primer?
- Thread starter jimthomas
- Start date
As a barrier coat, yes. That's what it is for. I infer you are asking if it is good as an anti-fouling. If that is what you are asking, it is an expensive and useless choice.
If the boat is dry stored.... such as many racing fleets do... you don't really need anti fouling. I don't put anti fouling on my Nacra beach cat, for instance. If it's kept in the water for any length of time.... a barrier coat's not going to inhibit anything other than water intrusion.
A few years ago "Professional Boatbuilder had an article on blisters. At that time only one unbiased study had been done and that was thru a college in the northwest and the US Navy. I think it was about a 5 year study and then dropped for lack of money. Some of the results and questions: Why did some boats blister and others didn't ?-- Poor workmanship, low quality resin and or glass seemed to be a leading answer There were a number of boats built by builders with high quality control that have never blistered. Some of these builders have now gone to a vinlyester resin for its sale-ability not because they were having problems. Are barrier coats effective? There was nothing to prove that they were. In some cases they might even increase blisters. The thought was that all resins will absorb water. Expoy or vinlyester at a somewhat lower rate than polyester but water does "get in" or comes from inside the boat. Some of the tests showed that maybe by slowing down the rate might be holding water inside the laminate to long and causing problems. Time-money ran out before real answers were proven. When results that were there were taken to some of the major boatyards the thought was how could we tell a customer that the thousands of dollars they have just spent might not work. Unfortionally few of us have enough numbers that are watched long enough prove the effectiveness of the resin systems. The only consistent is in quality work. The bad spots in a hull will probably blister no mater what you put over it. The only benefit of covering an unblistered hull with a barrier coat is commercial.