How many coats of bottom paint?

[IH82BL8]

Two years ago I removed all of the many coats of bottom paint from my boat and started all over. I put on four coats of barrier coat and three coats of bottom paint. The boat will have been in the water for 1 1/2 years by the time I haul it this Spring. After I've sanded (scuffed) the bottom, how many new coats of bottom paint will I need? I was planning to do two, but wondering if one would be sufficient.

Thanks.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Next time you repainted, use different colors on different coats so you can easily tell how much has worn away exposing different layers.

There is no clear answer to your question absent knowing wear and usage.

 

[Gunni]

1. What bottom paint did you use?
2. Can you see the barrier coat?

 

[Ron20324]

In Annapolis I use Micron CSC and it lasts 2 years, easy. I will be at 2 yrs 10 months when I haul in May, but i TRY to haul out every 2 years and give it one coat, two where the previous colored coat is showing through. /// With all that barrier coat i wouldn't think you would have needed 3 coats. +1 to Gunni's get a different color for each year.

 

[Capt jgw]

Really depends on what paint type you're using. Of its an ablative, you'll need to replace whatever has worn off. And you'll only know that from experience and meaning each coast a different color. If it's a hard type, then two coats to start and once everytime after should be good. You'll get build up that way though, which is why we have ablatives. It you're using VC17 or SR21/FW21, the makers recommend two coats every time. It's what I use and I put on two coats to start and one coat thereafter and have had good results. Note that if you're seasonal worth a long haul out period, those paints labeled as "multiseasonal" don't have to be reapplied if you still have good film thickness.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I, too, kept my boat in Deale, Md (HHN), which is a brackish mid-bay location with moderate hard/soft growth potential on the boat bottom depending a lot on how warm the summer is and how much fresh water flows into the -bay, among other factors. I tended to use the boat 1-2 days per week from April 1 - Dec 1. My bottom paint of choice is the water-based ablative Petit Hydrocoat. Each spring I would powerwash the bottom and scruff it up with an abrasive pad prior to bottom painting. I applied one thin coat of bottom paint with a 1/4-inch nap roller. This worked perfectly. I could see that the most recent coat of Hydrocoat was just about worn off by the end of the season haul-out.

 

[Joe]

Most yards will quote their price based on a single coat overall, plus an extra coat on all the leading edges of keel, rudder and bow.