Bilge paint?

[g-man]

So having temporarily "cured" the problem of my PRV venting into the bilge with the simple expedient of a £1 bucket to catch the water, I'm going to clean out the rust and repaint the bilge. My initial thoughts were to maybe red oxide primer the base then top coat with some coach paint. But its occurred to me why not paint the base with blacking? Any thoughts on this or suggestions appreciated.

[RLWP]

So having temporarily "cured" the problem of my PRV venting into the bilge with the simple expedient of a £1 bucket to catch the water, I'm going to clean out the rust and repaint the bilge. My initial thoughts were to maybe red oxide primer the base then top coat with some coach paint. But its occurred to me why not paint the base with blacking? Any thoughts on this or suggestions appreciated.

 

It would work fine, but I would prefer something light coloured like Danboline. It's dark enough down there on our boat as it is without painting it black.

 

Richard

 

(Now I've got a Rolling Stones song in my head)

[Guest User]

I'm about to repaint a similar area too, wanted a pale colour so I can find all the things I drop/that fall off the engine .... I'm tempted by the garage floor paints, was wondering what other's thought about them ? Should be water, oil and fuel resistant ?

[david and julie]

The builder used floor paint on mine and to be honest I wasn't that impressed because water (also from the PRV) got underneath it. I don't know whether this was because the paint was no use or the builder didn't apply it very well though.

 

I rubbed it all down(as best I could) and replaced it with Danboline which is lasting much better. It is a bit more expensive, but I only used 1 Litre anyway so that wasn't really an issue.

[WotEver]

So having temporarily "cured" the problem of my PRV venting into the bilge with the simple expedient of a £1 bucket to catch the water, I'm going to clean out the rust and repaint the bilge. My initial thoughts were to maybe red oxide primer the base then top coat with some coach paint. But its occurred to me why not paint the base with blacking? Any thoughts on this or suggestions appreciated.

 

Well, I asked our surveyor his opinion on this when he was looking at the muck and rust in our engine compartment and his reply was "My opinion? Clean it as best you can and use Hammerite".

 

Just one man's opinion, but because it's going to be darned near impossible to get into every nook and cranny when I eventually get round to it I think I'll be taking his advice.

 

Tony

[RLWP]

"My opinion? Clean it as best you can and use Hammerite".

 

I cleaned our engine bay as best I could, primed with hammerite red, zinc based primer and painted it hammerite. It's starting to come off where the rust was worst.

 

Richard

[WotEver]

I cleaned our engine bay as best I could, primed with hammerite red, zinc based primer and painted it hammerite. It's starting to come off where the rust was worst.

 

Richard

 

Drat

[RLWP]

Drat

 

Yes, that's what I though too. If it helps, it's a cruiser stern and it's rarely if ever dry.

 

Richard

 

Next time, garage floor paint and several coats

[churchward]

I cleaned our engine bay as best I could, primed with hammerite red, zinc based primer and painted it hammerite. It's starting to come off where the rust was worst.

 

Richard

Despite the fact that it is a well known brand I don't have much of an opinion of Hammerite. It's not that good a paint.

 

Anyway, my recommendation like others is a light coloured paint and International Danboline (grey) is what I used. It covers nicely and is oil and fuel resistant.

[Dutch]

Hammerite on ours and holding up very well

Mick

[Guest]

Despite the fact that it is a well known brand I don't have much of an opinion of Hammerite. It's not that good a paint.

 

Anyway, my recommendation like others is a light coloured paint and International Danboline (grey) is what I used. It covers nicely and is oil and fuel resistant.

Years ago, Hammerite was the dog's doodahs, but in recent years I haven't been as impressed. Itseems to crack much more easily.

[ChrisPy]

I cleaned our engine bay as best I could, primed with hammerite red, zinc based primer and painted it hammerite. It's starting to come off where the rust was worst.

 

Richard

once you've got rid of the oil and it's just mucky and damp you should have scrubbed in some rust converter like Vactan or Fertan.

gives a good base for future painting and because it is not a paint as such it is very tolerant to poor preparation conditions.

[RLWP]

once you've got rid of the oil and it's just mucky and damp you should have scrubbed in some rust converter like Vactan or Fertan.

gives a good base for future painting and because it is not a paint as such it is very tolerant to poor preparation conditions.

 

I can assure you that once I had chipped off 1/16" of scale, there was very little oil or damp to bother about!

 

Richard

 

I've just done some research. So both are based on tannic acid, but Fertan has to be washed down after application and before painting, but Vactan can be painted over immediately. Is that right?

Edited July 15, 2009 by RLWP

[WotEver]

If it helps, it's a cruiser stern and it's rarely if ever dry.

 

Double drat.

 

once you've got rid of the oil and it's just mucky and damp you should have scrubbed in some rust converter like Vactan or Fertan.

gives a good base for future painting and because it is not a paint as such it is very tolerant to poor preparation conditions.

 

Oooh... is there hope yet?

[wrigglefingers]

Can recommend Vactan. I used to dream about the stuff and it looks like I shall be getting re-acquainted with it as I have to sort out my bilge too .......

[david and julie]

As anyone tried Owatrol directly on rusty steel?

 

I know it helps when mixed in paint but the makers also say you can use it on rust before painting.

http://www.nwepaints.co.uk/acatalog/RustTreatments.html

[WotEver]

As anyone tried Owatrol directly on rusty steel?

 

How well does it work on rusty and oily and dirty steel, that's the question

 

Anyone know?

[g-man]

Thanks for your replies I'm going to try Hammerite and see how it fares.

[FORTUNATA]

I'm known as being pretty fanatical over bilges. I dare say many jokes are shared on the quiet over my efforts to keep the bilge dry and in order. I justify it due to the fact I live aboard and my boat is old. Thus, all day yesterday I was wet vacuum cleaning my bilges and below the engine as well.

My own bilge has no paint at all and I have considered bitumen. The trouble is I have no idea how I could paint below the Lister engine or even get the bilge dry enough to paint in the first place. Some of it could be painted but large parts are unreachable.

I often ask boaters if I can have a look at their bilge out of curiosity. I've seen some in pretty chaotic condition and others that are totally pristine and in order, painted and kept spotless.

Yes, I think painting the bilge is a good idea if you can get at it.

 

 

 

 

 

So having temporarily "cured" the problem of my PRV venting into the bilge with the simple expedient of a £1 bucket to catch the water, I'm going to clean out the rust and repaint the bilge. My initial thoughts were to maybe red oxide primer the base then top coat with some coach paint. But its occurred to me why not paint the base with blacking? Any thoughts on this or suggestions appreciated.

[furnessvale]

So having temporarily "cured" the problem of my PRV venting into the bilge with the simple expedient of a £1 bucket to catch the water, I'm going to clean out the rust and repaint the bilge. My initial thoughts were to maybe red oxide primer the base then top coat with some coach paint. But its occurred to me why not paint the base with blacking? Any thoughts on this or suggestions appreciated.

 

A friend of mine used to swear by using the cheapest oil based paint he could find, throwing it into the bilge by the gallon and sweeping it round with a yard brush!

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[andywatson]

I'm known as being pretty fanatical over bilges. I dare say many jokes are shared on the quiet over my efforts to keep the bilge dry and in order. I justify it due to the fact I live aboard and my boat is old. Thus, all day yesterday I was wet vacuum cleaning my bilges and below the engine as well.

My own bilge has no paint at all and I have considered bitumen. The trouble is I have no idea how I could paint below the Lister engine or even get the bilge dry enough to paint in the first place. Some of it could be painted but large parts are unreachable.

I often ask boaters if I can have a look at their bilge out of curiosity. I've seen some in pretty chaotic condition and others that are totally pristine and in order, painted and kept spotless.

Yes, I think painting the bilge is a good idea if you can get at it.

 

Bitumen sets but does not cure like paint - I think this is referred to as a reversible caoting.

As soon as you get any fuel or oil on it it will dissolve so it's a waste of time anywhere around an engine.

 

If your bilges get wet and you want rust protection, but are not subject to any abrasion, why not consider waxoyl.

[nb Innisfree]

Bitumen sets but does not cure like paint - I think this is referred to as a reversible caoting.

As soon as you get any fuel or oil on it it will dissolve so it's a waste of time anywhere around an engine.

 

If your bilges get wet and you want rust protection, but are not subject to any abrasion, why not consider waxoyl.

 

Same problem as bitumen, fuel or oil will dissolve it, I believe black Waxoyl contains bitumen

[andywatson]

Same problem as bitumen, fuel or oil will dissolve it, I believe black Waxoyl contains bitumen

I agree but it's easy to apply (can be sprayed into awkard places) and creeps which is why it's often used in the dryer bilge areas.

Under the engine I'd go for paint.

[g-man]

I'm known as being pretty fanatical over bilges. I dare say many jokes are shared on the quiet over my efforts to keep the bilge dry and in order. I justify it due to the fact I live aboard and my boat is old. Thus, all day yesterday I was wet vacuum cleaning my bilges and below the engine as well.

My own bilge has no paint at all and I have considered bitumen. The trouble is I have no idea how I could paint below the Lister engine or even get the bilge dry enough to paint in the first place. Some of it could be painted but large parts are unreachable.

I often ask boaters if I can have a look at their bilge out of curiosity. I've seen some in pretty chaotic condition and others that are totally pristine and in order, painted and kept spotless.

Yes, I think painting the bilge is a good idea if you can get at it.

 

Although my boat is a cruiser stern the main source of damp was the PRV venting straight into the bilge (the previous owner was ignorant and the builders should be shot for installing it that way). Fixing it for the time being with a bucket under the pipe I soaked up the excess water with Tesco nappies and left it for a couple of days to dry out completely.

 

So last Monday I spent half the day scraping out the old paint and rust then vacuuming all the dust out. After that it was a 1-2 hour job painting the base plate and part way up the sides using a long pile radiator roller and a brush for the odd nooks. I've only done the lower rusty parts for now as it isn't the nicest job in the world. Also I figured I'd let the fumes evaporate before doing any more.

 

It's pretty hard graft doing this job as you've got to be a bit of a contortionist to get to parts but it's certainly rewarding to see it clean, dry and shiny. I'm going to do the rest section by section until finished - it'll probably be like painting the Forth bridge.

[WotEver]

So last Monday I spent half the day scraping out the old paint and rust then vacuuming all the dust out. After that it was a 1-2 hour job painting...

 

Did you start with Vactan, Owatrol Oil, or something else?