Painting

[Ray]

Hello to everyone Ok I have a. 16' 56 Bell Boy that I've been working on I have been sanding on it for a long time the bottom had some black paint I've about got it all off there has been no shine on this boat for years I may have sanded it to much. Anyway I'm going to paint it myself as I got a wake up call when I got an estamate ouch
So I was thinking about rolling and tipping but I've heard I should use bottom paint (angifauling) because I've sanded the jellcoat off and now paint won't protect from water getting through causing possible blistering? Another person said just use epoxy paint, I want to make sure I put the correct product on the first time. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you

Bell Boy

[Bflaherty]

Taken from a BoatUS article:

BOTTOM PAINT - WHO NEEDS IT?
If your boat stays in the water year round or during most or all of the boating season, application of bottom paint is pretty much the rule. For boats left in the water for short periods of time (that two-week summer vacation, for example) or that are stored out of the water (trailer, lift, dry storage facility), a good coat of wax and regular cleaning are typically all that's needed to maintain a clean hull. If your boat has never been bottom painted and you're mulling over the idea, make sure you understand that once bottom paint is applied, the die is cast, and that periodic bottom-paint application, cleaning, and renewal become a permanent part of the vessel's routine maintenance schedule. Another consideration is that the application of bottom paint in some cases (particularly on trailersized boats) may be viewed as a negative to potential buyers if you decide to sell later on.

Also, I cannot find any information to support a claim that "bottom paint" helps prevent water penetration any better than a polyurethane or epoxy based paints. "Bottom paint" is typically revered to as antifouling, and is only meant to prevent organisms from growing on your boat.

[Guest]

I really see three issues.

• Keeping the bottom clean. For that I think BFlaherty nailed it.
• Some fiberglasses blister. Uniflite, for example added a flame retardant to their epoxy, I think it was in the late seventies. That turned out to cause blistering in the layup, and the right combination of high-build primer and paint can reduce that blistering. If that's your concern you need to research that carefully.
• Some paints will blister/separate from the substrate if kept immersed. Single-part paints are generally not rated for use below the waterline, and even some of the two-part urethanes and primers are not. Pettit EasyPoxy, for example, isn't. If you don't leave the boat in the water overnight that's not an issue, but I expect to sometimes leave mine in for as much as a couple weeks. I went with Pettit Vivid bottom paint because I considered it the best tradeoff. Safe to leave in the water for a day, week or month, fairly good black, and I can leave it on a trailer more-or-less indefinitely.

[Ray]

Thanks for all the information \. It was nice meeting you at the boat show Bryan, you have a nice boat.before i got out the door a guy that works on boats had a booth set up, said i should use bottom paint sense I sanded all the jell-coat off.
I know you guys really know your stuff I will go with your information and i feel confident paint will be fine as my boat will only be in the water about seven days at at one time. I just want to put the correct Paint on the first time. Thanks again and for putting the time in at the show.

[Ray]

Thanks for all the information \. It was nice meeting you at the boat show Bryan, you have a nice boat.before i got out the door a guy that works on boats had a booth set up, said i should use bottom paint sense I sanded all the jell-coat off.
I know you guys really know your stuff I will go with your information and i feel confident paint will be fine as my boat will only be in the water about seven days at at one time. I just want to put the correct Paint on the first time. Thanks again and for putting the time in at the show.

hear is a pic hope it works.

[Bflaherty]

Well today I went and spent a few minutes discussing this very issue with the reps from Pettit Paint... They were of the same opinion as myself and the BoatUS article but took it a step further. We don't need to use "antifouling" "Bottom" paint, BUT we need to make sure we use a good quality epoxy primer with high build "sheet mica" composition rather than the lesser "ground mica" primers as the this composition is what keeps the water out. I picked some info from both Pettit and Interlux, they both promote "high solids" composition primers to prevent water absorption and osmotic blistering...

I will be using Pettit products based on personal recommendations from club members and they offer the shade of red I want as a standard option rather than a custom mix... Also, I have connections that allow for competitive pricing!

[Helmar]

Marty at Island Boat Shop used to Mix his own colors. He would mix up a gallon to make sure the Customer had some extra paint.
Just FYI

[bruceb]

Great points on bottom painting Brian and Helmar. The 16 Bell Boy of yours is a great candidate for a new paint/resto.
My 2 cents worth is Pettit is the most easily accessed product line for your project, Ray. Others would be Awlgrip, Interlux and SystemThree of Auburn,Wa. Once you pick a product line, I'd suggest using all of the same elements from that company, just makes sense that they are compatible, as long as you follow instructions ( really important with epoxy/ two part products).
Would absolutely recommend epoxy high build primer as it bonds best with polyester resin surfaces like your boat.
First, as I did it and it oddly is the way almost everyone have seen do this type of bottom resto on a fiberglass boat is turn the boat upside down, easiest to sand and prep as well as the priming and painting. Finding a few friends to come over and flip the boat over and lift onto a trailer or dolly is preferred, luckily yours should be pretty easy to do- we've seen folks use two slings placed at 90 degrees to the length of the boat to rotate the boat on as well as Marty Loken's solution- an old mattress strategically located to roll the boat on. Yours might be a little of a challenge with the windshield housing attached to the deck/hull.
Back to priming, I did a full prime, paint and clear coat on a 14 runabout and in assessing the bottom, found it had indentations in the bottom sponsons caused by excess weight (common problem, previous owner had left drain plugs in for many years, with water buildup). These are called hooks(I think, chime in guys) (as opposed to rockers) and cause porpousing/bad performance if left unfilled. So the first step was to fill these concave areas with thickened epoxy resin. Once larger depth areas are filled, a fairing compound (again, from same co. as the primer- it'll work better- don't scrimp and use bondo - use a marine specific product)
allows a more complete smoothing. Then you're ready for a high build primer. I've used the rolling and tipping, works fine- minimum of 2 coats.
On last project my favorite brand changed it's primer thickness( not as quite as much solids in solution) so I increased to 4 coats- great results. On the 14 runabout, it had significant gouges on the bottom- someone dragged the boat off the back of a trailer, looked like. Needed that thickened resin in several applications to clean up. Also had a bad spider cracking in the gel coat. So the high build primer in multiple coats completely solved all issues.
As Brian points out, unless your boat spends more than 2 weeks in the water at a time, the paint/primer products will stand up nicely. One brand I'm familiar with claims their sailboat spent 2 years in water without blisters or adverse issues.
My 14 has never been in water for more than 6 hours, it looks like it did right out of painting....ok, couple of scratches in 9 years.