Bottom paint above water line...

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makala
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Bottom paint above water line...

Post by makala »

Our bottom paint extends about 4" above the waterline. The previous bottom job used hard bottom paint, and since that portion of the paint is not always exposed to water it developed lines or striations/cracking of the paint that isn't constantly submerged. The paint was applied thick and basically the striations just promoted paint chipping and it is unsightly.

It seems like a bad idea to use hard bottom paint above the waterline, so I am planning to paint the waterline and below with hard paint first, then use an ablative for above the waterline.

Does this sound reasonable? What other methods are used to paint above the waterline? I think one answer is a bootstripe but that sounds high maintenance...

Thanks,
Doug
MV 102, 100 HP
John&Ria
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Re: Bottom paint above water line...

Post by John&Ria »

Makala, for what it's worth I have used ablative paint on my various boats for many years, and find that from time to time I have similar cracking of the paint. Occasionally it will be below the waterline, but usually it is at or just above the waterline. I suspect this is mostly due to imperfections in surface preparation before applying fresh paint, perhaps aggravated by air exposure and additional volatility of the water flow (wave action) at and above the waterline. Bottom line, pardon the pun, I don't think ablative vs. hard bottom paint will make much of a difference.
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