Association Forum - Bottom Blisters, Stripping and Painting

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Bottom Blisters, Stripping and Painting

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

treeder65
1st Mate

Member Avatar

USA
50 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/02/2011 : 13:32:09

I recently began stripping off the old bottom paint on my 1986 fixed keel Catalina 25. I used Peel Away I at first; it seemed a little bit too aggressive, as I noticed small, 1/8" - 1/4" sized blisters along the water line. I might be mistake though. The blisters might have been there all along, but were hidden by the "boatload" of coats the PO had put over the moon surface like chipping coats. Would an aggressive stripper cause this or is it more likely that they were there all along. Some are still just gelcoat bulging, but most are already "popped."It is definitely gelcoat and not paint. None the size of dimes or quarters that most people post about. I have switched to the marine Peel Away; it's probably the same thing watered down just so you don't have to babysit it.

The questions I have are:
1)Could it have been the stripper, or would that remove the gelcoat in a similar manner as the paint (just melting it away into a slush)?
2)Should I apply a barrier coating before painting?
3)I ordered some West 105 with some 407 low density filler for the blisters (as per the West site recommendations). Is this the best way to fill small blisters?
4)I store the boat out of the water on it's trailer and launch every couple of weeks during the summer. Is VC-17 the best paint for trailer sailing? I only go into salt water a few times per year for about a week at a time in the water.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Tom
1986 C25 SR/FK #5299
Hunterdon County, NJ

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2011 : 13:48:32

I'm not sure what you're seeing. I used a stripper that was too aggressive once, and it didn't create blisters. It partially dissolved the gelcoat, leaving the finish looking like coarse sandpaper. I smoothed it over with some filler, coated it with about 5-6 coats of barrier paint, and painted it with antifouling, and never had a problem with it. I intended to barrier coat my boat anyway. If you barrier coat it when it is stripped to the bare glass, it's easy to do, and you'll never have to worry about blisters. (The hard part of that job is stripping. Putting on a few extra coats of barrier paint is relatively easy.)

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2011 : 14:30:52

(1) I've helped other sailors use Peel Away (non marine version) with zero adverse affects to the gel coat. We found the same size blisters along the waterline.
(2) I would highly recommend applying Interlux System 2000E - read and follow the instructions carefully though, i.e., don't exceed the time window between coats.
(3) I use the same West products - excellent choice. Make absolutely sure that the prepared mixture is the consistency of peanut butter - else it will sag and you'll have to sand that flush again.
(4) I found VC-17 to be very hard - durable.

FWIW, if you are a racer, sanding the stippling of the water barrier smooth will eek out another fraction of a knot . . .

Good luck!

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2011 : 14:35:35

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Milby
 . . . when it is stripped to the bare glass . . . <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Glass or gel coat?

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 04/02/2011 : 16:25:18

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/03/2011 : 06:22:52

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Milby
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by OJ
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Milby
 . . . when it is stripped to the bare glass . . . <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Glass or gel coat?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Gel coat.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I only ask because there is a guy on Sailnet who took his down to glass . . .

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 04/03/2011 : 06:59:26

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by OJ
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Milby
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by OJ
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Milby
 . . . when it is stripped to the bare glass . . . <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> Glass or gel coat?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Gel coat.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I only ask because there is a guy on Sailnet who took his down to glass . . .

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> I have never heard a functional reason for gelcoating the bottom, and gelcoat isn't always applied by manufacturers. My present boat doesn't have gelcoat on the bottom. Gelcoat provides a smoother surface than bare fiberglass, unless the fiberglass is coated with something else to smooth it. Mine has a factory-applied barrier to smooth it. I have heard of people stripping off their gelcoat, but don't know why anyone would do that, unless it was severely damaged. I think, over a period of years, racers sometimes sand away all or most of their gelcoat, and they eventually replace it with something that will smooth it, as well as provide a barrier. That might be the reason why your friend did it. I recall that being done on some of the old J24s.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.