Surface Prep for Dinghy Bottom Paint

[sailcapt340]

My dinghy is 6 years old. It has had 5 seasons of Black Pettit Dinghy Bottom Paint applied. Last year, I used TotalBoat Dinghy Bottom Paint for the first time. I like the TotalBoat line of products, but I have an issue now appearing. Admittedly, I didn’t realize it was an Ablative Paint, just never dawned on me.
I took my dinghy out of the water today and when I flipped it over I saw I had no paint on the bottom. I had no growth, barnacles or any other type of marine life clinging to the bottom. Just a little slime feel to it. And only slight traces of the original black Pettit paint were left.
I never thought an ablative paint could strip off so clean, leaving the bottom as if it was new (almost).
Has anyone else has this happen to them? Will I need to do some sort of surface prep to the bottom before I paint it again in the spring?
I am waiting to hear back from TotalBoat and get their thoughts on this. But had to ask here as well.
Thank you for the help.

 

[dmax]

The paints must've been incompatible. The Pettit bottom paint I used on my dinghy is ablative - I was told by a knowledgeable person that it is the same paint as Pettit Hydrocoat. I'm in the process now of trying to remove it and it's a major pain, maybe I should paint it withTotalBoat and wait a season Pettit instructions say to clean the hull with Epoxy Thinner 97 before painting - if you power wash and then clean with the thinner you should be good.

 

[sailcapt340]

Yeah, the Pettit/TotalBoat combo may just have not been compatible. By far it‘s the cleanest bottom I‘ve ever seen after a season in the water.
Still waiting to hear from TotalBoat, since they closed the storefront to customers and went to all online sales, they don’t work weekends either. I hope to hear back early next week.
As soon as I do I’ll share their thoughts on this. Wait till then before trying the TotalBoat Combo on yours.

 

[Art12050]

I used Total Boat Dinghy Bottom Paint for the first time this season. I was amazed there was zero growth over the season. It went directly on the PVC as I hadn’t bottom painted my dinghy before. After three months in the water there was very little wear on the paint and the bond was still very good. It‘s definitely ablative as a little came off when I washed it down before storing it.
Shout out to Total Boat.

 

[sailcapt340]

I agree Art, TotalBoat does makes a great product line. I’ve used their 2 Part Penetrating Epoxy on my dinghy floor and it’s held up to sitting water perfectly.
This just threw me for a loop. I wasn’t prepared for the result I found.
And yes, it’s definitely ablative, like you, I had some still coming off the bottom when I washed it down in my driveway.
I have a couple of better photos of the bottom after it completely dried which is easier to see the results after a season.
You say you applied it without any surface prep on your dinghy. Was that on a new dinghy? I know new dinghies need to be de-waxed before applying bottom paint. I did that when it was new but never again.
Now I’m wondering if I need to do that again.
I’ll wait to hear from TotalBoat this week on that.
Thank you for sharing your results.

 

[sailcapt340]

I heard back from TotalBoat today and they feel going forward I need to treat this boat as a new application of paint.
They do feel I may not have completely prepped the bottom. Being that I did that process (de-waxing) 5 years ago when it was new out of the box and never did that again, I would never had thought of doing that again. So it’s not out of the question it wasn’t complete, but very well hidden by the Non Ablative Paint.

Their tech stated:
Thank you for reaching out.
I have seen paint lose adhesion but never so complete as that.
My understanding is that the Pettit and TotalBoat paint for inflatables are very similar. The directions for surface prep are nearly identical.
I'm guessing that the surface prep for the Pettit pain t wasn't complete and the second coat of paint may have softened the first coat.
I would treat that like a new boat.

I guess, in my defense, at least I did this completely over surface and not in isolated areas. Leaving me with a nightmare of trying to remove what was left.
Going forward I’ll use their prep product and re-coat again with the Ablative Bottom Paint.

 

[sailcapt340]

Here is the list of products TotalBoat suggested for applying the bottom paint to the dinghy.

I would treat that like a new boat. Check out these links for complete directions and materials required for surface prep:
Inflatable Boat Boat Paint Application Guide
TotalBoat Epoxy Primer Thinner 200
Western Pacific Bronze Wool

I couldn’t my original can of Pettit Primer I used when I first painted the boat, just to make sure it was the right product for the job but it isn’t around. I’ll be more careful this time in my application methods.

 

[Art12050]

Interesting information. My dinghy was several seasons old before I bottom painted it. I hadn’t had much luck with bottom painting two previous dinghy’s with different product, so I was hesitant to paint this one.
I’m guessing the protective coating must have worn off over time, so the paint seemed to bond with any issues. I’m planning on recoating in Spring. Saves me from hauling it up on the beach and scrubbing the bottom during the season.