We're in the process of scraping off all of the old bottom paint on our O'day 26. This has been our first winter with the boat, so we figured we would remove all of bottom paint to get a good look at the hull. When it comes time to paint it, what do you suggest we do? Should we use a barrier coat of some sort? Also, is there a better solvent to clean the bare fiberglass than acetone? There are some small nicks in the gelcoat. What do you use to fill them? Thanks for the help.
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The joy of bottom painting.
I did a full bottom job on my Catalina 34 last spring. I used Interlux (www.yachtpaint.com) products from start to finish. Their 202 solvent is what I used prior to putting on the barrier coat. I used their 2000E barrier coat. Is it worth the time and effort??? You've already got it sanded down to fiberglass might as well put on a barrier coat, what can it hurt? I've attached a link to my painting project page. The yachtpaint.com web site has all the product info and their customer service is the best. Their contact numbers are: (908) 686-1300 & (908) 686 8545. Good luck with the paint job.
I did a full bottom job on my Catalina 34 last spring. I used Interlux (www.yachtpaint.com) products from start to finish. Their 202 solvent is what I used prior to putting on the barrier coat. I used their 2000E barrier coat. Is it worth the time and effort??? You've already got it sanded down to fiberglass might as well put on a barrier coat, what can it hurt? I've attached a link to my painting project page. The yachtpaint.com web site has all the product info and their customer service is the best. Their contact numbers are: (908) 686-1300 & (908) 686 8545. Good luck with the paint job.
Why do that to yourself
just sand is a LITTLE and give her a light coat of new bottom paint. You are asking for problems and creating way too much work.
just sand is a LITTLE and give her a light coat of new bottom paint. You are asking for problems and creating way too much work.
hull job
One reason to strip the paint is to get a look the extent of any blistering. The name of the game is blister prevention, not blister repair. After stripping, go with the 2000E barrier/primer coat. The barrier coat retards water permeation into the gelcoat. If you find blisters, which could range from covering the whole bottom with what looks like chicken pox to just a few large (or small) blisters, grind out a little crater only so deep as to remove the bad gelcoat and/or laminate. Now here's the catch, ideally, to maximize benefits of this repair, you want to see to it that the hull is as dry as possible, which means leaving the boat out of the water for a few months. That's ideal, most of the time, it's only practical to fill in the voids with epoxy whenever convenient and work from there. And, much of the time, the policy is fuggetaboutit altogether. That brings me to your question about filling the small nicks, whether from blister repairs or pre-existing. Two-part epoxy is the favorite. All sorts come in small packages from marine distributors, but I spend my money on West System, which I've linked at the bottom straight to their manual. All in all: fill the voids, 2 coats of barrier coat, 2-3 coats of antifouling.
One reason to strip the paint is to get a look the extent of any blistering. The name of the game is blister prevention, not blister repair. After stripping, go with the 2000E barrier/primer coat. The barrier coat retards water permeation into the gelcoat. If you find blisters, which could range from covering the whole bottom with what looks like chicken pox to just a few large (or small) blisters, grind out a little crater only so deep as to remove the bad gelcoat and/or laminate. Now here's the catch, ideally, to maximize benefits of this repair, you want to see to it that the hull is as dry as possible, which means leaving the boat out of the water for a few months. That's ideal, most of the time, it's only practical to fill in the voids with epoxy whenever convenient and work from there. And, much of the time, the policy is fuggetaboutit altogether. That brings me to your question about filling the small nicks, whether from blister repairs or pre-existing. Two-part epoxy is the favorite. All sorts come in small packages from marine distributors, but I spend my money on West System, which I've linked at the bottom straight to their manual. All in all: fill the voids, 2 coats of barrier coat, 2-3 coats of antifouling.
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