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I would appreciate any current advise on boat blacking from the community.  My boat is I'm afraid probably overdue and I am lost on what is considered best practice. My boat was last treated with 2 pack epoxy, after pressure washing by way of preparation is it strictly necessary to apply similar coating? If not what other coating might be considered best alternative and would pressure washing be considered suitable preparation? Can anybody advise on current cost per foot or metre  that a responsible marina might charge to remove boat to hard standing and then black from the gunwales down? Finally current thoughts on blacking the base plate?

Really would appreciate advise.

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If the only prep prior to applying epoxy was pressure washing and not grit blasting then there may be poor adhesion between the epoxy and steel hull.  Best get the boat out and pressure wash to assess the condition of the epoxy, only then can it be determined what is the best action.

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Boat was last blacked nearly six years ago, I think the condition of the blacking below the water line is probably better that that above, the rubbing strakes are certainly showing the signs of distress. Rust is visible, off course, although it only appears to be surface at the moment.

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Not strictly necessary to apply epoxy over epoxy, but if you use bitumen you won't be able to go back to epoxy without grit blasting all the bitumen off.

I would suggest pressure wash to remove weed growth and any loose coating, then abrade any rusty areas back to bare metal, lightly abrade sound areas to give a key, prime and a couple of coats of epoxy on the bare areas then one coat of epoxy overall to give a uniform finish.

I would do the baseplate as well, but many don't. But if it wasn't done before you will need to get it grit blasted first.

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David, thank you for good advice. Getting to do the base plate obviously depends on the means of supporting the boat and moving the stands by no means impossible but does need a bit more thought / planning. 

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I think epoxy is the best at the present time until someone comes up with something even better but its quite expensive so there's not much point in using it unless its applied to a good surface and there is the problem. Facilities to get a boat docked, hauled out or craned out used to be scarce but more places can do it now so there could be a case for just slapping on something black and sticky but doing it more often - say every two years or so. So long as there is something covering the steel then its protected.  As for the bottom then yes, certainly do it.

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3 hours ago, nb stumpy said:

I would appreciate any current advise on boat blacking from the community.  My boat is I'm afraid probably overdue and I am lost on what is considered best practice. My boat was last treated with 2 pack epoxy, after pressure washing by way of preparation is it strictly necessary to apply similar coating? If not what other coating might be considered best alternative and would pressure washing be considered suitable preparation? Can anybody advise on current cost per foot or metre  that a responsible marina might charge to remove boat to hard standing and then black from the gunwales down? Finally current thoughts on blacking the base plate?

Really would appreciate advise.

Try SML, they do kits (good price) so you don't have to bother with calculations I used two pack epoxy  and mixed on site in perfect weather, the boat was clean, absolutely no corrosion after twenty years of  the original two pack, but it was bare by that time, I had the yard go over it with a cupped wire brush, about £300.

SML will advise , so give them a ring.

I would black as much as I can, particularly the junction twixt hull and baseplate, but it would have to be prepped. Personally, I don't worry about the rest of the baseplate because there is no signs of corrosion on my boat. If there were, I would spend a lot more time on prep and coat everything, only once I got it clean.

The cost of three or four haul outs and a months work if selecting bitumen, makes costing two pack a no brainer. 

 for o

 

Edited by LadyG
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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

Not strictly necessary to apply epoxy over epoxy, but if you use bitumen you won't be able to go back to epoxy without grit blasting all the bitumen off.

I would suggest pressure wash to remove weed growth and any loose coating, then abrade any rusty areas back to bare metal, lightly abrade sound areas to give a key, prime and a couple of coats of epoxy on the bare areas then one coat of epoxy overall to give a uniform finish.

I would do the baseplate as well, but many don't. But if it wasn't done before you will need to get it grit blasted first.

I’ve just tried Ballastic 2 pack over bitumen from the swim to stern.

Went on fine and cured well hard. 
I understand other epoxies won’t adhere properly to bitumen but this seems to be ok.

Time will tell. 

I shall see how it goes. 

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I think that you have to factor in the haul out costs and your labour if you really think bitumen blacking is done to save money.

The only good thing is the haul out allows inspection and repairs.

I  put on epoxy two pack, and large anodes, so I trust I will never have to do it again. 

PS epoxy two pack is easy to apply. You must mix it well. I am a great believer in prep, and applying coatings according to data sheet. T shirt and shorts is best weather

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1 hour ago, Goliath said:

I’ve just tried Ballastic 2 pack over bitumen from the swim to stern.

Went on fine and cured well hard. 
I understand other epoxies won’t adhere properly to bitumen but this seems to be ok.

Time will tell. 

I shall see how it goes. 


Looks like an interesting product, I'm due to redo soon, what colour does it dry? Black like bitumen?

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12 minutes ago, nb stumpy said:

Thanks to everyone for ongoing comments, 2 pack seems to be favourite. 

As a rough idea;

 

DIY:

If you can, buy on line and save a few quid.

Epoxy depending where you buy it from, and which you choose, ranges from about £60 to £90 per 5L

Bitumen maybe £40 to £60 per 5L.

Ive just done a 48’ boat and I reckon 10L was enough for 2 coatings on sides.

And a little over 5L for the base.

 

Yards doing the blacking:

I don’t think I’d be far off saying in region of £12 to £14 per foot including materials.

Probably extra charge for the base.

 

I think Stone ( Canal Cruisers) do £13 per foot all in for 2 coats of standard blacking , including dry dock.

Quick turn over mind, in on a Monday, out on a Friday. 
I’ve found it more cost effective to pay them so I can get on with other jobs.

But you’d have difficulty doing the base there.

 

 

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10 minutes ago, CanalRetentive said:


Looks like an interesting product, I'm due to redo soon, what colour does it dry? Black like bitumen?

Dries gloss black

I’ll have to wait and see if it tones down over time like bitumen and goes flat Matt.

 

Hempel epoxy dries a Matt finish, you could put that on top if it were an issue about the gloss finish

or I guess a bit of bitumen on top where you want it flat Matt.


It’s all very much a trial and experiment for me Mixing the paints, only time will tell if it’s been ok.

but I’m confident it will be

 

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12 minutes ago, Goliath said:

As a rough idea;

 

DIY:

If you can, buy on line and save a few quid.

Epoxy depending where you buy it from, and which you choose, ranges from about £60 to £90 per 5L

Bitumen maybe £40 to £60 per 5L.

Ive just done a 48’ boat and I reckon 10L was enough for 2 coatings on sides.

And a little over 5L for the base.

 

Yards doing the blacking:

I don’t think I’d be far off saying in region of £12 to £14 per foot including materials.

Probably extra charge for the base.

 

I think Stone ( Canal Cruisers) do £13 per foot all in for 2 coats of standard blacking , including dry dock.

Quick turn over mind, in on a Monday, out on a Friday. 
I’ve found it more cost effective to pay them so I can get on with other jobs.

But you’d have difficulty doing the base there.

 

 

We use the big dock at Stone (we are too deep for the smaller one) and pretty sure we always get a full week, I think Mondays are in and outr days.  Maybe they do shorter weeks on the smaller dock to do surveys and emergencies etc at weekends?????

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My two penneth......

If the epoxy is sound then i'd re-cover in that, we have so many new hulls through where customers have paid extra for epoxy blacking and the boats haven't been prepped properly and the 2 pack is just stuck to the millscale and it all falls of when the hull is washed off. If howerver, it is fine, wash, prep, key and 2 pack away!

many manufacturers do a surface tolerant primer these days which doesn't require the hull to be blasted to whatever BS EN grade it needs to be and we have seen favourable results with it as a base coat. 

Failing that a good quality high build bitumen would be fine. Good bitumen is better than bad 2 pack!

 

Kind regards

 

Dan

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3 hours ago, nb stumpy said:

Boat was last blacked nearly six years ago, I think the condition of the blacking below the water line is probably better that that above, the rubbing strakes are certainly showing the signs of distress. Rust is visible, off course, although it only appears to be surface at the moment.

Rubbing strakes will always be like that, the rub and remove any coating, They are not going to rust through , dont worry about them.

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34 minutes ago, dmr said:

We use the big dock at Stone (we are too deep for the smaller one) and pretty sure we always get a full week, I think Mondays are in and outr days.  Maybe they do shorter weeks on the smaller dock to do surveys and emergencies etc at weekends?????

You possibly book a bit longer then.

I’ll have to check me diaries 

I’m sure it goes

monday: IN they pressure wash and I prep with cup brush

tuesday am: first coat

wednesday am: second coat 

thursday: dry

friday: OUT

 

and their price per foot includes: docking, pressure wash, materials and VAT.

they usually make a few more quid because there’s always a bit of something extra that needs doing

 

 

 

 

Dave,

by the way I’m back in Tomorrow!

 

Edited by Goliath
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20 minutes ago, Goliath said:

You possibly book a bit longer then.

I’ll have to check me diaries 

I’m sure it goes

monday: IN they pressure wash and I prep with cup brush

tuesday am: first coat

wednesday am: second coat 

thursday: dry

friday: OUT

 

and their price per foot includes: docking, pressure wash, materials and VAT.

they usually make a few more quid because there’s always a bit of something extra that needs doing

 

 

 

 

Dave,

by the way I’m back in Tomorrow!

 

 

Pictures of your boat all plated up and blacked before you go back in?????

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