Bare hull bottom painting suggestions

[Great lakes pirate]

My boat has never been bottom painted. I am planning on having a local shop barrier coat and paint in the next week or two. I am trying to decided what products to use and what other sea ray owners like and use. From reading other threads it sounds like Sea Ray typically uses Hydrocoat.

Right now I am looking at Sea Hawk, VC-17 and the Hydrocoat.

I am sure that there are many opinions out there.

Thanks!

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Before you barrier coat, you may want to see if your hull is a "vinylester" construction. There have been threads about this so just do a search.

From what I understand, Sea Ray hulls of this type start off like any other with gelcoat applied to the reverse mold. The second step is where the difference lies. Instead of just putting woven glass mat/resin onto the gelcoat layer, a special material "vinylester" is added first. This provides a water tight barrier between the gelcoat and glass. After the "vinylester" glass mat/resin is applied like normal.

Adding a "barrier coat" in addition to the hull's construction might be redundant plus adding extra unwanted weight.:smt009

My 2001 is a "vinylester" hull so I'm thinking your 2003 would be as well. Check Sea Ray's archive model site for details.:grin:

I've decided not to barrier coat my hull since its construction seems to address water intrusion anyway.:thumbsup:

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Yep - "high performance vinylester" is listed for your boat.

http://media.channelblade.com/boat_graphics/electronic_brochure/company5402/27707_f.pdf

(look under hull and deck features):thumbsup:

 

[Great lakes pirate]

That is very good to know. I am suprised because I have had 3 differnt shops come out to the boat to take a look and provide quotes. All stated that a barrier coat would add value to the boat but it sounds like I may not need epoxy.

If this is the case should the process be as follows?
Clean the bottom with some wax remover
Sand and then paint?

 

[Great lakes pirate]

Just looking at the quotes this morning. My quotes are only 400 bucks for the 3 coats of interlux2000 epoxy (labor and materials).

This could be viewed as overkill or a small amount of piece of mind.

If I dont use epoxy what would I use as a primer to help the paint stick to the bare glass?

 

[skibum]

Sea Ray uses Pettit 6999 Sandless Primer under the Hyrdrocoat.

 

[StressAweigh]

400.00 bucks thats a deal I have over 300.00 buck invested in just the barrier coat itself And I have to paint it this weekend Send your guy to my house

 

[jcastle]

I would not use a sandless primer. This creates a chemical bond instead of a superior merchanical bond achieved by sanding.

Sandless primers are used by the OEM because they are easy to use in the manufacturing process, not because it is superior. In fact, you will inevitably have problems in the future with your bottom paint falling when you use a sandless primer. When you apply layers of bottom paint over the next few years that "chemical" bond becomes too weak by the weight of the new bottom paint. It will start to peel in the weakest areas.

Using a high build epoxy as a barrier coat system might be a little redundant if you have vinylester resin. However, it should be used. Here is why... Putting on a epoxy barrier coat like interprotect or tuff stuff protects the hull from ANY water penetration (osmosis). These epoxies are also the very best adhesion promoter for bottom paint. Epoxy will not come off (as long as you have dewaxed the boat and sanded with 80 grit prior to application). The first coat of bottom paint should be applied the same day the last of epoxy is applied. (also called hot coating). With this type of system your bottom paint will not come off, even after years of bottom painting. It is a good insurance policy and does help resale.

Here is an article on how to apply a barrier coat system:

You mention Silver Bullet or hydrocoat. I would only use Silver Bullet if you are in fresh water. It is not a very powerful antifoulant. Sea Hawk's Monterey is also a superior choice over hydrocoat. It has more copper, and is guaranteed by sea hawk for 1 year against growth.

One thing that the above article does not mention is application of a water-based bottom paint like hydrocoat or monterey. Since they are water-based and you are putting them over a solvent based epoxy, it is recommended by manufacturers that you do NOT hot coat. You should apply the 2 coats Tuff Stuff or 4-5 coats of interprotect, and then wait overnight and scuff sand with 80 grit then applied a water-based bottom paint. If you want a true barrier coat system with the right thickness of epoxy, then apply 3 coats of (Tuff Stuff) or 5-6 coats (Interprotect)the epoxy before you scuff sand and apply the water-based bottom paint. It requires less coats of the Tuff Stuff VS. the Interprotect because Tuff Stuff is a higher build epoxy. (thicker)

Bottom line is that the epoxy will provide superior adhesion, and prevent water penetration. It's a lot easier to do it now with a bare fiberglass hull, then removing all bottom paints and primers in the future (after they start peeling) and then doing a barrier system anyway!

At the very least I would dewax and scuff sand 80 grit and apply bottom paint. Dont use the skip sand primer! It is meant for non-sanding OEM applications.

 

[Great lakes pirate]

Mr. Castle,

Thank you so much for the information. I do boat in fresh water only. The barrier coat does sound like some good insureance. I do like the idea of the tuff stuff high build up to save some cash on labor. I do want to do the job right so I dont have to come back and do it again in a couple years.

As far as the VC goes. I have heard that the color is pretty bad. Any thoughts there?

 

[jcastle]

VC 17 will change colors after a couple of weeks in the water. This is because of the copper dust that is used. Copper also does not allow for brighter colors. Silver Bullet is brighter in color because it uses zinc dust. The color will not change. What you see is what you get. Hope this helps...