I recently received a sales pitch on a "Baltoplate" bottom paint. According to a 2004 post in the archives, it was well liked though expensive, and sold by Interlux. My questions are: 1) does everyone feel Baltoplate is good, 2) what is the current trade name or paint name for this magic mix, and 3) has anyone had any bad experience with the stuff. PS-esp Freshwater use, year round in the water
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E
ed
tried it here
I put it on my old raceboat, made a really nice smooth finish, we sprayed it and sanded it and it came out like glass. on the other hand it did not work too well as an anti fouling paint in the saltwater. so we went back to trinidad the next year. an expensive test. but arent they all! may be fine in freshwater. We stay in year round here too. your post does not say were you are.
I put it on my old raceboat, made a really nice smooth finish, we sprayed it and sanded it and it came out like glass. on the other hand it did not work too well as an anti fouling paint in the saltwater. so we went back to trinidad the next year. an expensive test. but arent they all! may be fine in freshwater. We stay in year round here too. your post does not say were you are.
Baltoplate Performance
I've used Baltoplate in the mid Cheasapeake Bay for the last 15 seasons as a racing paint capable of being wet sanded to a mirrror smooth surface. It is now sold thru Interlux. When it's wet sanded and scrubbed clean, you can't get a faster bottom, but algae/ slime grownth starts up again and becomes a factor after about two weeks in our brackish water. We don't race as often anymore but I do scrub the bottom with a 3M grille scrubber about once a month to remove slime - never get any barnacles though except on the un protected folding prop. However, due to the work involved, I would NOT recommend it to any but serrious racers. Once you start using it you may have to sand it off completely to change to another material due to compatibility issues. The solvent in the vinyl based paint also starts to delaminate most any paint rollers I've used including the West System foam rollers used for epoxies, so I change rollers after about 20 minutes. VC 17 is the other racing performance paint we hear about most up here, but I have no personal experience with it.
I've used Baltoplate in the mid Cheasapeake Bay for the last 15 seasons as a racing paint capable of being wet sanded to a mirrror smooth surface. It is now sold thru Interlux. When it's wet sanded and scrubbed clean, you can't get a faster bottom, but algae/ slime grownth starts up again and becomes a factor after about two weeks in our brackish water. We don't race as often anymore but I do scrub the bottom with a 3M grille scrubber about once a month to remove slime - never get any barnacles though except on the un protected folding prop. However, due to the work involved, I would NOT recommend it to any but serrious racers. Once you start using it you may have to sand it off completely to change to another material due to compatibility issues. The solvent in the vinyl based paint also starts to delaminate most any paint rollers I've used including the West System foam rollers used for epoxies, so I change rollers after about 20 minutes. VC 17 is the other racing performance paint we hear about most up here, but I have no personal experience with it.
I would'nt ever use balto again!
when i started racing my O'Day 30 about 15 yrs ago i made the mistake of using balto the first two yrs. what a ridiculas amount of work to get a smooth bottom. balto drys rock hard and is a bitch to sand out. i switched to___VC Offshore____ not to be confused with VC17. ablative and a lot easier to sand out. no build up and does'nt flake off like balto does when it gets too thick. Hense you never have to go thru that striping crap. Its the same price as balto,and same antifouling properties.another trick to ease work of preping is to put it on with an $80 airless sprayer. bottom can be completed in about 4hr including wet sanding to 600 grit. start with 220 just a touch, then to 400 a touch again, then to 600. bottom will be as smooth as a newborns bottom. bottom will be just as fast as balto. have a house full of silver won on the chesie's big races IE gov cup,solomns,northern bay etc as testimonial. Oh yes!!!! slime will build on offshore also i use a soft brush and fine 3m kit srubber to remove it.
when i started racing my O'Day 30 about 15 yrs ago i made the mistake of using balto the first two yrs. what a ridiculas amount of work to get a smooth bottom. balto drys rock hard and is a bitch to sand out. i switched to___VC Offshore____ not to be confused with VC17. ablative and a lot easier to sand out. no build up and does'nt flake off like balto does when it gets too thick. Hense you never have to go thru that striping crap. Its the same price as balto,and same antifouling properties.another trick to ease work of preping is to put it on with an $80 airless sprayer. bottom can be completed in about 4hr including wet sanding to 600 grit. start with 220 just a touch, then to 400 a touch again, then to 600. bottom will be as smooth as a newborns bottom. bottom will be just as fast as balto. have a house full of silver won on the chesie's big races IE gov cup,solomns,northern bay etc as testimonial. Oh yes!!!! slime will build on offshore also i use a soft brush and fine 3m kit srubber to remove it.
B
Bob
airless sprayer
Capn Jim What kind of airless sprayer do you use to apply VC offshore to your boat?
Capn Jim What kind of airless sprayer do you use to apply VC offshore to your boat?
airless sprayer
it's a krebs. i use two diferent nossels. the round patern for relatively vertical surfaces and flat for the under/overhead surfaces. be advised that you need to use the aprop. thinner for spraying. as to the amount i basically just keep putting it on until i've used 3 qts. dont't put it on too thick/coat or you'll have runs that take a lot more work to sand out to get it smooth. i've found that on my 30 this is more than enough to get me thru the season. with 1 qt left over to start the next, and this allows for scrubbing every two weeks from early may to whenever the waters are not too cold for a swim, which is mid to late oct. BTW:: the boat isn't in old lyme any longer. but on the chesie.
it's a krebs. i use two diferent nossels. the round patern for relatively vertical surfaces and flat for the under/overhead surfaces. be advised that you need to use the aprop. thinner for spraying. as to the amount i basically just keep putting it on until i've used 3 qts. dont't put it on too thick/coat or you'll have runs that take a lot more work to sand out to get it smooth. i've found that on my 30 this is more than enough to get me thru the season. with 1 qt left over to start the next, and this allows for scrubbing every two weeks from early may to whenever the waters are not too cold for a swim, which is mid to late oct. BTW:: the boat isn't in old lyme any longer. but on the chesie.
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