Micron CF bottom paint performance

[Maestro]

Back in the spring I had the bottom of my boat hydro-blasted and I re-painted. After priming with Interlux Interprotect 2000e, I applied 2 coats of bright red Interlux Micron CF antifouling bottom paint.

Micron CF is a copper-free ablative bottom paint, which means it slowly wears away over time like the tread of a tire. It is expensive: about $200 per gallon. One gallon got me two coats on the bottom of my 28'.

The paint performed quite well throughout the summer. The Mississippi River turns the gelcoat on the plastic boats brown very fast. It stayed nice and red all summer. I took the boat out of the water just before Halloween and the red paint had started to wear away slightly around the chines, leading edge of the bow, strut, and rudder. The large, flat areas of the hull still looked good. The instructions from Interlux tell you to apply an additional stripe coat around those high-wear areas, which I did, but they still wore out.

The paint is meant to be touched up every 2-3 seasons. I'm thinking I will apply another 2 coats this spring and will see how long it holds up. If I have to touch up every year, I will switch to something else because I don't want to spend a bunch of $$$ every year on paint.

I wanted to try the Micron CF over Trilux 33 because you don't have to sand the hull when you add a new coat of paint. You just power wash, let it dry, and paint.

Perhaps I will do a separate post on HOW I painted everything, but that topic has been covered many times.

[bcassedy]

I had repainted the bottom of Sunset Seeker this past spring. The previous paint job had been about 3 years prior:
- Sand blast to bare aluminum
- Immediate coat of 2 part Interprotect 2000E 2 part epoxy primer
- Fill in of pitting with PC-11 water proof filler
- 4 more coats of Interprotect 2000E (alternating between white and gray)
- 2 coats (1 white / 1 black) (1st coat within normal time frame of last primer coat) of Trilux 33.

I've pulled the boat each fall to power wash it. In the fall of 2014 I noticed that the power washing was exposing the 1st white bottom coat. Figured time to re-do.
Followed Interlux's recommendations and lightly sanded the bottom (lot of black dust!) and wiped down.
Applied 2 coats of black Trilux 33.
--> When I pulled the boat this fall and power washed it, I could discern the appearance of the original white 1st coat bottom paint! (which, based on Interlux's documentation, shouldn't have happened so quickly (1 season's use). So I'm looking at probably a light sanding and application of 1 coat of bottom paint (the white is showing thru, but I'm thinking I can take pics of those areas and 2nd coat them in lieu of a complete 2 coat application.

With Interlux's cost, I'm looking at the possibility of using other brands that can be applied over a lightly sanded Trilux 33 coat. Suggestions?

Bill

[Seanik]

Hi Bill,
I switched to Blue Water Shelter Island copper free 3 years ago with great results. It's about 25% less than Trilux 33 and sheds slime and zebra mussels as well or better.

[SunbeamIV]

10% off the Bluewater paint at:

http://www.bottompaintstore.com/blue-wa ... 33305.html

[keldridge]

I recently asked Dennis Pluckebaum of Pluckebaum Yachts this question. They are using Sea Hawk bottom paint. Might be worth looking into.

[balthaus]

Dennis told me the same thing.
However, I ended up going with micron.
I am more than likely going to pull her in the spring for new depth thru-hulls and gauges, and I got hung up on a rope or cable at the pump out in downtown Louisville.
I, of course, will look at the bottom paint as well.

[Aquaholic]

Hello, sorry to get off topic.....kind of. I want to create at 'new post'/topic about methods/techniques of media blasting and cannot for the life of me find the method or place to do this. I did create posts previously when I first joined the forum this Summer, but now cannot find that button/place to create it. Can anyone help me. I have emailed the administrators twice without getting a reply. Have I been banished for some reason? I sure hope not as I have found some great information as a new M owner reading posts on the forum. Thanks for your help!

[jralbert]

Hi. I'm (supposed to be) one of the admins. The new site, while a great improvement in many respects over the old one (fewer crashes primarily and less expensive) poses some admin challenges I didn't have with the old one especially in the area of bringing new members onboard and assisting them in other ways. So my apologies if someone didn't get back to you - I didn't get a note from you.

I think the previous forum had a more specific place for painting questions but here, Boat and Hull, as you have posted is the best place to create the post (there's also a section to post items for admins). So fire away with a new post in this section. By the way, the old forum had several pretty good threads on bottom painting..tips, step by step guidance as recommended by the paint mfr. I don't know whether they made it over to the new forum. Try a search on "bottom paint", "sandblasting"

[Maestro]

Aquaholic,

When you first log into the forum, you see a list of the most recent posts to the website. This is called the board index. From here, you need to scroll all the way down and click "Marinette boat Owners Forum."

This will take you to a new page. It will list different categories of the forum such as "boat and hull" or "engine." Select a category. This will bring you to another new screen. Then Scroll down and click "new topic" which is on the lower left in red letters with a little asterisk/star symbol next to it. This should allow you to post a topic. This red "new topic" button should also be roughly near the top left if you're on the right page.

The fact that you can write anything at all on the forum means that admin has cleared you to post.

[Aquaholic]

Thank You Maestro.....I understand now!