Factory Rule KL-990 Epoxycop bottom paint

[dsolo]

Recently purchased a 1997 Carver 405 ml. It appears the bottom has it's original bottom paint with no additional paint added. Boat has been kept in northern Michigan, in cold clear water. The hull survey found a sound dry bottom. The bottom was power washed and acid etched. I am told ready for bottom paint. The water line has some paint chipped off and will require additional sanding prior to paint. The rest of the bottom has very little paint missing.

My question is what paint is compatible with the "Rule KL-990 Epoxycop"? The paint is no longer manufactured, (not environment friendly) and I cannot find information on a substitute or replacement? Must I stay with Epoxy since the Rule is Epoxy? Any recommendation would be appreciated.

Dan

[bud37]

I can't answer your compatibility question but I probably have the same paint as it appears original ( no visible build-up)....so this spring I will sand the sides of the boat and transom and overcoat just the sides and transom with interlux micron ACT, that way there will be no buidup ,lots of boats here don't even use anti foul in Georgian Bay.
I guess you could fire off an email to interlux tech to see what they say........

[dsolo]

Thanks, I will do that.

[Viper]

Do you get hauled out every year? What condition is the paint in now? What type of boating do you do; always on plane, rarely on plane? Is this a job you will be doing or hiring out? Do the boats in your marina that don't go out often have a lot of growth on their bottom at the end of the season?

[dsolo]

Haul out is yearly, stored in heated space
Paint is in good condition with chips at water line, the bottom of haul has a few chips. no wear to speak of.
Boating is a combination of planing @ 3200 rpms approx. speed of 22/24 mph depending on lake and cruising at 8/10 mph
Weekly trips of + 20/30 miles at planing speeds
Submerged components of docks and boats in marina are clean.
Marina is located in an inland lake at the Lake Michigan channel mouth. Marina has good water movement and is consider a deep water port.
I plan on doing the work
Dan

[bud37]

Have a look at this , maybe of some help......antifoul compatibility chart.....

http://content.westmarine.com/documents ... 12.xls.pdf

[Viper]

Most epoxy antifouling coatings can simply be washed and ligthtly sanded prior to applying most other types of antifouling paints. When in doubt though, your best bet is to remove all of the old paint. The integrity of the new coat is only as good as the existing coats you paint over. If the existing coat is flaking away, it will take your new coat with it.

My advise to anyone considering painting a bottom, is to put in a little more effort and money the first time around in order to add a layer of protection you most likely don't already have. Completely strip all coatings, and apply a few coats of an epoxy barrier such as Interlux Interprotect 2000E. This will add a level of moisture protection unsurpassed by any other coating you can add to your hull. The epoxy is a much better moisture barrier then your gelcoat. Then apply your antifouling paint.

For my style of boating which is not from A to B as fast as possible, I'm a big fan of ablative antifouling paints instead of hard shelled paints simply because once you've stripped all your current hard layers (a lot of work), you'll never have to worry about doing it again if you use ablative paints. Most hard shelled paints contain their biocide within the coating's matrix. After the biocide has completely leached out, you're left with a hard coating that does absolutely nothing to counteract marine growth. The coating may look great after a cleaning but it does nothing. So additional coats are added every year or so and soon you have multiple useless layers that eventually come off in chunks. Ablatives simply wash away/ablate over time and take the marine growth with it. If you never recoat, you'll simply end up with a bare hull again and with a wash, would be ready for applying a coat. With ablatives, you shouldn't get patches flaking off unless you didn't prep right, and you won't get an accumulation of dozens of useless hard coats building up on your hull that will eventually need to be sanded off again. Applying additional coats is also as easy as wiping the hull down with a wet rag or power wash and you're ready to apply once she dries. Ablatives don't loose their ability to protect once they come out of the water for the season like many other types do. Once they are launched again, they reactivate and continue to protect unlike many other types that require a recoat every year once they're out. Because of this, some require that you launch within a number of days or their effectiveness is greatly reduced, not so with ablatives.

Because ablatives wash away, the more coats you put on, the longer you can go between recoating. How often you have to apply additional coats is directly related to your boating habits, water conditions, etc. You'll find leading and trailing edges wear quicker because of the way the hull cuts through the water, and for that reason it's always best to add additional coats to these areas.

[dsolo]

Viper, thank you for the in-depth look at bottom paint. Your recommendation for additional moisture protection has another question on the best way to remove all the hard shell bottom paint? Are there paint stripper that would work? Or is sanding best? Can I assume once the existing paint is removed the surface is ready for the protective base? Thanks in advance. Dan

[Viper]

There are some environmentally friendlier chemical strippers on the market that should work or you can give it an aggressive sanding but you must remove ALL the existing coating and be down to the bare gelcoat. If you sand, you should be using a sander with a vac attachment so you can collect the dust as you're sanding. With either method, you should ask your marina if you can give them the waste so they can dispose of it properly.

There are pros and cons to both methods; if you chemically strip, chances are you'll need to do more than one application depending on the condition of the current coating/s, and then you'll need to neutralize the hull so no stripper residue is left. If you sand, it could be more labour intensive (depends), and is dustier. Either way, make sure you wear proper protective gear, you don't want to be inhaling the dust or getting it in your eyes or touching the chemicals.

The alternative is having someone come in and blast it. It is a messy job that you'll wonder why you took on if you do it yourself so paying someone to blast it is worth it IMO. Then all you have to worry about is coating her.

Once the old coating is gone, you're basically ready to go. I vacuum the hull first, then wipe it all down with acetone before applying the barrier coat. The coating manufacturer will likely recommend wiping with a product of their own. To achieve the recommended coating thickness, you're probably looking at about 4-5 coats. That's a lot I know but consider that it will actually be better than new if it's done right, and you'll never have to worry about it, also a good selling feature. Follow the instructions and remember that this is a two part epoxy product so you'll need to work fast and try to do it in the temperatures recommended.

Interprotect comes in white and grey. I buy both and alternate the colour of each coat so that you can actually tell you're not missing a spot over the previous coat. I like starting with the grey because if you see any white after, you'll know you missed a spot on the bare hull, then go coat of white, grey, etc. Unless I'm coating with a light coloured antifoulant, I like finishing off with the grey barrier coat as I prefer to see grey rather than while when the antifouling coating starts to get thin. The white just stands out like a soar thumb IMO.

If you apply a barrier coat, don't ever sand the hull again or you risk sanding through the barrier and defeat the purpose of having it there. If you use an ablative antifoulant, you'll never need to worry about that because you'll never sand again.

[dsolo]

My marina and service manager has advised the job of sand blasting and applying a 12 mil barrier coat is best done in September. Boat must be elevated to allow standing access to the bottom of the hull. Boat will have sides tented for environmental concerns. Day time temperature must be +55 degree. This all makes sense to me. Looks like the boat has one more season with as is bottom.