Rookie Paint Question

[dthorton]

I just painted my hull with Pettit Hydrocoat, and the paint is very flat. This is my first boat, I was expecting a shiny hull is there any thing I need to do or just live with this. the paint says it takes burnishing well what is that ?

[brad9798]

Your hull or your bottom? Make sure you are using the correct terminology first.

Hydrocaot is a BOTTOM ANTI-FOULING paint ... roughly 40% cuprous oxide if I recall ... definitely it is VERY flat- for use against algae, mussles, barnicles, etc.

You want a hull/above the waterline paint if you want it glossy, as it sounds you do. Pettit has plenty of the hull paints ...

[dthorton]

I painted my whole boat bottom and hull with the hydorcoat,can I paint over this with another kind of pettit above the water line paint?

[Victor]

Not if it's antifouling paint, which is designed to slough off itself and everything on it. If it's fresh you can try to paint over it, but don't expect much. Antifouling is best avoided unless the boat's going to be in the water all the time.

[brad9798]

You are better off stripping this paint down to your waterline ...

We've all done stuff like that, so don't feel badly.

Next time you're doing something, ask here first, and folks will provide you with a ton of info ...

Brad

[ssor]

What should he use for a stripper? I have used "Peel-away" on bottom paint but that was on the bottom of the boat. He seems to have painted the topsides.

[dthorton]

I did paint the botom and the sides both with the hydrocoat. Geez I thought topside paint meant the deck etc. Duh....

[brad9798]

Hey, don't worry about it ... topside is typically deck, then there is HULL, and THEN there is BOTTOM paint ...

Stripper? See what pettit recommends for their own products ... they will be able to help.

Jasco makes a marine stripper ... for all surface types- wood, glass, metal ...

As was mentioned, you could paint over it, but it will NOT satisfy you ... anti-fouling is DESIGNED to 'not' hold things ... 'another layer of paint on top of' included.

Check where you bought your paint, let them know the situation, and have them recommend.

Good luck.

Brad

[Victor]

dt, I suggest you live with it on the bottom. Trying to remove it now will be just about the most unpleasant job you can imagine. I paid someone to put mine in a sling and scrape it off. He did a lousy job but I can hardly blame him. On the sides, I'd use a stripper or even a gentle sandblaster.

My bottom is still spotty. I've taken to occasionally spraying it with black spray paint just to keep it from getting too ugly. Actually, engine paint is probably not too bad as a bottom paint, if the boat is trailered.

[dthorton]

I will call Pettit tomorrow, if they suggest stripping the paint off I will probably just live with my mistake,it still sucks after spending about 40 hrs sanding the epoxy, I had the hull very slick...

[Todd Bradshaw]

I found Hydrocoat to be wonderful bottom paint on the two boats that I used it on, but it's not terribly pretty on the parts that show above the waterline - as you have seen. By "burnishing" they mean that it can be rubbed down and smoothed-out for racers who want maximum speed, but the cost is that you lose some of it by burnishing it and it will still never look like a nice enamel paint job. If I wanted to remove it, before sanding or putting chemical stripper on it I'd try a pressure washer. The stuff is made to wear off in water. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the combination of pressure washing and a Scotchbrite pad would remove it just as well as stripper would.