Blacking.

[Mike Bonello]

I am about to black the hull of my boat. There is very little blacking below the waterline. Above the water line is some very thick blacking and i am unsure of what this is. The hull was last painted by the previous owners. I have found one tin of bitumen in the engine room and one tin of heavy duty black vinyl which contains xylene (?). I have rubbed the blacking above the waterline with a rag soaked in white spirit and a brown residue comes off. I was planning to black the hull with bitumen. Is anyone familiar with the xylene based product and do you think bitumen would be ok to put on top of it, as i say there is virtually no blacking remaining beneath the waterline. Your help is appreciated. Mike