allout280 Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 Hi guys i leave boat in water for the season what is the best bottom paint for fiberglass .
SPOONWASHER Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 allout280, I am no expert nor have I ever painted a boat but from what I have read Interlux seems to be the most preferred. Hopefully someone else can back me up on this. Also welcome to the site!
MY2SONS Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Hi guys i leave boat in water for the season what is the best bottom paint for fiberglass . I use Interlux Micron CSC on my Baha. It's not cheap ($150.00-$200.00/gallon), but it's worth it. My boat sat in Lake Macatawa all season (brown silty water), and when I pulled it out in the Fall the only growth I had on it was on my trim tabs which weren't covered with paint. That will change this year though as I'll be painting the tops of my tabs as well.
killerbe20 Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Interlux VC-17 is what i am switching to this year. It is an extremely thin, hard, smooth copper based paint. i believe it was actually designed for racing sail boats. cleans up extremely well in the fall and in the spring just wipe with acetone and reapply if desired. You do not get the thick layer over layer over layer that traditional bottom paints end up with. most people have stated noticeable increases in speed and fuel economy as well. i will find out soon!unfortunately i do not believe you can just throw this over any other paint. you would have to start from scratch and apply some type of epoxy barrier coat first. it is also very expensive at ~$50 a quart.
Line Dancin Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Interlux VC-17 is what i am switching to this year. It is an extremely thin, hard, smooth copper based paint. i believe it was actually designed for racing sail boats. cleans up extremely well in the fall and in the spring just wipe with acetone and reapply if desired. You do not get the thick layer over layer over layer that traditional bottom paints end up with. most people have stated noticeable increases in speed and fuel economy as well. i will find out soon!unfortunately i do not believe you can just throw this over any other paint. you would have to start from scratch and apply some type of epoxy barrier coat first. it is also very expensive at ~$50 a quart.Thats what was used on my boat when they redid it this winter. It had to have epoxy coat then the bottom paint. THe VC 17 is better for towing and last longer according to the shop that did my work. Can't wait 6 weeks till i get up there and see how it came out. total job was 3300.00 to have it done. I will post pics.
killerbe20 Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Thats what was used on my boat when they redid it this winter. It had to have epoxy coat then the bottom paint. THe VC 17 is better for towing and last longer according to the shop that did my work. Can't wait 6 weeks till i get up there and see how it came out. total job was 3300.00 to have it done. I will post pics.i can definitely attest to the $3300.00 job! unfortunately i am getting paid from myself, i think i got a good deal from myself though!
allout280 Posted February 17, 2011 Author Posted February 17, 2011 That epoxy coat is not cheap had mine done but i did bottom paint wow did not pay that much wow on a 28 foot baha .does that epoxy have gold leaf in it ....
killerbe20 Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 i am basing off my personal labor, but i am extremely anal and spending much more time and care then a marina probably would. i dont know what the going labor rate is but a slip neighbor was told $4000 to do his bottom. that was Skipper Buds though.
RONDAYVOO Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 I use VC 17 as well, they only sell it quarts because after you mix it it dries very fast, other paints such as pettit, or interlux are good too. Just do NOT use west marine paint it is the cheapest stuff in price and quaility, and the other thing to keep in mind is once you paint it you almost have to stay with that brand of paint. Most bottom paints will not work with others. The paint will peel off then to correct it you have to strip it all off and start over. The VC-17 with bio lux goes on a rust color then after being in the water a few weeks it will change to a dark gray or charcoal color.
Line Dancin Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 That epoxy coat is not cheap had mine done but i did bottom paint wow did not pay that much wow on a 28 foot baha .does that epoxy have gold leaf in it ....I dont know where i put the invoice but they unloaded and loaded back to the trailer. Media blasted all the old paint off. Repaired an impact ring of 8 inches from a hit over a year. opened up two big blisters and repaired them. filled all the spots they opened up. acid washed it a couple different times. put on 4 coats of epoxy coat and four coats of vc 17. I dont really think that was to bad for all they did. Most of the cost was paint epoxy coat acid wash and all the thinners and everything else they used. I think actual labor was like 700 bucks including unloading and reloading to the tralier. I called a couple other places for quotes and it was closer to 4500 to have everything done.
MY2SONS Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Thats alot of work. It's no work at all if you have someone else do it. You just need deeper pockets. I had Bowkers Fiberglass repair in Zeeland do mine. He stripped the layers off, applied two coats of epoxy, and sprayed on a coat of Interlux Micron CSC. Looked saweeeet! I highly recommend him for any fiberglass work. He does an awesome job. He repaired some fiberglass damage on my boat and you couldn't even see where the damage was, or where he worked on it even under high powered lights.:thumb:
Line Dancin Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 It's no work at all if you have someone else do it. You just need deeper pockets. I had Bowkers Fiberglass repair in Zeeland do mine. He stripped the layers off, applied two coats of epoxy, and sprayed on a coat of Interlux Micron CSC. Looked saweeeet! I highly recommend him for any fiberglass work. He does an awesome job. He repaired some fiberglass damage on my boat and you couldn't even see where the damage was, or where he worked on it even under high powered lights.:thumb: Bowkers does very nice work but he was also the highest quote i got. I had mine done at Johnsons supreme in ludington. Usually after the last trip of the year i leave it in ludington and have it winterized. then pick it up during bow season when i go back up to hunt. This year its still there i pick it up in about 6 weeks. There was another place in town that vans sport center recommended but i can't remember the name now. Guy was pretty much a jerk and that made my mine up not to use them.
Rascal Trophy Fishing Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Bottom paint has definitely gone over the top in price as of recent years in my opinion. I still use a cheap Interlux basic blue bottom paint. Do it myself or with a buddy over a six pack in the spring. Guess the choice is up to the captain of the ship, spend for bottom paint big time, or for other necessities of the season like lures and other tackle. As long as it protects the bottom and is easily pressure washed off in the fall, I'm not going overboard to impress the fish under the boat.
Line Dancin Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Bottom paint has definitely gone over the top in price as of recent years in my opinion. I still use a cheap Interlux basic blue bottom paint. Do it myself or with a buddy over a six pack in the spring. Guess the choice is up to the captain of the ship, spend for bottom paint big time, or for other necessities of the season like lures and other tackle. As long as it protects the bottom and is easily pressure washed off in the fall, I'm not going overboard to impress the fish under the boat.Thank God mine was covered by insurance. see this thread for the whole story:http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19759I only had to pay the deductable.
killerbe20 Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Bottom paint has definitely gone over the top in price as of recent years in my opinion. I still use a cheap Interlux basic blue bottom paint. Do it myself or with a buddy over a six pack in the spring. Guess the choice is up to the captain of the ship, spend for bottom paint big time, or for other necessities of the season like lures and other tackle. As long as it protects the bottom and is easily pressure washed off in the fall, I'm not going overboard to impress the fish under the boat.I hear you on that. I used the cheap stuff over the barrier coat on my old boat. i have since been convinced enough by others and their boats that VC-17 is definitely an advantage over the long haul. there is basically zero build up to create drag on the bottom which helps performance and nothing to have to sand down later. it is inevitable that at some point all those layers of paint will have to be knocked down. one time paint job may not seem like much weight but year after year it adds up. as long as you are able, it really is not hard to do yourself. i am going to have about $1000 invested in sanding, prepping, barrier coat, VC-17, and misc materials to do my 29 Tiara. My time is what is costing me so much and i am too anal to let anyone help me unless i absolutely need it. another thing to think about, the epoxy barrier coat is there to prevent the fiberglass from absorbing water. hard to actually believe but it does happen. I know of an insurance company requiring a barrier coat being put on a boat because the survey recommended it.
allout280 Posted February 19, 2011 Author Posted February 19, 2011 The vc-17 interlux is that a 2 year paint .I would not be the cost factor for paint but will it last 2 seasons .
killerbe20 Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 i know guys that havent touched theirs in years, MAYBE a "ring around" the waterline if that.
MY2SONS Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 The vc-17 interlux is that a 2 year paint .I would not be the cost factor for paint but will it last 2 seasons .It depends on how much you use your boat. If you let it set in a slip all season, and only use it on the weekends it will last for a couple seasons. If your a true die hard, and your out a lot during the week too it may require a "smile" application after the first year. The wear areas (bow, sides, etc.) I was going to use VC-17, but it doesn't seem as durable as bottom paint. A few places I checked said the same thing. It is easier to reapply though. A good bottom paint is like a bar of soap. As you move through the water the paint wears off (ablaitive) so you have to apply a touchup coat ever year.
Rascal Trophy Fishing Posted February 19, 2011 Posted February 19, 2011 Sorry to hear that bottom damage Line Dancin, it's great to have good insurance for these circumstances, and that's exactly when you get the bottom fixed and painted with the best. With a 16,000 lb. boat to push, I doubt I could get much more speed by removing alot of layers, but anything is possible. I'll wait till some major damage comes and follow through the same way someday. For now, times are too hard to afford the best for me.
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