Paint and anti-foulant

[psness]

Please firgive my ignorance of the proper terms for sections of the boat...I am buying a DSII that has a faded orange hull that I plan on sanding and painting (I've researched the method/type of paint on this site and others). However, about 10" up from the very bottom there is a thicker faded blue area (anti-foulant??). I don't want to get into sanding this as I understand the problems associated with that. So - I will either just let this area alone, or I was wondering if I could just paint over it with the same white paint for aesthetics???

[Guest]

If you try to paint over it, you will probably find the new paints falls off as the chemicals are probably not compatible. Antifouling paint should cover the entire bottom of boat. I am wondering, is the dark blue a stripe around the boat, or is the whole upper portion of the hull blue and the whole bottom orange. If you think the paint my be antifouling paint, the best way to safley remove it is with a chemical stripper. DO NOT UNDER AND CIRCUMSTANCE SAND ANTIFOULING PAINT! Unless your next project is to build a pine box. VERY TOXIC. But again, it can be safley removed with chemical stripper. Be sure to wear protective clothing and gloves.

CC

Collin Casey (gybe-it-at-houston.rr.com)

[psness]

The upper 2/3 of the hull (my term for the bottom of the boat up to the deck edge) is orange and smooth (just faded) and the lower 1/3 is blue, faded, slightly thicker and more textured. It should be below the water line, and I know it would be a pain to strip, but if normal bottom coat won't adhere then I'll just let it alone.

[Guest]

The textured stuff sounds like antifouling paint. Stripper would be the safe way to go. It is not really all that hard to do. You mask the topside paint you don't want to come off (the orange stuff). Brush the stripper onto the stuff you want off. Then either srape it away with a putty knife or blast it of with a pressure washer. Wipe the bottom. Sand. Fare. Prime. Paint. Be sure to follow the directions on how long to let the stipper strip before removal. Also check with local laws and bio hazzards of the stripper.

Collin

Collin Casey (gybe-it-at-houston.rr.com)

[Guest]

I've sanded anti-fouling paint before, and I'm still here. Just wear a good fitting dust mask, and do it in an area with good ventilation (I did it outside-- can't get much better than that,) and you should be ok. IIIIIII Hhhhhaavvven't hhhhaad aaanyyyy ppppprroblllleemmmms!
Seriously, another good technique is wet-sanding, which will keep the dust down too. Wet sanding is described in a few other posts on this site.
Just like anything else in life, if you take the right precautions, you can do most anything with minimal danger.

J.P. Clowes (jpclowes-at-hotmail.com)

[Guest]

Will the boat be on a trailer when not in use, or will it be kept in a slip? If on a trailer you won't need any bottom /anti-fouling paint. Clean the old bottom paint off, starting with use of high pressure spray (home or car wash), which will likely get a lot of it off. Then get the rest with either a stripper or wet sanding as mentioned above (or, if what's left is way underneath and can't be seen short of laying under the boat...forget it, leave it there! ). Then paint the entire hull with your "regular" paint. If you are going to keep it in a slip, clean the old "grunge" (the dried on moss/dirt) off the bottom with a high pressure spray and/or hose and brush. Some of the bottom paint may come off also, but that's OK. When it has dried, go and give it a couple coats of botttom paint, put it in the water and enjoy it. Not exactly by-the-book maybe, but you have to recoat the bottom every season anyway. Of course if you're going to race the boat, this "good enough" attitude won't do!

steve parsons (saabdrver-at-aol.com)