I saw some zinc paint and bought a can. I was wondering if zinc paint would be good antifouling on a bronze prop. I have never noticed anything growing on my zincs.
Zinc paint on prop??
- Thread starter MoonSailer
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I have been using Petit "Zinc Coat Barnacle Spray" on my bronze shaft and prop for a few seasons. Given that most any kind of coating is going to wear off, I would say this stuff is "mostly" sucessful, that is, after an 8-month season on the Chesapeake, I usually only have a half dozen or so barnacles on the running gear. I would use it again.
Moonsailer. I had the same idea last year. I followed the instructions on the can and painted three coats of cold galvanizing on the prop, strut and shafts. My boat saw little activity this year but is on a mooring. Last year the boat was in the waters in Milford CT. for about two weeks before being moved up here the last week in July before it sat on the mooring about eight weeks unused because I had pneumonia.
Last year there were a TON of barnacles on the shaft, strut and prop. This year with the zinc, nearly none. Both years the boat was pressure washed before my observations of barnacles occurred. It is a bit early to tell, but it didn't seem to hurt anything either. Plus only $12/can. I will try it a few more years to collect more data. Perhaps use (or lack thereof) had a bigger impact than the zinc.
Last year there were a TON of barnacles on the shaft, strut and prop. This year with the zinc, nearly none. Both years the boat was pressure washed before my observations of barnacles occurred. It is a bit early to tell, but it didn't seem to hurt anything either. Plus only $12/can. I will try it a few more years to collect more data. Perhaps use (or lack thereof) had a bigger impact than the zinc.
As I recall...
I think I just kept it wet for about thirty seconds by spraying it with a hose.
We have applied Prop Speed on several boats and the results have been very good, better than most other methods we have tried. It is expensive, more so if you have the yard do it but in areas where fouling is severe, worth in in my opinion. We epoxy coat our prop and use our regular bottom paint and it works very well. We did loose some on the leading edges on this last 800 mile cruise, but it held up well. With any prop, the more you use it the less fouling. Chuck
I applied PropSpeed before launch in the spring of '08. Boat stayed in the water last winter; this past spring I had it hauled for a few days to wax the hull, and the prop was spotless. I left it alone at resplash, and it has remained clean through this season as well. I plan to strip and recoat it this winter (I have enough PropSpeed left over from the original application to recoat once more). Expensive, but works well.
Highly recommended to me by another Chesapeake sailor - it went on my Catalina 30 bronze prop after 'eradicating' a mass of barnacles with this fall's haul out.
WOW
Plus Pettit is selling it too for $20? We must be on to something if they are selling it and it must be safe to use on stainless and bronze / nibral props.
"Pettit Zinc Coat Barnacle Barrier 1792 provides easy to use aerosol spray protection for bare metals including steel, stainless steel, cast iron, copper, bronze, galvanized steel, and lead. It forms an excellent bond to underwater metals and running gear, and inhibits corrosion on these surfaces."
Your not kidding...$200 a quart! Sorry, but I'll stick to my $12/can of generic cold galvanizing spray from Ace Hardware and scrape off the two or three barnacles I did find. Just checked...its down to $8/can and a single can will likely last three or more seasons.
Plus Pettit is selling it too for $20? We must be on to something if they are selling it and it must be safe to use on stainless and bronze / nibral props.
"Pettit Zinc Coat Barnacle Barrier 1792 provides easy to use aerosol spray protection for bare metals including steel, stainless steel, cast iron, copper, bronze, galvanized steel, and lead. It forms an excellent bond to underwater metals and running gear, and inhibits corrosion on these surfaces."
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