Bottom paint (Catalina 22j

Dec 22, 2016
24
catalina 22 Panama City, FL
I bought Pettit Trinidad (hard) because I thought the old red paint was hard. I lightly sanded the hull and then wiped down with denatured alcohol. After the wipe down, the rag is very red. The more I wipe the redder the rag gets. I now assume this means that my first assumption was wrong, and my old red paint is not hard. And the Trinidad will most likely not adhere to the hull, as-is.

Any thoughts ?

Is my only option : sand down, removing all he old red paint ?

-thanks
 
Jan 11, 2014
13,065
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
If the existing paint is an ablative paint, it will come off with out a solvent. Just rub your hand or a water dampened rag over the surface. Then follow the Pettit instructions.
 
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Jan 19, 2010
12,633
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Peel away will get it off.... and you can make your own for about $30. Get a 5lb bag of garden lime and about a pint of solid lye. Add all of this to a 5 gallong PVC bucket and add just enough water with stirring to get it sticky like melted peanut butter. Roll it onto the ablative paint and let it dry... the longer it stays wet the better this works... so a cool cloudy day is better... or wrap some plastic drop cloth (like what they sell in the paint section of Lowes) around the hull to keep it damp. Once it is dry, it will come off with a pressure washer. I've done this at least a dozen times ..

DO NOT GET THIS STUFF IN YOUR EYES!!!!