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

[Robert Seastream]

Jeff, I gather West doesn't give you problems with the boat show  
coupon, but where do you get the $35 mail in rebate coupon from, West?

Bob Seastream
Intuition # 906

On Jan 28, 2009, at 2:51 PM, Jeff Hare wrote:

> 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
>
>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 9:54 PM

> Process for bottom painting while commissioning a new Catalina?
>
> 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
>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 8:12 PM
> Process for bottom painting while commissioning a new Catalina?
>
> 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
>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 7:55 PM
> Process for bottom painting while commissioning a new Catalina?
>
> 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
>
>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 7:16 PM
> 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
>