Bottom paint. What have I gotten myself into?

[rgranger]

BTW, the active ingreedient in Citrus Strip contains chlorinated hydrocarbons (nasty stuff) so wear a respirator or at the least do it in a well ventilatted area. The active ingredient is the oven cleaner is a very strong base ... so be sure not to get it in your eyes (wear eye protection in either case). For the stubborn spots, you may find that one works better than the other.

 

[Justin_NSA]

You don't have a lot of paint left on the hull. I would brush on a little citrus strip on the remaining areas and then use a scrapper once it bubbles up. You could try a can of Easy-off oven cleaner.

Regarding how long a batch of the homemade peel away lasts... I made it up in a PVC bucket. So long as you put the lid on, there is nothing (chemically) to go bad. You will just need to stirr it and maybe add a little water if it starts to dry out.

I have a LOT more paint left than it looks in the pics. In fact, the other day after I did the bow, I thought I'd stand back and see just how well I had done. Reality was humbling. I had so much more to do! I'm mostly down to 1 or 2 layers left. I think I need to get it all down to the gelcoat and start anew. If not for me, for the legacy of Bella Luna.
I think that since it doesn't appear that I have a barrier coat, I could be wrong but it's not obvious, any chemical stripper should work. Sure beats sanding! Either way, I want to be sure I don't damage the gelcoat.

 

[rgranger]

This (or similar)

+ this... (or something similar)

(Potassium Hydroxide will also work)

Into a PVC bucket with a little water and stir to make a melted peanut butter consistancy goo

Roll it on with one of these...

WEAR EYE PROTECTION!!!

Go have a few beers....

Let it dry... pressure wash it off...

Repeat if needed.

I would lay down an old sheet to catch the flakes paint (YMMV). The water from the pressure washer will filter through the sheet.

 

[Sailfanatic]

The black layer sounds like it is definitely a barrier coat. I would not remove it, get the rest of the paint off and recoat with new paint. If you have no blisters, there is no reason to strip the boat for a new barrier coat. No blisters = whatever is there, is good enough.

 

[Justin_NSA]

What are the cracks coming thru the bottom layer telling me? If that layer is a barrier coat then what is it and does it need to be repaired? The bow and rudder will need to be redone regardless.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Well, I called Pettit this week for information on their products. 'Pettit Protect' is an epoxy primer used for osmotic blister prevention. They said it can be applied over the black barrier coat I have as well as the gelcoat I exposed. See earlier pics. They said I just need to be sure that the surface is roughed up with 40 - 60 grit sandpaper. I ordered a couple gallons. The tricky part is getting under the pads within the epoxy's pot life. I can lower a couple at a time.

 

[glanrock]

I'm curious what you did about the cracks you found. Did you paint over them with epoxy primer? Did you dig them out or inspect them first? In one of the pics I thought I saw a lot of circles in the black area. Which makes me think blister bulge. They weren't blisters?

This goo/paste concoction looks VERY interesting! I sanded the bottom of our boat a few hours a day over a span of weeks recently. Orbital sander over my head, exhausting. I do not look forward to it but I do like the look of the freshly painted bottom!

I noticed a lot of boats were simply painting over the areas that were clearly paint cracked and chipped, which is the reason I sand it in the first place. I found it curious.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Cracks are just cracks in the gelcoat. No swelling or anything to indicate blistering. I'm going to epoxy paint over them. The bad news; it turns out that the remaining black layer isn't a barrier coat. It smears when I try to wipe the hull down with brush thinner. Called Pettit again and they said it is probably some old primer and has to come off. The Pettit Protect won't bond with it. So I have most of my sanding down to the gelcoat done. Never saw a barrier layer.
At least there's no pressure to be ready to launch and sail. Our reservoir is too low.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Cracks are just cracks in the gelcoat. No swelling or anything to indicate blistering. I'm going to epoxy paint over them. The bad news; it turns out that the remaining black layer isn't a barrier coat. It smears when I try to wipe the hull down with brush thinner. Called Pettit again and they said it is probably some old primer and has to come off. The Pettit Protect won't bond with it. So I have most of my sanding down to the gelcoat done. Never saw a barrier layer.
At least there's no pressure to be ready to launch and sail. Our reservoir is too low.

Good news about the cracks and lack of blisters. If the black layer is some kind of primer and well adhered I’d still be tempted to just paint over it rather than sand through it.

 

[glanrock]

Cracks are just cracks in the gelcoat. No swelling or anything to indicate blistering. I'm going to epoxy paint over them. The bad news; it turns out that the remaining black layer isn't a barrier coat. It smears when I try to wipe the hull down with brush thinner. Called Pettit again and they said it is probably some old primer and has to come off. The Pettit Protect won't bond with it. So I have most of my sanding down to the gelcoat done. Never saw a barrier layer.
At least there's no pressure to be ready to launch and sail. Our reservoir is too low.

Glad to hear you're clear of blisters! They're a nightmare in quantity.

If that black layer isn't dry and cracking, yeah, should might be able to just sand it and paint over it. However if your already sanding and it smears... might be better to just carefully remove it (without removing the gelcoat of course), then you have a fresh start fresh so you'll know what your working with from here on.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

If you do take off all the barrier coat and have fresh gel coat, as mentioned somewhere above, this is the perfect time to apply some Interlux Interprotect barrier coat epoxy paint. There are a couple of different kinds. The HF requires less coats. If you paint the antifouling over the Interprotect within a certain window of time, you don't have to sand between coats. If paint build up is an issue, consider an ablative antifouling paint that works like a bar of soap, stuffing off as the season progresses until the point where you have no paint left. As long as you see paint, you have protection. Not so with single season non ablative paints. They work very well, but the toxicant stuffs away from the paint and hence the paint keeps building up each time you apply another coat, which is required for single season paints. Multi season paints have paint and toxicant stuff off at the same rate, so there is no build up over time.

 

[Justin_NSA]

That's exactly what I'm preparing to do Bill. I am down to the gelcoat. Waiting for a good wx window to apply barrier and bottom paint. I'm going with Pettit Protect epoxy and Pettit Odyssey hard ablative. Won't let it build up this time.
Getting around the epoxy 'wait time' and under the 8 trailer bunks will be the biggest headache

 

[jssailem]

Justin choose a day when the TEMP TIME is above the cure time. Check the boat hull is at the proper temp. I have observed tented hulls with a heat lamp/heater used to warm up the boat. Unfortunately those propane shop heaters are not good around curing epoxy fumes.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Update on my progress: I rolled 4 coats of Pettit Protect epoxy paint with a 3/16 roller for a smoother finish. Pettit says you can do it in 2 coats with a 3/8" but the finish would be wavier. I managed to get 2 coats of Pettit Odyssey HD bottom paint ( a 3rd near the waterline) applied during the Protect/Ablative cure window. Everywhere except under 2 pads before it got too late. I'll have to come back when there isn't rain in the forecast to sand under the pads and apply the bottom paint under them. It was a lot of work but it's nearly done. Since we are in a drought, none of the keelboats can launch. It took a lot of pressure off me.

Odyssey HD comes in a dark blue which matches my trim. Not that anyone can tell much in the water.

 

[Justin_NSA]

Final word on my project. The prep and application went well, but I have to say I'm disappointed in the appearance of this new Pettit Odyssey HD paint. We're in a drought so I have not had a chance to put Bella in the water this year. But just sitting on the trailer, rain runoff has streaked the nice dark blue paint for which I chose it for, to lighter blue streaks and patches everywhere. I Googled this and came to learn too late that this is an issue with this paint. I contacted Pettit. They responded a couple times and then it looks like they ghosted me.
I hope it at least performs well once the lake comes up. It sure doesn't look like it's supposed to. I can't recommend it.

 

[BigEasy]

I'm disappointed in the appearance of this new Pettit Odyssey HD paint.
I hope it at least performs well once the lake comes up. It sure doesn't look like it's supposed to. I can't recommend it.

Justin, I wouldn’t sweat the streaking of the ablative paint after rainfall. I have had that happen a few times, over the years, using different manufacturers’ ablative paints. Once you’re back in the water, it will all blend together & look normal. Petit products are top of the line, the performance should be good.

 

[jssailem]

Same experience on my paint of 5 years. About 85% lasted till I removed it. It did a great job.

 

[Dalliance]

No worries, Justin. Rain streaks on fresh bottom paint are normal and disappear quickly when boat goes in the water. It happens with both ablative paints and the VC-17 I use now. It also happens in the spring when I clean the hull in the boat yard. Doesn’t even have to be fresh bottom paint.