AluminumAlloyBoats.com

I am finally ready to get this done!

I have a boat that I really want to keep, so I want to do the bottom paint right!

I would like a quick blurb as to what people are recommending for our area. In the past, I was using Vivid. But that sloughs pretty fast and was looking for something "harder". Boat will be in the water Apr-Oct, sitting next to the house in Newport otherwise.

My plan was to have it sandblasted, then into a not particularly warm enclosure to do the work, immediately afterwords.

Can anyone throw what they used at me?

TJ

after blasting,
acid etch quick,
let dry,
three coats of epoxy primer.
I've had good luck with Interlux Pacifica.

welderbob

No need to acid etch if you blast IMO

Flexdel Armor gets HARD and keeps growth off. I've switched from Vivid. Good paint but sloughs too much and too expensive.

Chaps, Ive read that you've suggested that before. I like what you've said about the added hardness. I very much appreciate your expertise. I hate painting...Coast Guard ruined me on that. :)

Can you suggest a fairly straight forward regiment for applying that Flexdel Armor on my boat? I have access to both Petitt and Flexdel product lines. (thru Englunds Marine here in Newport) Layer amounts of what?

My concerns are:

-Long term maintenance of Flexdel vs Vivid (reapplying in 2-3 years)
-what to do for the layers of what that goes under it.....

Generally, long term success when it comes to bottom paint on any boat is all about how the hull is prepped. Get that right and then get a good primer system on that well prepped hull. After that most any bottom paint has a good chance of adhering well and keeping growth off. Then when the time comes for a recoat of bottom paint the good prep and prime done initially will be your friend as it is still there and ready to support new anti-foul.

More specifically, for good prep on aluminum you can't get any better than a thorough sandblasting. If that is not possible then there are alternate approaches like: mild acid wash to brighten followed by disc sanding the hull surface, stainless wire wheel (a new one) get all the nooks, crannies and welds that you couldn't get at with the disc sander, wipe everything down using clean rags with a hot solvent and then apply 1 coat Pettit Aluma Protect anti-corrosion epoxy followed up by 2 coats conventional barrier coat epoxy. If you want to go with Armor then suggest you let your epoxy system fully harden, wash bottom with soapy water with some ammonia added, let dry, scuff sand the epoxy to dull the surface then apply armor 3 thin coats. If vivid then you can apply it to epoxy the same way as above or apply when epoxy is tacky. I've found that armor sometimes reacts funny when applied to tacky epoxy, particularly if interlux 2000e.

As an alternative primer system to epoxy (which can be a real pain to deal with during cold times of the year) you can use either a chlorinated rubber primer like seahawk 1277 and Pettit 6627 or an acrylic water based primer like flexdel 190. for these products do an especially good job of prepping the hull

like stated previously, the flexdel armor is harder, tougher than vivid and does not ablate at all. pressure wash at end of season no paint comes off, none. as good or better as an anti-foul than vivid, especially against hard growth barnacle.

be sure to have some good aluminum anodes installed too

check out my facebook page, scroll through the jobs to find some of the big alloys I've worked on recently