I have thinned with Penetrol for over 10 years; as much as 50/50. Learned it from an old salt. In from March 1 thru October. Never a concern or a problem. Thinning interlux bottomkote. Always listen to the old salts!!!! They have much to offer.

If you never had a problem with it then I would stick with it. Paint way back when and the paint that is out today are a lot different. They take a long time to develop and research. They are not meant to be thinned out unless they have to be due to weather conditions. I am not really sure why you would mix it 50/50 because you would be cutting all of the properties in half and they would not perform like they are supposed to. Also with Penetrol you are only supposed to use 1 quart to every gallon of paint. Flood tells you not to put any more into it. Like I said if it works, don't fix a thing that's not broken.

I know some one who uses kerosene for thinning bottomkote. He never seems to have any problems with it, always last the season. He also throws in tetracycline capsules that boots the anti fouling properties of the paint. pharmacology at it's best.

Those are the kinds of tricks that start somewhere. I agree with what works. The first season I used Penetrol was a real nail biter, but during the season inspections everything looked fine. I've been doing it ever since with bottomkote type paints. Don't think I would try it Micron paint though. Painted bottom 2 weeks ago when it was 60 degrees. Now some zincs and new impellors and I should be ready to go.

Lacey Queston, when using Ablative paint can I just touch up the bare spots prior to launching this spring? My bottom paint is in good shape except for a couple of bare spots from the pressure washer. I have heard that the paint only works by wearing away, therefore does not loose it's effectiveness.

Lacey, if I were to use the 299E to strip how much would I need? She is 22' with an 8'6" beam, and a 22" draft. Oh and she is big for 22 footer, not sure if the manufacturer spec of 22' is LOA or waterline. And there is only the one coat of paint to be removed.

Joe - you may want to look into "Peel Away" paint remover. They have a marine product that is very effective and safe for the gelcoat. I have used the product it it works very well. You can get it in 5 gallon pails. Here is some information on it. BTW only use their marine product on your boat other wise you wont have gelcoat left.

PEEL AWAY MARINE SAFETY STRIP
PEEL AWAY MARINE SAFETY STRIP is an environmentally safe paint remover used for the removal of bottom paint from fiberglass, wood and metal boats without any damage to the surface. It will remove up to 10 layers of bottom paint in ONE application. The product also works well at removing varnishes, polyurethane, shellac etc from fine wood surfaces i.e. teak, mahogany etc. Coverage is 40 sq. feet per gallon. Marine Application

http://www.dumondchemicals.com/paint_remover.htm

It depends on the paint you used. If you used a anual abalative paint such as Interlux ACT it needs to be repainted because the properties fo the paint only last about a year. Also because the baot has been out of the water it loses a lot of its properties too. If it was a multi season paint like the Micron series then you just need to touch up or put a thin coat on the entire boat again.

Maybe 3 quarts or a gallon. It really depands on the amount of paint and how thick the coat(s) are. For your size with that amount of paint that's what I would guess around it would take.

We also carry the Peel Away stuff too if you are interested.

I am having an adhesion problem. It looks like when the factory did the first application of bottom paint they either did not rough up the barrier coat enough or didn't remove the wax from the mold. I am now seeing sections of paint just falling off. Can I use the Peel Away Marine Strip II, give a light sanding on the barrier and then apply new bottom paint? The II version is supposed to leave the barrier coat intact.

If your barrier coat is intact and the bottom paint is peeling off of the barrier coat there is a compatibility problem between the products. If the barrier coat is also peeling off and you have bare gelcoat I would think you would want to remove the complete system, strip the mold release products and start the process over. You may want to go back to the people that did the barrier coat and bottom paint. If it is only one season old I would do some complaining.

It was either one of two things. The people who preped the boat did not use Interlux 202 or eqivelant on the hull to remove mold release, oil, dirt, etc and it caused the barrier coat not to adhere right. The other thing would be they did not put the coat of bottom paint on in time. It MUST be applied within 7 hours after the final coat of barrier coat.

If the paint is falling off and the barrier coat is still there then they waited to long. If everything falls off then the whole thing was not done right.

Now for the worst part. Either way, no matter what they did wrong the entire boat must be stripped and totally redone. The barrier coat acts like a primer and even if you scuff it up the barrier coat will reject the paint and continue to keep falling off.

Personally I would go back to the place who did it and raise :xxx:. There are two places that I know of that did this last year. One of them did it once and the other one did it at least 10 times to customers of mine.

Unfortunately the bottom was done 6 years ago so it would be hard to prove they did it wrong. How much 299e would I need for a 29 foot by 10 foot beam cruiser? I read a post that said you can use the striper above 32 degrees but how warm will it need to be to do the barrier coat?

As far as the amount of 299E goes it really depends on the number of coats and how thick the paint is. I would say roughly about 1 gallon maybe a little more for that size boat with a few coats on. Like I said it really depends on the thickness so you might need more.

As for the application of any paint really, it is 60 degrees. And it's not 60 degree air temp it's 60 degrees surface temp. The hull of the boat could be 10 degrees lower then the air if it's in the shade it could be even more. I think that is a big problem people end up doing.

So if it is 60 degrees surface temp what are you supposed to do if you are in the water from late February till late December?

I am not really sure what you are asking. 60 degrees is the surface temp of the hull itself and these temp are only for the application period so it can cure properly.

I meant if you are only out of the water when the temps are generally in the teens and 20's how do you paint the bottom? But I think what I have decided since I am to go in the water in two weeks is just go back in the water and then in May or April if and when it warms up to high forties to low fifties at night, haul out then and paint since it is too cold to do it now. I am assuming growth should not be too bad with the water cold anyway.

The boat would need to be moved indoors somehow where it could be heated at a certain temp for a few days.

You are right as far as growth and cold goes. The colder the water the less growth so waiting until April might be your best bet.

Lacey- I'm in your shop from time to time and I will say you guys are very helpful. I am going to have my boat bottom painted locally for the first time and was hoping you can tell me who NOT to go to based on the above. I understand if you can't post it but would appreciate it in an email since I won't be down that way for a few weeks.

Thanks, Rich

Here is a link to a guy that advertises on Craigs list. He is in turnersville NJ and comes to you to do the boat. I have no connection to his business nor do I know the quality of his work.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/boa/134194121.html

By the way we bottom paint and come to you.

Thanks Lacey!!

ttt

Fishin Mission - I use Petit ACP 50, an older Petit ablative paint, and I just touch up the bottom every year. Powerboat Reports found that it worked fine for at least 3 years without repainting (unless it wears down to the different color base coat) - which has been true enough for the Barnegat area.

Bump:)

speaking of bottom paint, where can I find those boat stands so I can elevate the boat off of the trailer? May be interested in renting them if possible. I see them in every boat yard, but never see any for sale.

I've seen them at Lacey Marine. They're not expensive either.

We sell them in season during the fall. We don't stock them right now but I can get them next day.

BTW they jumped up a lot in price last fall due to the increase in metal prices. I am not sure if anyone rents them out.

Time to bump this post up for the new season. Any questions, post them up I will answer them. Also March 10th is our Spring Prep Day and our Open House is April 14th and Don the Interlux Rep will be here both days.