Bottom Painting

There are several ways ways to strip your bottom paint.

1.- Sanding bottom paint off. It takes a lot of time and physical effort to sand the Anti fouling paint off. Open air sanding is prohibited as bottom paint sanding dust is toxic. Special dustless sanders are used to remove the bottom Anti fouling paint and sometimes the epoxy primer.

2.- Chemical bottom paint strippers. Aggressive with the paint and workers still shall wear breathing and eye protection.

3.- Bottom paint Blasting. This is the most effective, and fastest way to remove bottom paint Anti fouling. Modern blasters use biodegradable media that are environmentally friendly and easy to clean up.

At Cachi Marine Yacht painting we use a proprietary bottom paint removal blasting system that combines different media and air pressure levels (depending on the finish grit sought and paint hardness) with water jet in order to precipitate the blasted bottom paint by gravity.

Aggressive methods like sandblasting will damage the Gel coat due to thermal stress. Such damage may lead to potential osmosis problems.

Bottom painting

The environmental conditions on South Florida waters promote some of the worst bottom paint fouling worldwide. This is a war on barnacles!. A good bottom paint job is essential. In Cachi marine, our team in fort lauderdale, florida, we are expert in bottom painting.

The severity of fouling in any given situation depends on the numbers of larvae of suitable organisms present in the water, the rate at which the attached organisms grow, and the bulk attained by the characteristic growths. Bottom paint fouling is light on Yachts situated in the estuary of a fresh-water river. The effects of local factors as salinity, nutrients, pollution and distance from shore affect bottom paint fouling as well.

High water temperature increases the rate at which fouling develops. Look at the bottom paint photos of the growth rate in Miami. 1/8 inch (3mm) in just 15 days!Over South Florida fouling occurs at any season, being the worst time the end of the summer season (September/October). In addition to these general regional factors to which the intensity of fouling may be ascribed, there are differences between nearby areas which are more difficult to explain.

South Florida bottom paint fouling is much more severe in Miami than in Key West or the Bahamas. This difference may be due to the nutrient rich waters of Biscayne Bay and the South Florida’s Coastal Waterway.

ANTIFOULING PAINTS

There are two basic bottom paint antifouling systems, self ablative (also called self-polishing) and hard matrix. Hard matrix bottom paints are based on resins and do not wear with use, each time the yacht is bottom painted a new coat adds to the existing bottom paint thickness. When the thickness is excessive the bottom paint has to be completely removed. The advantage of hard matrix paints is that the smoother surface improves laminar water flow on the bottom hull and that translates into a better speed and fuel efficiency.

Self polishing antifouling paints on the contrary wear with use, releasing the antifouling agents and refreshing its surface. Self polishing antifouling bottom paint has the advantage over the hard matrix formulations of not building up over the years.

Using the yacht often also improves the overall condition of the bottom as the paint self cleans with the water flow. It is also easier to maintain by non professional divers as the paint can be refreshed using a scrub pad. On the contrary this bottom paint offers worst fuel efficiency than hard matrix based antifouling paints due to the increased drag.

At Cachi Marine Yacht Painting we have been painting hull bottoms for many years and we can recommend the best bottom paint or even paint combinations suited to any customer needs.

BOTTOM PREPARATION

Bottom preparation is a harsh, dirty and physically demanding job.

Depending on the condition of the hull after hauling and water pressure wash, many times the old paint has to be removed in order to prepare the hull to guarantee that the new paint will be properly applied and will adhere to the surface.

Sanding antifouling paint in the open air is prohibited by regulations in most counties. The biocides and heavy metals used on those paints may be a health hazard if not disposed of properly. We are using new technologies where the surface preparation is done using dustless wet blasting technology and the residues are gravity precipitated by the water. The grade of abrasion is controlled by the grit of the media and the output pressure.

Call us with your bottom painting concerns!