into the paint.
Now I don't claim this works or not, I just saw someone do this, so I tried it !

So, Cayenne pepper Urban legend. Or. Does it really work?:liar:
If it does work how long before EPA bands this also.

 
Feb 20, 2011
7,990
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Just google "adding cayenne pepper bottom paint" and you'll be busy for hours. :rolleyes:
I don't see the EPA banding it.
 
Jul 27, 2011
4,989
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
What's a cooper pipe? Maybe that should be cooper's pipe. Now where would you find a cooper these days, let alone one of his pipes?
 
Feb 26, 2011
1,428
Achilles SD-130 Alameda, CA
Adding pepper, Roundup, copper pipe shavings or just about anything else to your anti fouling paint is not only ineffective, but likely voids any warranty with which the paint may have been sold.
 
Feb 20, 2011
7,990
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Roundup
Saw that one also while searching. Seems dumb.

@Capt Robbie , be careful grinding copper (or any soft metals). You can load up your wheel with the stuff, creating an imbalance that could lead to the wheel fragmenting. If you must, resurfacing the wheel often should help alleviate the possibility.

I think...
 
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Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
Roundup. Just in case a herd of ragweed comes by. Or would that be a gaggle of ragweed?
 
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Jun 2, 2004
3,390
Hunter 23.5 Fort Walton Yacht Club, Florida
Had not heard of adding copper pipe shavings. A big one floating around here is adding algaecide for the pool to the paint. Watch which one though some are copper based and others use something else.

Paint half the boat using the additives to the paint and let us know.
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Roundup. Just in case a herd of ragweed comes by. Or would that be a gaggle of ragweed?
I'm seriously wondering if anyone has used Roundup on the grass that grows along the waterline of the boat? Or is a string trimmer still the best way?
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Sorry about the typo

Copper pipe dust, I only added this to the paint once.
Didn't see a noticeable difference, so never added it again.
Plus was very time consuming.
Googled this topic.
Round up is a new one.
 
Feb 26, 2011
1,428
Achilles SD-130 Alameda, CA
Paint manufacturers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over many decades developing anti fouling paints. These products are complex matrices of biocides, solvents, pigments and binders. Simply dumping some random ingredient into them with the expectation that you are going to somehow improve the product is pretty dumb, IMHO. And if any of these homespun, kitchen sink "improvements" actually worked, they would absolutely already be in use and available. But they aren't. None of them.
 
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
I'm seriously wondering if anyone has used Roundup on the grass that grows along the waterline of the boat? Or is a string trimmer still the best way?
You really gotta get out on the water more often. :)
 
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Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
Did you go back to these same guys and see for yourself adding species to bottom paint
really works or see if their bottoms are any cleaner.