Bottom Paint question
 

Time to paint the bottom. I sanded her, need to do a little more. The
paint on the bottom now is blue ablative.

I looked at the Interlux ACT ablative. Then I got to thinking ?? Is this
the best ?

What ablative paint is the best to use, in your opinion?

Bottom Paint question
 

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:08:34 GMT, "NE Sailboat"
wrote:

Time to paint the bottom. I sanded her, need to do a little more. The
paint on the bottom now is blue ablative.

I looked at the Interlux ACT ablative. Then I got to thinking ?? Is this
the best ?

What ablative paint is the best to use, in your opinion?


The best value, or the best paint?

Practical Sailor did extensive testing and rated West Marine PCA a
good value in northern waters at about $80 per gallon. In southern
waters (Florida), they liked Sea Hawk Monterey at about $140/gal.

I've been using Interlux Micron Extra with good results but it didn't
rate quite as well as the two above.

Bottom Paint question
 

On 23 Mar 2007 16:34:03 -0500, Dave wrote:

Practical Sailor did extensive testing and rated West Marine PCA a
good value in northern waters at about $80 per gallon. In southern
waters (Florida), they liked Sea Hawk Monterey at about $140/gal.

I've been using Interlux Micron Extra with good results but it didn't
rate quite as well as the two above.

Isn't the first a one season paint, and the second a multi-season?

All three of the paints I mentioned are multi season. I've gotten 2
1/2 years out of the Micron Extra and it was still doing a good job
when we hauled out last week except for high wear areas. We covered
about 8,000 miles in that time, both north and south.

Bottom Paint question
 

If the boat isn't barrier coated ... as far as I know, it isn't. ... will
this make a difference in "holding" ability of the paint?

And ,, is the West Marine product a good quality product?

I try not to shop at West, the place has become WalmartMarine in my opinion.

============
"Charlie Morgan" wrote in message
...
On 23 Mar 2007 19:20:02 -0500, Dave wrote:

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:00:13 -0400, Wayne.B
said:

All three of the paints I mentioned are multi season. I've gotten 2
1/2 years out of the Micron Extra and it was still doing a good job
when we hauled out last week except for high wear areas. We covered
about 8,000 miles in that time, both north and south.

Good to hear that. I believe that is what I put on last year.

I used Micron CSC, and then switched to Micron Extra about 4 years ago.
It's a
little better with slowing down slime. I get about a season per coat. I
put on
two coats every third commissioning and it's worked out very well. At the
end of
two seasons I will just faintly start to see some gray shadows of barrier
coat
in high wear spots.

CWM

Bottom Paint question
 

* Charlie Morgan wrote, On 3/24/2007 2:51 PM:
And ,, is the West Marine product a good quality product?


You sound like a good candidate to strip down to the gelcoat, repair any
anopmolies and add a barrier coat. Apply the first coat of bottom paint before
the last coat of barrier coat completely sets up and they will bond especially
well.

I use Interlux products only, so I can't tell you anything about West's
knock-off products. Interlux offers a lot more information about their products
as well as superior support. That's easily worth the extra cost. I know what I'm
buying, who made it, and I have no compatibilty worries.

West bottom paint is made by Pettit and Interlux. The CPP I'm trying
this year was rated better than Micron in northern waters and was made
by Pettit.

Although I like Micron Extra, at $225/gal, its gotten too pricey.

Bottom Paint question
 

On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:02:58 -0400, Jeff wrote:

Although I like Micron Extra, at $225/gal, its gotten too pricey.

Compared to the price of haulouts and bottom painting, it's a bargain.

Bottom Paint question
 

* Wayne.B wrote, On 3/24/2007 5:15 PM:
On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:02:58 -0400, Jeff wrote:

Although I like Micron Extra, at $225/gal, its gotten too pricey.

Compared to the price of haulouts and bottom painting, it's a bargain.

I normally put a coat on every year. Last year I skipped to see what
would happen, and to let some of the accumulation ablate off. The
results were mixed - by the end of the second season I had fair number
of barnacles - much more than when I went 12 months mainly in Florida.
So for my area, I can't call it "two season."

My catamaran takes 2 gallons, so that's $450. And since I haul each
winter, there's nothing saved in that regard.

As for Practical Sailor's occasional dubious techniques, I've seen
that from just about every testing group that actually tells us how
they test. Although I don't always follow their recommendations, I
can't remember a time that I've been disappointed by their advice.
And there simply isn't anyone else doing tests, so for better or
worse, they/re the best. In the case of the CPP, it was rated "good"
for northern waters, while Micron was just "fair," so for half the
price, its worth a try.

Bottom Paint question
 

"Charlie Morgan" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 18:54:01 -0400, Jeff wrote:

* Wayne.B wrote, On 3/24/2007 5:15 PM:
On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:02:58 -0400, Jeff wrote:

Although I like Micron Extra, at $225/gal, its gotten too pricey.

Compared to the price of haulouts and bottom painting, it's a
bargain.

I normally put a coat on every year. Last year I skipped to see what
would happen, and to let some of the accumulation ablate off. The
results were mixed - by the end of the second season I had fair number
of barnacles - much more than when I went 12 months mainly in Florida.
So for my area, I can't call it "two season."

My catamaran takes 2 gallons, so that's $450. And since I haul each
winter, there's nothing saved in that regard.

As for Practical Sailor's occasional dubious techniques, I've seen
that from just about every testing group that actually tells us how
they test. Although I don't always follow their recommendations, I
can't remember a time that I've been disappointed by their advice.
And there simply isn't anyone else doing tests, so for better or
worse, they/re the best. In the case of the CPP, it was rated "good"
for northern waters, while Micron was just "fair," so for half the
price, its worth a try.

I feel your trust in PS is misplaced. They don't just do unscientific
testing,
but they are totally capricious as far as their recommendations.
Bottom paint
has traditionally been one of their most egrarious screwups. One year
about 3
years ago, they tested all of the paints by the usual dubious methods.
They then
proceeded to give the TOP rating to a paint that hadn't done as well
as one of
the others, and stated it was simply because they "had always liked
it, and it
was a long time favorite". That's about as unethical as you can get.
When
talking about Practical Sailor's tests and evaluations, I don't think
"garbage "
is too strong.

I DO hope you have good luck with that CPP, but as everyone knows,
there is no
free lunch. If Pettit has a similar, but name-brand paint for more
money, you
really need to know why they would make a cheaper product for West
Marine to
compete against their own sauce.

The recent price hike of Micron Extra is mostly due to the soaring
price of
COPPER.

CWM

Take a bathroom scale into the paint store. Weigh the different brands
gallon size. The one that weighs the most is the best, most long-lasting
paint. It's all bout the copper content. You buy inexpensive paint, you
get less copper. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.

Same thing with lead acid batteries. Weigh them. The heaviest one has
the most lead is the best battery. Simple, simple, simple.

Wilbur Hubbard

Bottom Paint question
 

* Charlie Morgan wrote, On 3/24/2007 7:08 PM:
On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 18:54:01 -0400, Jeff wrote:
....
As for Practical Sailor's occasional dubious techniques, I've seen
that from just about every testing group that actually tells us how
they test. Although I don't always follow their recommendations, I
can't remember a time that I've been disappointed by their advice.
And there simply isn't anyone else doing tests, so for better or
worse, they/re the best. In the case of the CPP, it was rated "good"
for northern waters, while Micron was just "fair," so for half the
price, its worth a try.

I feel your trust in PS is misplaced. They don't just do unscientific testing,
but they are totally capricious as far as their recommendations.

I've never found that to be true. Perhaps you could give us a list of
other marine product testing magazines that do a better job.

Bottom paint
has traditionally been one of their most egrarious screwups. One year about 3
years ago, they tested all of the paints by the usual dubious methods. They then
proceeded to give the TOP rating to a paint that hadn't done as well as one of
the others, and stated it was simply because they "had always liked it, and it
was a long time favorite". That's about as unethical as you can get. When
talking about Practical Sailor's tests and evaluations, I don't think "garbage "
is too strong.

I don't recall anything of the sort. I just went over their last two
reviews, Oct and Feb, and there was nothing like that. It sounds like
they disagreed with your choice - but that seems odd given that you're
a Micron fan and I've been using it based on their recommendations.


I DO hope you have good luck with that CPP, but as everyone knows, there is no
free lunch. If Pettit has a similar, but name-brand paint for more money, you
really need to know why they would make a cheaper product for West Marine to
compete against their own sauce.

Perhaps because West can sell more. Now, when you go into West, two
of the top three brands are Pettit. That seems like a good strategy.
BTW, Pettit has paints that are more expensive and less expensive
that CPP.


The recent price hike of Micron Extra is mostly due to the soaring price of
COPPER.

You're a sucker for every lame explanation. A gallon of paint has
about 5 pounds of copper. In the last year, the price has gone from
$2 per lb to $3, so that's a material cost increase of $5 per gallon.
So while it may be a good excuse to raise prices, it doesn't mean
the retail has to go up $50. To prove that, there are a number of
paints, including some from Interlux, that are half the price that
have just as much copper, or even more.

Bottom Paint question
 

* Wilbur Hubbard wrote, On 3/24/2007 7:12 PM:
....

Take a bathroom scale into the paint store. Weigh the different brands
gallon size. The one that weighs the most is the best, most long-lasting
paint. It's all bout the copper content. You buy inexpensive paint, you
get less copper. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.

Same thing with lead acid batteries. Weigh them. The heaviest one has
the most lead is the best battery. Simple, simple, simple.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

All of the ablatives have about the same copper (or cuprous oxide)
content - ranging between 37% and 42%. The hard paints vary more.