Vinyl bottom paint

[higgs]

Got a new to me boat last spring and it was already in the water, so bottom paint was on. Surveyor says it is vinyl - I have no experience with this type of paint. Can it be burnished and used for the coming season on the Great Lakes, which do not get any warmer than 70 F, and that for only a month. Eventually, I will be stripping the bottom to gel coat, but not this coming year. I have used VC17 which does not build up over each seasons use, which means a quick bottom wash with thinner and a new thin coat and your set. With vinyl, do most owners take it down to bare every year? If no, how much does one let this paint build up before it is time to strip it down?I see Interlux is the only vinyl West offers. Any other suggestions for me?

 

[s sauer]

Vinyl Racing Paint

If the paint is very smooth and a metalic gray / metalic bronze, it would most likely be Baltoplate, which is typically wet sanded (320-400 grit wet-or-dry)and/or burnished to almost a reflective finish. It's a very fast bottom finish but virtually nothing is compatible with it other than another vinyl based paint and it cannot be power sanded off as the vinyl melts into the sandpaper. You can remove it by wet sanding(try 180 grit) or hand scraping, which is a bear. If you intend to race (VC 17 is also a racing paint) maybe you should try using it for a year. My 28.5 takes about 1/2 to 3/4 gallon of paint using West System's foam rollers. You can add a little vinyl solvent to thin the aplication, but it dries very fast and the thinner may attack the foam roller after awhile. I use it in the Chesapeake Bay's brackish water and the bottom needs to be scrubbed every two to three weeks to keep off slime. If you race and wet sand the boat you are typically removing paint and preventing any major build up.