Matching (or close) Bottom Paint

[Ekea]

ill be painting the bottom soon and want something that is as close to color matched to the GW gelcoat color as possible. it would need to be a hard paint (not ablative). has anyone used something that looks pretty close?

 

[seasick]

Light hulls ( white will show slime and marine growth more than darker colors

 

[Ekea]

Light hulls ( white will show slime and marine growth more than darker colors

thats fine. my boat lives on a trailer. more than anything, i want to pretty it up since the current paint is splotchy and i dont want to pay to restore it to gelcoat and definitely dont have time to do that myself. i want it to look as close to not bottom painted as possible

 

[Fishtales]

I'd go with a contast (like a muscle car interior, I favor black) as you are using ablative paint. The whites will fade to light brown over time anyway and look like slime/scum.

 

[Ekea]

I'd go with a contast (like a muscle car interior, I favor black) as you are using ablative paint. The whites will fade to light brown over time anyway and look like slime/scum.

im using hard, not ablative.

i prefer the look of no bottom paint, so i am trying to minimize contrast

 

[Fishtales]

Lives on a trailer and using hard paint? Suggest you investigate.

 

[DennisG01]

Lives on a trailer and using hard paint? Suggest you investigate.

Bingo.

 

[DennisG01]

You "could" just paint what you readily see with a rattle can... re-do as necessary as it's easy/quick to do.

 

[Ekea]

it looks like im going with petit vivid. i heard on THT that "standard" pigments can be added to it. i plan to call petit and confirm

 

[seasick]

Ask about compatibility with existing bottom paint. Appropriate prep is critical
Of course make sure you follow the instructions especially about using a 3/8 nap or smaller roller. That paint like other Pettit paints does not like thick coats.

 

[DennisG01]

How long can the boat be out of the water with that?

Why the worry about NOT using ablative?

 

[Fishtales]

To maintain the effectiveness of hard bottom paint, it should generally remain in the water. If it is taken out of the water for 3 days or more, it may oxidize and become ineffective. Therefore, it is advisable to keep the paint submerged to ensure optimal protection

 

[SkunkBoat]

Some of the newer, expensive Hard bottom paints have no copper and can be pulled and relaunched. I think Vivid is one of them.

 

[Evan B]

I had Vivid on my last boat. Can’t help with color, it was black.

It was a perfectly fine bottom paint. Looked much better than the typical chalky ablative stuff. Boat was trailered and no issues with it over 6-7ish years. Still looked good when I sold it.

 

[Evan B]

FWIW- My current boat came with nasty old bottom paint. If I ever get around to removing it, I’d go back with VC Performance.

But that also looks like a lot more prep than what I did before rolling on the Vivid.