Bottom Paint every Year?

[double2trouble]

Guys - I had stopped by my local marina (Ragged Rock - Old Saybrook,CT) for a general chat and one of the maintenence guys had mentioned that he repaints the bottom of his boat every few years or so - here I am having the boat repainted the start of each and every season...I was told that unless you start to have barnicles - repainting every season is overkill.

So that leads me to my question - what are most of you guys doing? Painting every year, every other year?

 

[gradyfish22]

Depends on the paint you use, there is cheaper, seasonal paints, that must be applied every year and will build up on the hull over time, they do not wear off. There are also ablative paints that should be applied in multiple coats, and then will wear with boat use and keep slime and barnacles off. If you use ablative paint, no need to reapply unless it is wearing off, with seasonal paints, if you do not repaint, you have no protection at all. If you use seasonal paint, you need to soad blast and restart from a fresh surface to switch over, otherwise you will never get the full effectivness of the abalative paint and it may not even cure to it.

My predicament right now with my ablative paint)Micron w/ Biolux) is that I am down to my last coat of blue, I have a coat of red and yellow as back up protection and warning colors(1 of each, they are my base bottom coats), and a few spots show through, I am not sure if I should just paint a few coats on now since the bottom is smooth, do touch up of where I can see through and wear more off so I have a thin layer and my base coats below and repaint a few coats in the fall, or should I touch up now and soda blast and start from scratch in the fall. If you use your boat a lot and it is a long term investment and stays in the water for the season, ablative paint is the way to go, it may cost more initially, but it is less maintenance, and from my experience, has been a better quality paint that has offered more overall protection to my bottom.

 

[fishingFINattic]

I use the least expensive stuff West Marine sells.
It works great and I only touch up the bottom every year and have not had problem in 7 seasons...
Tim

 

[gerrys]

Two coats of Interlux Micron Extra with Biolux will last about 16-18 months in Florida on a boat left in the water. If you have the boat hauled over winter, you should probably be able to get 2 seasons.

 

[seabum]

bottom paint

I just got done with my bottom paint nasty job!! I just had to touch up this year. I have to do mine every other year and don't have any problems. I don't want to get it on to heavy and have to sand it off. This is my 9th year. The boat is in OC Maryland, good luck!

 

[JeffN]

I used to paint mine every year then got cheap and decided to just touch up one year. Everyone gave me a doom and gloom story - have to paint every year etc. Well touch up worked fine for me in the Northeast. I'm docked in a salt water creek where the water temp gets very warm and when I haul out there is no difference between the new touch up and the old paint growth wise.

 

[eppem]

We bought our used 265 express and it was painted blue with petit hydrocoat...its pricy but water based which makes clean up a breeze (and my "green" kids give dad a thumbs up)...we painted it with two coats of black one year ago (to cover the blue)...and another full coat last year....this year we are just touching up the water line and the bow area...will let the rest "leach-off"...good paint, bottom comes out literally as clean as the day we launch.

 

[twinyams265]

i would just touch up the spots, and recoat the bow and water line- thats what i am gonna do now

 

[uncljohn]

Some ablatives do have 'dry-time limits' that need to be considered. Some w/ unlimited dry-times (Petit Ultima, Micron CSC) are true-multi season paints where you apply 3 coats and it should last 3 years and you shouldn't have to do anything until you start to see the base color come thru. Other ablatives have approx 60 day dry-limits, so if you winter your boat on land for 4 months, you should recoat before launch.

I just had my bottom blastedi n Nov and am getting ready to do a barrier coat. I am also applying Petiti Ultima SR, 3 coats..... not cheap.....but,Theoretically, I shouldn't need to do anything except an occasional brush and a spray off in winter for 3 years. (Theoretically). Once my base coat of hard-epoxy paint begins to show, I'll simply wash well and reapply Ultima. Barrier coat should be good for a decade or 2, and so I shouldn't need to sand or blast the bottom for a few decades.

Also, if you have a bracket and use Trilux, that has a 60 day dry-limit and needs to be recoated every year prior to launch.

 

[gradyfish22]

I decided to do two coats of Micron w/ Biolux, that will give me 2-3 years of coverage with the thin coat that is already present. I agree the true ablative paints are much easier and less maintenance, I've always quickly power washed it in the fall and been done, the bottom really stays very clean throughout the season.

 

[uncljohn]

For the last 6 years I've been going w/ the cheap hard epoxy stuff, with sanding every few years. This year I'm "splurging" for the good stuff (Ultima is approx $190/gal), but that extra $ should equate to less work. :lol: God I hope I'm right! It was painful walking out of West Marine with $900 worth of stuff to schlop onto the bottom......but that includes barrier coat and several thinners.