Bottom Coatings

[Landlubber]

yes Will, that is basically correct, but look at the circumstance of operation, and the product will be quite suitable.

[Meanz Beanz]

Originally Posted by PAR

I've been doing some testing for one of the major truck bed liner manufactures and it is non-fouling, so bottom paint isn't necessary.

You mean like antifouling?

Will the main thing is your film thickness which should be about 275-300 microns dry
that is up to 12 thou
or say .3 mm and if you spray the high build epoxy like devoe number one or altex one, you can do that is one coat using multiple pass, or round and round, get a thing called a comb, which you press into the wet paint, gives you thickness, called a wet film gauge

[Willallison]

I'm not so concerned about the application - not that it isn't important, of course! - more about finding a suitable coating that doesn't require an overcoat to avoid discolouration. Thanks for the tip though...

Paul - it does sound interesting - I'd want to be sure that some serious testing had been done before I'd be happy to use it though.... I've had the unfortunate experience of being a "guinea pig" before...

[PAR]

I have one test subject that is a tender for a 40' Atkins power cruiser. Half of the bottom is a lovely copper color and the other side is white, which is also facing the sun. The copper is still pretty and copper looking and the white is still white, though there is a slight yellowing along the scum line. The mother ship has not done as well with it's traditional bottom paint. The dinghy is hoisted and hosed off every so often, which is all it needs, but the mother ship needs to be scrubbed and this removes material. A portion of both dinghy bottom sides has not been cleaned and does have a scum build up, but nothing else. This scum cleans off easily with a sponge or brush (and you're not removing material). The area she's berthed is a nasty brackish marina that will quickly foul unprotected items in the water.

The manufactures are eager to get into the market and are doing their own research which may be worth a visit to their web sites.

Other test samples include: raw wood, epoxied wood, raw aluminum, raw steel, painted versions of the same with an over coat of truck bed liner, plus some other odd ball combinations, that I thought would interesting.

Currently the dinghy has been in for about a year.

[the1much]

other then antifouling paint,,,your not gonna get any paint not to fade under water,,,,,remember the water is like a magnifying glass,,and that paint stays under that glass,,,it just not gonna happen.
didnt see your post Par before i posted,,,,,,is that the "stuff" you was talking bout before? ,,,man tell them guys to hurry up!! hehe