[C320-list] Process for bottom painting while commissioning a new Catalina?

[Jeff Hare]

Jon / Rod,

  We're located in the northeast US with salt/brackish water.

  I used to use Micron CSC.  I switched a few years ago to 
West Marine CPP and it worked noticeably better than CSC did in our
area (and the CSC worked pretty well).  

I get CPP when West puts it on sale for around $120/ gallon, then
use a boat show 20% off coupon, and pick up the $35 mail in rebate
coupon.  Makes it the best deal in bottom paint.

As for the procedure, scraping it down to gelcoat is a good idea, 
followed by a liberal washing down with mold release / acetone.

Then put on a couple coats of RED barrier paint, followed by a couple
coats of Blue ablative.

Where you see red barrier showing through is where you've
worn off the ablative and need to recoat.  I think you'll find that
the leading edges of the keel, bow, and the rudder (along with all 
the places you run into stuff :) are about the only places where you'll 
really need to repaint every year, depending on how aggressively your 
boat is power washed at haulout.

You'll save money and time (both in annual painting as well as the
investment you made in stripping your hull) by only repainting the high
wear areas each season with the whole hull every other year. Even ablative 
seems to begin to chip off if it gets too thick, and you'll be back where 
you started.

My opinions... :)

-Jeff Hare

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Jon Vez
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 9:54 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Process for bottom painting while commissioning a
newCatalina?

Rod,

This is my experience as well--I use Micron CSC extra and at $200 plus a
gallon it is quite frustrating trying to get a good coat on. I have the
craters as well the trouble of having the paint come off on the roller and
it was getting worse every year. However I think I've hit the point of
diminishing returns. Over the years most of the original paint is probably
gone and last fall there were much fewer areas of old paint rolling off with
the new. I've also started keeping my boat in the water every other winter
and the Micron is great while in the water--even when I have a diver clean
the bottom. I've been able to reduce the craters little by little and now I
can *almost* justify the cost of the Micron :)
Sorry to hear you were injured, hopefully all is well now...

Regards,

Jon


-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Rod Boer
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 8:12 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Process for bottom painting while commissioning a
newCatalina?

Jon,

I have been using the same approach; however, the bottom paint is failing at
an increasing rate.  When I start rolling a coating of the more expensive
bottom paint and the previously layers just peel off on the roller it drives
me crazy because it is almost impossible to get it smooth.  It chips off
pretty easily; however, I injured my arm when fending off a piling in the
fall so I will probably use a stripper that won't damage the gel coat.

I agree with you that it was probably an issue with removing the mold
release or in my case the weather might have been unsettled during the
commissioning.  Thanks.

Rod

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Jon Vez
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 7:55 PM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Process for bottom painting while commissioning a
newCatalina?

Rod,

I had the same problem when mine was commissioned (in '99) and I believe it
is because of the dealer doing a shoddy job of removing the mold release.
I've since seen that mine wasn't the exception. Had I determined this after
the first season I would have taken it back to the dealer and had it redone.
Needless to say I've been paying the price ever since. As chunks of paint
come off I dewax and try to build up the area. My hope is over time I will
get good adhesion over time.
I looked into soda blasting but I didn't feel comfortable with the process.
Even though the medium is soft, it can still penetrate the vinylester. I had
the soda blaster try a test patch on my keel and it resulted in some pock
marks. The soda blaster ultimately wasn't comfortable doing the job either.
I may try a chemical stripper at some point, but this is a big job and I
think the little by little approach is the one I'm going to stick with for
now...

Regards,

Jon Vez
Solstice #582

-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Rod Boer
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 7:16 PM
To: C320-List
Subject: [C320-list] Process for bottom painting while commissioning a new
Catalina?

All,

 

Is anyone familiar with the current practice of painting the bottom of
Catalina's when commissioning.  When Odyssey, which has a vinyl ester hull,
was commissioned in the summer of 1999, the process at the dealer I
purchased it from was to remove the mold release, apply a no-sand primer,
and then apply a coat of Interlux ACT.  My understanding was that this
process was recommended by Catalina at that time.  This spring I plan to
strip the bottom down to the gel coat and would like to know the current
procedure.  

 

The bottom paint has been a problem from the beginning but I think that it
might have been caused by the execution of the process but not necessarily
the process.  It would be helpful to compare the current process versus the
process when commissioned.  Thanks.

 

Rod Boer

Odyssey