Teflon coatings

[ohaire89]

Hi everybody

I'm new here and tying to get some information.

Im at university and considering looking into using teflon on boat hulls as one of my projects.

I'm just trying to get an image of the current market as sailing and boat design is new to me.

Heres a rough overview of my concept, either pre dope teflon into a fibre to create a composite material or apply teflon as an after coating.

Obviously the point is to use the low coefficient of friction and hydrophobicity of teflon to minimise drag in the water.

My question to you all is basically, does this seem feasible and are there any examples of this in the industry. I've done some research but the internet is throwing up dead ends and can't find much information.

If you've read this far i appreciate it and hope you can help!!

Tom

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Teflon coating is already being offerd as a coating but its friggin expensive.
Cant remember the details but Ill have a dig around and try and point you in the right direction.
cheers

J

[PAR]

You can't pre-coat the "fiber" before use in the resin matrix for obvious mechanical reasons, but coating the hull after construction is commonly done. The least costly option is as simple as a wax with Teflon in it or you could use proprietary products that can offer thicker coatings.

[CDK]

Nothing adheres to teflon and teflon adheres to nothing. It took Tefal years to find a way to bond it to their frying pans.
The only way to do that is etch the surface that you want to cover and coat it at very high temperature.

All so-called teflon coating are just expensive paints containing small particles that stay there if submerged or slide off when at the surface.

Investigate the possibilities of silicones. Also difficult the apply permanently, but easier than PTFE.

[Lanmar]

We worked on this concept for several years with a developer customer who was never able to launch the project beyond the R & D phase. The concept was for a Teflon coated vinyl pressure sensitive tape, with a special 3M water resistant adhesive (strengthened with an adhesive primer). This product would be hand applied to boat hulls in 12" widths. It is a product for both the OEM boat market and the aftermarket (boat owners). The inherent problem is that there are seeminly an endless array of boat hulls each requiring a different application approach to the product. Plus, with boats located everywhere there is fresh water and salt water, there is no uniform way to train installation techs. The concept does work to reduce friction and to save on marine fuel. But the logisticis of aftermarket installation are enormous and mind boggling.

Lanmar Inc.
Northbrook, IL USA
www.lanmarinc.com

[jonr]

You might consider ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. Almost as slippery as teflon. Highly impact and abrasion resistant.

[Lanmar]

The UHMW will not work as well as Teflon. Over time the coated hull attracts barnacles (in salt water) and other growths. A boat hull coated in Teflon is very easy to clean compared to one coated with UHMW tape because the Teflon surface is smoother than the UHMW product and provides less anchor points for sea life to attach to the surface. UHMW is more durable than Teflon for most other applications, but for this one Teflon is the product of choice.

[jonr]

I don't believe that the poster's major interest is in the barnacle shedding aspect. If you want that, I'd look at arc sprayed zinc.

[Lanmar]

Well, the project we worked on for many years involved a global approach to boat hulls...fresh water and salt water. In addition to the lubricity and the poetntial for fuel savings in the concept, one must also consider surface maintenance be it in salt or fresh waters. I don't believe that the poster has even seen these exchanges.

[marshmat]

Interlux has recently started selling a silicone/fluoropolymer coating system under the Intersleek brand.
More details can be found by searching for Intersleek 970 or 731 at http://www.yachtpaint.com (the site is full of badly broken framesets and scripts, making it hard to find a direct link).
Reports I've heard to date seem to suggest that it works fairly well.