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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Paint Job with INTERLUX Micron Extra

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JOHN SAINDON
Deckhand

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USA
24 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/06/2003 : 09:12:43

Hi all: am I expecting too much here ??? two years with the bottom paint job !!! time to redo it...???is this average??? used two coats of interlux micron extra with biocide...had moss/slime on the boat
2 months after splashdown ??? I think I would like to try something else ...maybe not an ablative paint this time what say you ??

John 'Stuart Little"

GERARD A. SAINDON

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 07/06/2003 : 10:20:18

GERARD,<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>... two years with ... two coats of interlux micron extra with biocide ... had moss/slime on the boat 2 months after splashdown ...<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>Before ablatives came along, a bottom job lasted one year. My experience has been that ablatives last about one year per coat applied. I try to keep about three coats of Micron Extra on mine, which is docked in salt water. My results have been excellent -- after two years, only thin slime and no hard growth except in spots where the paint had been scraped off. Slime reduction seems to be one of the remaining challenges in bottom paint design. It helps a lot if the bottom is lightly wiped with a piece of terrycloth (boat still in the water) when slime begins to appear. (I didn't do this.) This is messy, and some bottom paint wipes off in the process.

"Practical Sailor" tests bottom paints continuously. Their most recently published results show Micron Extra being good in both Florida and Connecticut. The only other ablative paint they rate higher is Micron Optima, a two-part paint costing $60/gal. more than Micron Extra.

Good luck with whatever antifouling method you choose, and please continue to let us know what works for you and what doesn't.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5913 Posts

Response Posted - 07/06/2003 : 10:48:45

John,

After you wax your car, you still have to wash it periodically to keep dirt from sticking to it. The same is true of bottom paint. From what I can tell, Interlux paints with Biocide don’t prevent algae from growing on the bottom. They retard it, and make it easier to wash it off. The extent to which they work depends on how aggressively algae grows in your area. Our lake is a man-made flood control reservoir in farm country, and when it rains, the rain washes farm fertilizers into the streams and the lake, and algae grows like mad. It also depends somewhat on how frequently you use the boat. Algae grows more readily on a surface in stagnant water than on a surface that has water moving past it. Ablative paints work on the principle that, as water moves over their surface, a thin layer sloughs off, along with anything that has attached itself to it’s surface. The EPA won’t allow paint manufacturers to put really effective toxic chemicals into bottom paints (and maybe you wouldn’t really want them to!). I doubt that any other brand of paint will work any better. This year I used Trilux 33 with Biolux and teflon. It’s expensive stuff (about $190. per gallon). I’m hoping the teflon will also make the algae a little less likely to stick. My boat has just been in the water for about three weeks, and I’m already planning on giving it a wipe-down next week, because I want it to be race-ready.

I previously used Trilux II, and, for general purpose sailing it could be stretched into two years, if I scrubbed it periodically during the season, and gave it a good scrubbing at the end of the season, but it really wasn’t adequate for racing in the second season. We’ll see how the Trilux 33 does, but I plan to give it one fresh coat before launch next year.

Steve Milby "Captiva Wind" C-25 T/FK #2554

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 07/06/2003 : 11:05:34

IMHO, CSC is pretty good when it comes to 'trailerable' ablative bottom paints. If you want to try another ablative, there's Pettit ACP-50, and Ultima SR which are look to be very comparible to the Interlux products.

I've used ACP-45 in the past (predecessor to ACP-50) and been generally pleased with its anti-fouling properties. I did think it was 'softer' and had a slightly 'slower' finish than the Micron CSC product (which I now use)

Either way, there is no escaping bottom paint issues as a regular maintenance item. In warm, high-fouling waters, even non-ablative and very 'agressive' paints like Pettit Trinidad need regular scrubbing.

If you aren't trailering your boat or parking on a cradle, you can choose from a wider variety of non-ablative paints. However, non-ablative paints open an entirely new can of worms when the next bottom job is due. If you go that direction, Trinidad or Trinidad-SR might be a good pick.

Currently maintaining two holes in the water...'77 Venture 23 and new to the family,
'78 Catalina 25

Edited by - on

Dave B
Admiral

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Mali
863 Posts

Response Posted - 07/06/2003 : 22:05:19

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
...and I’m already planning on giving it a wipe-down next week, because I want it to be race-ready.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>
Steve: Are you doing that while swimming around/under the boat? Somebody once told me that some professional hull cleaners will do ablative bottoms only while wearing a full diving suit, and that you shouldn't swim in the toxic cloud from scrubbing an ablative paint. (I also hate working downwind of the power sanders in our boatyard in the Spring...)

Dave Bristle, 1985 C-25 #5032 "Passage" SR/FK/Dinette/Honda in SW CT

Edited by - dave b on 07/06/2003 22:07:36

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Douglas
Master Marine Consultant

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1595 Posts

Response Posted - 07/06/2003 : 23:40:24

Dave do you know how much toxic chemicals there are when its released in the water. (Not Much) all the mess is made by the ablative part of the paint. I would recomend building a bottom brush and use it from the dock. Dive on the boat twice a year and haul every other.

Doug&Ruth
Triska (Alberg 29)
Tacoma Wa.

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Ken Cave
Navigator

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USA
148 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2003 : 10:07:31

Be sure to check on the state laws concerning bottom paints. If you have ablative paint applied to the bottom in the State of Washington, a diver will not touch it. You can clean the bottom, but a professional diver in the business is not allowed. (Figure that one out!!)And-the water is COLD up here!!

I use Trinidad, a hard bottom paint, on my boat, and hire a diver to clean it, the prop, all the thru holes, etc. every other month. As a result, I have had my boat in the water three years, and expect another year before I even think about painting the bottom again.

Ken Cave

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5913 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2003 : 10:41:23

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Are you doing that while swimming around/under the boat? Somebody once told me that some professional hull cleaners will do ablative bottoms only while wearing a full diving suit, and that you shouldn't swim in the toxic cloud from scrubbing an ablative paint. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Yes, I go in the water to wipe down the bottom. If I was a pro hull cleaner, and was swimming in the stuff all day every day, I'd wear a dry suit too. But I only wipe it down about 3-4 times a season, and I shower in fresh water as soon as I'm done. I'm certainly no expert on toxic substances, but agree with Doug that it's probably not very potent. I don't think the EPA would let us put highly toxic substances on our boats, and paint manufacturers would be inundated with lawsuits if there was any indication that they were causing any harm to people.

We all accept known and suspected risks in our lives. We expose our skin to sunlight (skin cancer), watch television, use microwave ovens and cell phones (cancer risks), eat red meats, eggs, saturated fats, and salt, climb ladders, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, drive over the speed limit, spray our lawns with insecticides and listen to rap music. Overall I live a fairly healthy lifestyle, scrupulously limiting the time I listen to rap music. (Only while sitting at a traffic light next to a car with a loud stereo.) I consider it one of those low-level risks that I am willing to accept, but avoid overdoing it.

Steve Milby "Captiva Wind" C-25 T/FK #2554

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osmepneo
Past Commodore

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USA
1420 Posts

Response Posted - 07/07/2003 : 14:57:51

John I use Micron Extra also and am very pleased with it.

When the boat is hauled in the fall, I power wash it, and after it dries I check to see if I can see the under coat. If I do, I touch up - putting a couple of coats over the area of exposed undercoat.

Last fall my inspection revealed no undercoat exposure, so I didn't paiant before launching this spring. I suspect that if I paint I'll do it in the fall, and the boat will be ready when the lake is ready.

Don Peet
c25, 1665, osmepneo, sr/wk
The Great Sacandaga Lake, NY

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