2520 Bottom Paint

[BenTerrible]

School me on bottom paint please-

1. Can I remove existing bottom paint and count on buffing out the gel coat underneath?

2. Boat is on trailer, I have a nasty green sludge film on the bottom paint, best way to clean this crap off? My guess was to blast the heck out of it with a pressure washer.

Thanks!

-BT

 

[sailmaster]

Multiple types of bottom paint and it will often hide a multitude of sins.

Common type is ablative that wears off over a period of time. Can be removed with laquerthinner on paper towels and a saranwrap cover to stop the volitiles from departing too soon.

If you are going to buff afterward find a large enough concrete area to work on and get the boat on a safe blocking system

I use the bottom half of an office chair with five rollers as the fulcrum and a piece of rigid pipe/tubing to make the buffer a few pounds light and buffed out with 3M Super Heavy Duty and Meguir pads when doing gelcote repairs under the boat.

The benefits are very small for all this work. Gel Cote is a manufacturing convienience and not the best choice for your underwater surfaces. All of that buffing will weaken the surface and promote osmotic blistering.

Think hard before starting a project like this.

 

[sailmaster]

I am on the east coast but usually the scmutz on the bottom paint is biological,

We would soak the boat for a couple days in the water and then haul it and wash it.

I have also run an oscillating sprinkler under the boat to soak it wet before pressure washing with mixed results.
NOT going to do that in California in this drought.

 

[TWOBOATER]

It will be difficult / time-consuming to get that growth off with a pr. washer, even with a zero tip. Soak it and scrub with scotchbrite pads. In regard to the bottom paint, stripping and waxing the hull is a whole lot of back-breaking labor for little to no benefit. i would prep it and repaint it with a multi-season ablative if the existing surface is in good condition, or have it soda-blasted and start from scratch with an epoxy primer and a couple of coats of bottom paint if it is built up and flaking off.

NEVER EVER haul a boat without washing the bottom growth off right away. That's why you're in the shape you're in now.