Time to start thinking about Bottom Paint

[Patriot]

What's everyone using these days? Do you scrap off the old paint?

[vetting]

For my fresh water boat - I do an ablative paint job every year, I give it a good pressure washing.  Then let it dry good and sand any lumpy stuff and bit by anywhere its down to the gel.  Then I just go at it with a brush and roller and use West Marine CPP.  Every year I do just touchups where needed and roll a full coat in high wear areas.  Every 3 to 4 years, I take a gallon and do a full 2 coats.  In lake michigan, I have boat neighbors that come out of the water with zebra and quaga musscles all of their boat.  I only end up with them on underwater equipment/brackets that dont have CPP on them. 

[AnglingAddict]

Interlux VC-17.  It's probably around $50 per quart but worth every penny....good stuff.

[lost a lure]

Interlux Interprotect 2000E primer then and ablative like Micron Extra.

[guffins fisherman]

I have read only good things, and experienced a good season from Pettit Hydrocoat. It is a water based ablative. The clean up is super easy, it does not make you want to pass out from the fumes and it comes in a few colors. FWIW.

[lost a lure]

The worse is smells the better it works.

[TileMan Dan]

I don't envy you guys that have to paint bottoms. One pita of a job. One of the few advantages of trailering.

[Rippin'Line]

Yet so nice to just hop in and go without waiting in a line to get in or out.

[GAMBLER]

VC-17 is the only way to go.  Works great and easy to apply. 

[guffins fisherman]

I was told at west marine last year that one of the popular ablatives is going away soon. I can't recall which one they said. Does anyone know anything about this?

[GAMBLER]

Biolux is no longer used.  I used it before Biolux and it worked just as good. 

[Patriot]

I found this here.   http://www.totalboatshow.com/wordpress/2015/03/13/antifouling-companies-struggle-with-the-loss-of-herbicide-irgarol/

 

 

 

 

Your go-to antifouling paint may be different than it was last season.

As a boat owner, debunking the science of which bottom paint to use can be puzzling. Choosing the right antifouling for your boat will depend on many factors including your location, the current and the water temperature as well as what type of boat you have and how frequently you use it. Success with a particular bottom paint usually equals a loyal brand customer who relies on similar results season after season.

So then, if a main ingredient that was touted as being *key* to the antifouling side of boat bottom paint all of a sudden disappeared from the contents, are we ill fated to depend on our tried and true (maybe even blue!) paint? Enter Irgarol: The algaecide supplied by chemical giant BASF and widely relied upon by most marine paint manufacturers to control “soft growths†like slime and plant growth that has very recently been discontinued as a bottom paint ingredient.

BASF seems to have caught the bottom paint industry off guard with their announcement late last year, and while manufacturers of the Irgarol dependent paint hope that in just 6-9 months it could be in production again, there is no guarantee, and certainly these companies had to act quickly to be ready for bottom paint season with an alternative. There are a number of popular antifouling paints that are being affected by BASF’s discontinuation of Irgarol.

• Interlux:
  • Micron Extra, Ultra,  ACT,  VC17m Extra
• Pettit:
  • Trinidad SR, Trinidad Pro, Ultima SR 40,  Ultima SR 60,   Hydrocoat SR
    *SR-21 will not be available until Irgarol is re-released (available at JD.com)
• Seahawk:  
  • Cukote Biocide Plus, Tropikote Biocide Plus
• West Marine: 
  • BottomPro Gold, PCA Gold
• Blue Water: 
  • Copper Pro SCX,  Copper Pro SCX Hard,   Copper Shield SCX

As a distributor of most of the bottom paints listed above, when Jamestown Distributors got word about the Irgarol shortage, we, like many other suppliers, ordered as much stock as possible of these Irgarol formulated paints to help customers seamlessly prepare for spring launching.  Supplies are limited, however we do have these paints in stock and will sell them while inventory lasts. In fact the non-Irgarol replacement paints are also already in stock and for sale by most suppliers, including JD, and we have worked hard on our website to make sure it is clear to customers whether the paint you are buying contains Irgarol or doesn’t.

The moral here: Buyers, be aware of what you are buying.  It may not be apparent to you as the consumer if you are using paint with Irgarol or paint without Irgarol. Read the labels carefully.  The cans look similar, the type in most cases is small and it can be difficult to tell the two formulas apart.

Jamestown Distributors is sharing this information with our customers because our nearly 40 years of experience and expertise with marine coatings has proven that consumers care about the ingredients and performance of their bottom paint.  Our own line of six different TotalBoat bottom paints were all developed without Irgarol and we are obviously glad to stand tall in the industry with our own proven growth-fighting bottom paints, without the distraction of reformulating our product line.

So be informed, read your paint can labels, check the product descriptions at JamestownDistributors.com and monitor your paint’s performance this season. Additionally, we invite you to come aboard the JD Bottom Paint Survey, and be a part of our own research & development of antifouling paints and their performance specific to your boat’s location.  The more we know, the more YOU know!

[Patriot]

VC-17 is the only way to go.  Works great and easy to apply. 

They may be phasing this out. But here's something

Seahawk Silver Bullet Racing Bottom Paint

A friction reducing low drag high performance coating. Gives an immediate super smooth racing finish without the need of sanding. A two-part coating that must be mixed prior to use. Compatible with VC-17

[GAMBLER]

That is not antifouling paint.  That is a coating for go fast boats.  VC-17 does not require sanding for recoats. 

[Patriot]

Oh, my bad