Painting cabin bilge post rust removal

[jmlbhq]

Hello all.

 

I know this has been addressed to some extent before but I did find it difficult to find a definitive answer.

 

I have a V bottom Springer from which I have removed 100 odd bags of gravel that was shovelled loose into the bilge as ballast.

 

Under this ballast was this seemingly neverending crust, a cocktail of rust, solidified grit and 30ish year old red oxide.

 

I am finally near the end of the crust removal process and hope to get painting this weekend.

 

Now I know people have problems with both Vactan and Danboline but I have already brought both of these products so am pretty keen on using them.

 

On one hand the Vactan is supposedly priming so I could in theory paint the Danboline straight on top. However I obviously want to do the best job possible (with the resources) so am keen on a layer between the Vactan and the Danboline.

 

Which begs the fundamental question(s): what paint does one use in this scenario? Do I want another layer of primer (will this work on top on Vactan?) or some kind of undercoat? Or both? My neighbour suggests Zinc primer.... I know nothing of the science of paint so want to be dead sure I am not creating a floating disaster.

 

Apologies for the long post..

 

Any advice appreciated.

 

Jim

[WotEver]

I did my engine bilge with Vactan and Danboline and it looked lovely and still did when we sold the boat 3 years later. 

[Richard10002]

I haven't seen any problems with Vactan and/or Danboline and am sure you wont go wrong if you do what you suggest. Most boats will never have any paint covering in the bilge so, whatever you do will be better than the norm.

 

Having said that - I did my rusty old engine space a couple of years ago and used Vactan, 2 coats of Primer, 2 coats of undercoat, and 2 coats of Bilge paint, all Craftmaster.

[Old Son]

Phone the manufacturers of Vactan and they will give you an honest answer. A friend phoned recently to ask if he could Vactan below bitumen on his hull. They were friendly and very helpful. He also phoned Rylard who were also very helpful.

[Bee]

Well done for biting the bullet and tackling a tough job, many people who spend time care and money on the top sides would be better off painting the whole boat battleship grey and then spending the big money on the stuff below the water that nobody sees. As for Vactan and Danboline I just don't know but anything that stays on will do the job.