bottom paint

[wanna-be]

Hi again Have a couple of spots on bottom of boat that chipped from roller use etc. what do you use to touch up when I have no idea what existing paint is on it? It looks just too good to do whole bottom yet. This is a rescued nb22'angler 1997 with only 167 hours total! thankyou everyone!

 

[Sunbeam]

Even if you can't tell exactly what type of paint you have, you may be able to determine type - or at least have a good chance of it.

Can you post a photo and/or describe the texture?

--If the boat is from fresh water and the paint is really smooth/hard/"thin" seeming, and does not rub off on your hand, then it could be vinyl paint.

--If the boat comes from a salt water area, and the paint has that velvety texture characteristic of bottom paint, but does not easily rub of on your hand, it may be a "hard" bottom paint.

--If the boat comes from a salt water area and the paint is velvety looking and a bit "soft" and does come off on your hand, clothes, etc. then it may be an ablative paint.

As a general rule, softer paints can be painted over harder ones, but not vice-versa. Vinyl can only be painted over with vinyl (VC-17 being an example of a vinyl paint - meant for freshwater use).

We may be able to help you by looking at photos and or you could describe how it seems in comparison to what I wrote above. Another possibility is that if a yard painted it you might be able to check with them.

Here is a compatibility chart from West Marine that gives more information:

http://content.westmarine.com/docum...Bottom_Paint_Compatibility_Chart_2012.xls.pdf

Sunbeam

 

[thataway]

Find a soft paint which matches the color closely and use it. You can put soft over hard, but not hard over soft. I have been using Vivid for trailerable boats and it works well. I have my Caracal in the water in the keys--non painted boats are fouling in one week to 10 days. This is the 3rd year on this bottom paint--and no fouling in about slightly over 3 weeks.