Which comes first? The chicken or the egg?

[Brian D]

OK, you haul your boat for a bottom paint and a wax job. So, which is done first? Do you clean the bottom, then wax the hull, then bottom paint? Or do you clean the bottom, paint, then wax the hull?This is one of those questions in which one climbs Mt. Everest just the ask.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

one critical consideration

just make sure you don't wax the bottom and paint the topsides. If you do, the chronology is unimportant

 

[Dave C20469]

Bottom, then wax

When I clean, I work top-down, when I paint/wax I work bottom up. Not sure why - maybe so wax dust doesn't get on the area I'm going to paint? Dave

 

[Kevin3447]

Paint last

I think you should paint last. Some of the cleaners can eat the bottom paint. The boat next to me painted first, then cleaned, and now he's got streaks through the paint. Looks like a zebra.Kevin

 

[Mike]

If you sand

If your going to have to do a lot of sanding I'd do the bottom first. That is unless you have a vacuum sander that will ensure you a dust free result. Also wash the topsides down shortly after you sand but before you paint. If the dust gets wet and then is allowed to dry you'll work like a fool to remove it.

 

[PHitchcox]

Boat Stripe

First, to answer the question, it depends on which way you're walking down the grocery aisle.Now that we've got that answered....I had a similar question about the paint/wax order, because I usually clean, paint the hull, then wax the sides. More habit than logic, but my problem always comes when the waxing meets up with the paint at the boot stripe and oh the mess I can make. Any touching of the bottom paint (I use ablative) is a mistake; but not waxing to the water line guarantees the first place for marine growth to grab on.The only logic is that once the bottom is painted, I can focus on waxing until my energy runs out; then splash.I was going to wax the boot stripe first this year, then paint the bottom, then wax the rest of the side. But it sure looks silly in print.So I'll await more input from others (and see how others handle the bootstripe mess)Paul

 

[Waffle]

This how I do it

paint the bottom then wax. Why, don't know. Have always done it that way!

 

[CalebD]

If you are going to use On-Off or a hull cleaner

you should do that first. This stuff is great for cleaning discolored gelcoat but is quite powerful and would take off any new bottom paint. Spray off residue and allow to dry. What next? Your choice. Which part of the hull do you want to tape off first? If you are planning on buffing out wax on the freeboard gelcoat you will want a thick tape (2 or 3") for protecting the buffing pad from the bottom paint. You only need about 1 1/2" tape for masking off for bottom painting.After light sanding on the hull I always like to rub down the hull with Interlux #216 (some use #202) solvent to pick up dust right before painting.I guess the real answer to your question is how anal do you want to be about this?Good luck.

 

[Brian D]

Is it OK to...

paint over a waxed area?

 

[CalebD]

I guess that I am a little confused by the

question: "Is it ok to paint over a waxed area?. I think the generic answer is: No as the wax can interfere with the bonding of the paint to the surface. That is one reason I always wipe down the hull below the water line before I re-paint it - to remove imputities. Unless you are planning on painting the hull above the water line (eg., the freeboard) and I would still say: No for the same reason given above.I believe that I have read of people waxing their bottoms after painting in these forums. My guess is that they are probably in fresh water and are using a hard bottom paint like VC17 and the final coat of wax does not hurt anything and in fact may help the paint last. I keep my boat in salt water and use an ablative paint that is soft that I would not dream of trying to put a final coat of wax over as it would strip off some of the paint and make a mess in the process. So I guess part of the answer to your question lies in whether or not you are using a hard antifouling paint or not.Hope this helps.

 

[Waffle]

Re:Is it OK to...

Sure, why not. The water will taje the wax off! You don't go crasy with the wax need the paint. I carefully wax the bottom near the paint. I would rather have stops with no wax than tons of wax on the paint.There is NO SET way to do any of this stuff. For every reason someone has to do it one way someone esle has another reason why not. That why the wrote the song, "If it makes you happy, It can't be that bad"!

 

[Brian D]

CalebD...

I guess I was asking if I wax the hull first to just below the water line, will I have issues applying paint to that waxed area. I know to tape off the area so there is a nice even waterline, but will any wax below that area cause the paint not to bond? Does that make sense now?

 

[Ross]

The purpose of the wax is ti prevent stuff

from sticking to the surface. If you wax first the paint will bead up on the waxed areas just as water does on a waxed car surface. All painting instructions say be sure the surface is free of wax, grease, dirt, soap residue and other impurities, lightly sand glossy surfaces. Etc. Etc.

 

[CalebD]

Brian, I think MainSail has it right again.

Just be sure to tape off the area below the water line with a rather thick tape (2 -3") to protect the bottom from getting waxed and then do your above water waxing and buffing. Once done, remove waxed tape and re-apply tape for painting the bottom. I would wipe down the area around the water line before painting to remove any wax.Good luck.

 

[gpd955]

The Chicken

The chicken came first. Why, you ask.The chicken is an actual chicken. The egg is a potential chicken. Actuality preceeds potentiality.On the other hand...if you fall overboard and no one is around to hear, do you make a noise????????????

 

[Ross]

Gpd955 Actually the egg came first

Dinosaurs were laying eggs long before chickens came into being.

 

[gpd955]

Yes, but who laid the first dinosaur egg........

a dinosaur!

 

[Tom Spohn]

The Egg

I once had a biology final in college with one question on it: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg and why?" The correct answer is the egg. Only a chicken can hatch from a chicken egg, but a proto-chicken can undergo a mutation to produce a chicken egg.If a man is totally alone and no woman is around and he says something is he still wrong? Every woman I know answered yes.Sorry to be so far off subject.

 

[Joe]

So... in summary...

.. the sequence would be: prep the bottom, tape it off, then wax the topsides, then tape topsides off and paint the bottom.... right????

 

[Maine Sail]

That's correct..

tape twice..