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Blacking


MichaelG

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Hi all,

         I plan to have the boat out in the spring for blacking. It has only been done once since I've owned the boat and that was done two years ago by a marina so this will be the first time I've done it myself. The current coating is failing along the waterline so little patches of rust are coming through. 

Does anyone have any recommendations on which blacking to use, Intertuff seems quite popular.

I presume there isn't any compatability issues between different brands as long as it is a bituminous based product going over a bituminous based product?

What method of application works best, roller or brush.

Also how many litres can I expect to need for a 57" narrowboat. I plan two coats and an extra coat along the waterline. I won't be doing the baseplate as it wasn't done previously and the boat will be on sleepers so too low to get to the baseplate. 

Thanks, Michael.

 

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About 5 l per coat.  Much will depend on the ambient temperature.  Warm the blacking if it is hard to spread.(Put the can in a bucket of hot water is best, but if you are the chancy type a Primus will work?).

 

Roller it on and use a brush for pitted or rough and fiddly bits.

 

Do you know what is on there now? If so just get some more.  Blacking compatibility can be difficult, but all the bitumen based stuff is OK.

 

  If you are doing it  in Spring I hope you have a covered and heated space to do it in as it will be hard to get the steel temperature above the dew point and there will be condensation- probably invisible but sure to spoil the adhesion.

Allow the solvents to evaporate thoroughly before refloating.

 

N

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6 minutes ago, BEngo said:

If you are doing it  in Spring I hope you have a covered and heated space to do it in as it will be hard to get the steel temperature above the dew point

Just to repeat.

Before end April / Early May it can be very difficult to achieve steel temps above dew point.

If there is a layer of moisture then the coating won't 'stick' and you are wasting your time and money.

 

You will need to jet-wash / wire brush, leave 24 hours to dry properly.

Add 1st coat.

Wait 24 hours for it to dry

Add 2nd coat

Wait 24 hours for it to dry

Add 3rd coat (waterline coat) 

Wait 24 hours for it to dry

 

It is normal for a 'good blacking' to take 6 or 7 days.

How long do you have your covered and heated dry-dock booked for ?

 

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Hello, thanks for the replies. I wont have the benefit of a covered area, the marina has an open hardstanding area that they can haul boats out onto via a slipway. I can leave it until the warmer weather arrives.  I don't know which product the Marina applied two years ago, the bill just says bitumen paint. I think it cost me about £700. I don't grudge paying for it to be done but I'm thinking if I 

I'm thinking if I do it myself I know how it's been done. Sorry for the two messages but the pooter seems to be going rogue on me.

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Ours is booked in for DIY in August.We mostly do what Allan has suggested above, but we leave it 48Hrs before putting it back in the water if possible. We use scrapers as soon as it comes out, then a pressure washer, a wire brush in an angle grinder and then use small rollers to apply, and a small brush to get in any nooks and crannies.

 

The coverage will be on the tin and the product data sheet. I think we usually use 15 Litres of Rylards premium when doing the sides and baseplate (70ft boat).

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47 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Add 3rd coat (waterline coat) 

Wait 24 hours for it to dry

 

It is normal for a 'good blacking' to take 6 or 7 days.

How long do you have your covered and heated dry-dock booked for ?

 

I would give it 48 hours after the third coat before refloating.

 

And if at the end of the waterline coat you have some blacking left, use it to extend the 3rd coat down to the bottom. You can always add a third coat above the waterline when afloat.

 

Will you have help or are you working single handed? If its just you, doing a full coat in a day is hard work (although easier if you are not doing the bottom).

 

I used Ballistic Black:

https://www.smlmarinepaints.co.uk/topcoats/single_pack/Boat-Blacking

Edited by David Mack
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Buy cheap brushes of the type sold for painting fences, and a cheap furry (not foam) roller kit (i.e. roller frame, a few spare roller sleeves and a paint tray). The small (4 inch) rollers are more manageable and will allow you to get in all the awkward spots around welds, rubbing strips, inside the weed hatch trunk etc. Although it will take longer than with a large roller, but then you want a proper job.

Put the brushes and rollers in water overnight, shake them out in the morning and carry on painting, and at the end of the job, just throw them away.

A disposable (paper) one piece overall makes it a lot easier to keep your clothes cleanish, and with care will last a week.

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Take a look at http://www.keelblack.co.uk/ There have been mixed reactions about it's efficacy but I have used it over 2-pack/Zinga coating and found it OK.  It is very easy to apply and a 5L can will cover a 70ft narrowboat.  It does have a shelf life of 6months but is is great for re-blacking above the water line.

 

Fertan is an excellent rust killer and I know of one guy that  regularly just uses the stuff to black his boat entirely [at Hatton dry dock - but no cover!]

But you'd need more for multiple coats!

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42 minutes ago, peterboat said:

Use some rust killer on the waterline rust as well or a grinder to shine it up!

If you use any rust killer, be sure to read the instructions carefully regarding complete curing times in the temperatures you are going to be working in.

Overcoating with blacking (or any top side paints as well) before the rust stuff has completely cured will result in the blacking (or paint) failing as the solvents blister through.

 

This is one of the biggest fails of Keelblack, as this was neither specified originally by the manufacturer, or even understood - a customer had to go to Fertan and show Keelblack why it's own coating had failed after following their instructions.

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4 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

Buy cheap brushes of the type sold for painting fences, and a cheap furry (not foam) roller kit (i.e. roller frame, a few spare roller sleeves and a paint tray). The small (4 inch) rollers are more manageable and will allow you to get in all the awkward spots around welds, rubbing strips, inside the weed hatch trunk etc. Although it will take longer than with a large roller, but then you want a proper job.

Put the brushes and rollers in water overnight, shake them out in the morning and carry on painting, and at the end of the job, just throw them away.

A disposable (paper) one piece overall makes it a lot easier to keep your clothes cleanish, and with care will last a week.

Cheap brushes are fine but ensure you buy ones with a fairly solid handle, otherwise they snap. 

 The product in the picture is very good and three tins should be ample for the coverage you want, it is very thick and will require a fair bit of white spirit to thin it down, and if the weather is cool it will set quicker having been thinned and be less likely to bloom. An empty tin is useful to enable you to add some w/spirit and have enough room to mix, i generally leave the brush in a sealed tin with a little bitumen left in it.

20200114_145453.jpg

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4 minutes ago, matty40s said:

If you use any rust killer, be sure to read the instructions carefully regarding complete curing times in the temperatures you are going to be working in.

Overcoating with blacking (or any top side paints as well) before the rust stuff has completely cured will result in the blacking (or paint) failing as the solvents blister through.

 

This is one of the biggest fails of Keelblack, as this was neither specified originally by the manufacturer, or even understood - a customer had to go to Fertan and show Keelblack why it's own coating had failed after following their instructions.

Mine and my neighbour's keelblack is intact and he used fertan mine just covers the wings so its cosmetic 

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8 minutes ago, BWM said:

Cheap brushes are fine but ensure you buy ones with a fairly solid handle, otherwise they snap. 

 

If you are snapping brush handles then your blacking is far too thick. Thick blacking goes on in thick blobby coats, and doesn't get into all the interstices of welds, pitting and awkward corners.

Thinning of blacking with solvent is not generally advised by the manufacturrs. Better to warm it by storing it in a heated room when not in use, and keeping the tin you are using in a bucket of warm water.  Another reason not to do blacking outdoors in cold weather.

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Hi, thanks for the advice. Is there a time period within which the second/third coats have to be applied. For example if the first coat went on and then rain stops play and I can't get the second/third coats on for a while would that cause any issues with the application.

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12 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Do we take from that question that you are not planning to do this in a covered heated dock ?

A heated dock! What luxury. We have only once done ours in a covered dock (no heating), all other times have been outside. The covered dock was luxury, I think the semi-naked dancing girls may have been a bit of an extravagance though.

  • Happy 1
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Just now, rusty69 said:

A heated dock! What luxury. We have only once done ours in a covered dock (no heating), all other times have been outside. The covered dock was luxury, I think the semi-naked dancing girls may have been a bit of an extravagance though.

Ours was unheated but they won't do them unheated before 1st May (and then weather dependent)

For 'Spring' blacking the dock is heated.

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Hello, as in the post I won't have the benefit of a covered and heated area. The marina has a slipway and a large hardstanding that they can haul out onto. I was planning to do it in the spring but after the comments about temperature I will move it back to the summer. I also will be repainting the sides from the top of the blacking upto the side decks whilst the boat is out and repainting the top sides once she is back in the water. If the weather stops play it wont be possible for me to complete it all in one hit as I work full time.

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Do we take from that question that you are not planning to do this in a covered heated dock ?

 

When exactly are you booked in to do the work ?

I think he told you this a few posts back....... and said that he could wait until later in the year.

 

I've done mine twice, outdoors. The first time was late May, and last year it was late August.

 

A covered dock or shed would have cost a fortune, and heated ???????

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1 hour ago, MichaelG said:

Hello, so I'm now wondering which product to go for, Intertuff 16, SML Ballastic or Keelblack. They all seem to be in the same area pricewise give or take a few pounds. What would be the consensus on the best stuff to use? 

Rylard Premium here. 2 coats all over, then a third coat of the waterline, and wack out any left over from the waterline down.

 

For a variety of reasons, I did mine in May 2015, and only did it again in August/September last year. My DIY job, with lots of coats of the waterline, had lasted really well, and I now see no reason to do it every 2 years, which seems to be the perceived wisdom.

  • Greenie 1
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