another blacking question, sorry

[Guest]

Hi, the blacking on our hull at the moment has been flaking off over the past couple of years this has left some rust patches. We are booked in to have a yard re-black next month.

Do we need to treat the rust areas prior to the new blacking,

Hope that doesn't sound a daft question. Cheers

[Dharl]

Is the flaking and rust patches above the waterline or below it...?

 

Ideally if you have any rust patches, on the hull or cabin superstructure it is best to treat ASAP, don't leave as the 'rot' will only get worse. If small patchs use a circular sander, steel wool etc to remove rust and paint surrounding the area, remove back to bare metal then treat with primer paint, undercoat and top coat.

[Guest]

Hi many thanks for the quick reply, I should have said the patches are above the waterline, I thought I should clean them up but was not sure if painting over with, ie,

red oxide or primer would affect the new blacking.

[Martin Megson]

I would apply a rust treatment such as Fertan.

[Dharl]

Well should have clarified that very hard to get rust below the waterline! Yes once back to metal treat with Fertan or similar before priming etc.

[dmr]

Don't worry about a bit of rust, boats are not like cars, they only rust slowly, don't leave exposed rust for years but a couple of months won't hurt.

Blacking is designed to be applied to bare metal and may actually stick less well onto the hull if you have put primer on first.

 

..............Dave

[dor]

If you are having it re-blacked next month there is little point worrying about it now. Preparation for blacking consists of taking the surface back to bare metal, usually with a high pressure washer and maybe a touchup with a rotary wire brush. Blacking doesn't need priming.

[Dharl]

If above the waterline, at least above the rubbing streak, then it's likely to be gloss paint rather than blacking, so would benefit from primer ;-).

 

If being blacked next month then as dor said I wouldn't over worry about it but endure it is sorted at the time. Don't paint on top of rust.

[Nightwatch]

We recently did Nightwatch. We treated bare metal with rust converter before applying backing.

 

Martyn

[zenataomm]

Day one on dock - Give the bits you don't normally see two good coats of looking at. Clear rubbish off propeller - turn propeller and check it's true and not damaged - stand at look at anodes while stroking teeth and sucking chin, enquire cost of replacing them and promptly decide you can get another two years out of them. Go inside boat to wonder at the strange sensation of total stability and discover you can't open the toilet door as the hull has twisted ever so slightly. Go and enquire about using the power washer and to ask about using the yard's bog while on dock. Hide disappointment when you learn the jet washer has been lent to the local boy scouts for car washing during their fund raising day today and hide your disgust when you catch sight of the toilet around the back of the wood pile. Go down pub.

 

Day two on dock ​ ​- Spring into life at the crack of noon swearing blind you will never drink "Old Scrotey" again and promptly yank the handle clean off the toilet door, having forgotten it's jammed. Grab the nearest clothes and negotiate the obstacle course to the woodpile in order to perform ablutions ashore. During which you realise that not only are you still gripping the amputated door handle but are dressed in a mixture of odd clothes half of which appear to belong to your partner. The yard owner wishes you good afternoon and nods towards a tangled heap of what appears to be dead snakes. "Jet Washer!" he reminds you as you appear puzzled by it. "The other people have booked it from half two." He says ".... thought you might have finished with it by mid-day". Two hours later you have successfully blasted the crud on the bottom of the dock up into your partner's eyes, been knocked off your feet with the force so many times nobody finds it funny any more and managed to write your own name in the weed encrusted side of your hull. As half three approaches the other occupants of the dock are manhandling the lance off you because they had it booked from about an hour ago. You retire defeated to search out dry clothes and escort your bedraggled partner to lunch.

Wearing an assortment of odd but dry working clothes you order two pints of Old Scrotey which you feel this time you have earned and hear somebody liken your appearance to an explosion in an Oxfam shop.

Upon return to the yard it is dark, which is probably handy as it stops you from seeing that your neighbours; in the act of blasting their boat have shot most of the loosened crud in the bottom of the dock all up the side of the your boat.

 

​Bluudy day three on this rotten dock - Having carefully laid your brushes out and opened your tins of bitumen you turn to discover the dried on mud and detritus bestowed upon your boat by your neighbours the previous day. To your delight you can see their enthusiasm has not been restricted to merely the hull but generously includes the lower couple of feet of the cabin sides too.

Having scrounged another loan (spelt rental) of the washer you spray down the mud off the cabin sides and joyfully remove the paint off the panels too. Deep joy! An hour later you discover the trifficulty involved with trying to get blacking to adhere to damp metal. As you stand there sliding the same dollop around and around before replacing it back in the tin. An early night is called for so you decide only four pints of dinner tonight.

 

Will this job never get done? - Day four results in several hours of back breaking, arm muscle wearying, bitumen slapping exercise. Having worked all through lunch you proudly discover by three o'clock you've emptied the three tins you brought with you. Stepping back to admire your handiwork you are delighted to note you even managed to get a lot of it on the boat itself. However your clothes should never rust and why there is so much of it in your hair is a total mystery. A quick dash in the car to buy some more soon sees you back at the yard wondering if it would be best to stop for the day and stare into a glass or so of Old Scrotey hoping to resolve the problem of how to get bitumen out of the velour seats of your car and if perhaps it would be easier to just buy another steering wheel and gear shift?

 

Day Five Already!!!! - Having now run out of clothes completely and realising you have only managed to paint one coat on 2/3rds of your boat you panic and hand the job over to the yard to finish because you've had an urgent phone call and have to go and visit your Father's only son who is having a panic attack. You'll be back Saturday morning after they re-float her.

Oh, and by the way could they also please reattach the toilet door handle, thank you.

 

 

 

 

[dmr]

...and then you realise that boatyards set their dock hire and labour prices such that by the time you factor in the cost of the clothes and beer its actually CHEAPER to pay them to do it.

 

lovely post!

 

..................Dave

[Guest]

Many thanks for all the helpful replies, a yard will be doing the job as after 11 years of living at sea and doing the

anti foul each year we have no intention on DIY for this job. Thanks for the info on just cleaning the rust, I was concerned about putting primer on and that interfering with the blacking. Cheers guys.

[Horace42]

Day Five Already!!!! - ....... hand the job over to the yard to finish ........You'll be back Saturday morning after they re-float her.....

 

 

Not knowing whether the blacking was actually applied to you specification and as diligently as you would have done....

[zenataomm]

I've never let anyone else black any boat of mine for that very reason.

 

I've known weird cocktails used so that it's thin enough to spray it on, where I prefer to brush it on.

Also how many coats sprayed? Versus my three coats brushed?

 

Aha ... conspiracy! .... or just piracy?

[Cheshire cat]

Could be paranoia but I think you are right to think about it carefully. If the job doesn't get done to the right standard will it be worth the money being paid over.

 

The trouble is shortcomings may take some time to reveal themselves and even if you go on someones reccommendations there's no guarantee you'll get the same workforce operating to the same standards.

 

The chances of getting any guarantees with blacking are negligible I would think.

[dmr]

Best of both worlds: use a dry dock where you can live on the boat whilst they black it, you can get on with lots of other jobs and watch your boat getting blacked properly by somebody else at the same time.

We have used Stone for the last two blackings and they do a comprehensive job, only trouble is far too much beer drinking potential in the evenings.

 

...............Dave

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