VC-17 Paint Problems

Mark Enns · Post by **Mark Enns** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 1:35 pm

I've been using VC-17 paint on my boats for years now with pretty good results but the past 2 or 3 years many boats in our club have had alot of trouble with the paint coming off after a light scrub with a sponge.
By the end of the season I've basically got no bottom paint left and the boats a real mess unless I clean it every few days. We spent a good hour scrubbing the bottom with 3M pads after we hauled it out because the boat sat for a few weeks with little use and the power washer couldn't get the growth off.
We think that a few years ago they may have change the Canadian VC-17 (maybe to make it more environmentally friendly?), it seems to go on real nice but by mid-june it's already coming off.
Have any of the American boats been having this problem? Has anyone tried the new version of the paint with biolux? We may just head accross the border to buy ours if we have to.

Tom Line · Post by **Tom Line** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 9:39 am

I painted the bottom of my boat with VC-17 about a year ago. It looked gorgeous until we set the boat in the water and the entire coat slid right off the hull.

We went back thinking we didn't degrease it well enough, and tried again with nearly the same result.

I talked to a local boat repair place that's done some 7.9's, and he told me that he's had little luck with the bottoms on those boats without a good barrier coat.

I'll probably give it another shot in the spring, with a good solid epoxy barrier coat.

Mark Enns · Post by **Mark Enns** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 10:05 am

We had some major blistering problems on the boat so 2 years ago we had the bottom peeled, dried and a new epoxy bottom professionally done with Interprotect as a final barrier coat. As far as I know Interprotect is compatible with VC-17 so this shouldn't be our problem.

Post by **Tom Elsen** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 11:52 am

Mark & Tom

Have you guys tried the Interux help line? They've been very helpful to me in the past. The West Marine Advisor is also pretty good. You'll occasionally get more of the 'inside scoop' there, IF you get the right consultant on the line. Ask for the person who is the real expert in bottom coatings.

Mark - a US product called 'CLR' works great on those organic stains. It's a lot less aggressive than muratic acid, a LOT easier than 3M pads, and commonly available at Target or Home Depot. If your hull is really dirty, pressure wash it first. Dilute the CLR 1-1 with water. Apply it with a pump style garden sprayer or with a sponge mop. Let it work for 10 - 20 minutes. Wash it off. Poof! White again.

Sam Buschell · Post by **Sam Buschell** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 1:17 pm

I had a similar problem with my VC17 last year.
I thought it was the way i applied the paint, but now I'm not so sure.
I purchased my VC17 in the US.

Jeff Bonvallet · Post by **Jeff Bonvallet** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 5:51 pm

I've used VC-17 on 2 boats for nearly 15 years with no problems.

I scrubbed the bottom before the CCR this year and then she sat in the water for a month with almost no use. When I pulled the boat, a quick pressure wash took off the little green I had and left the VC-17.

One thing I do that I have not seen posted, is that after a wet sanding in the spring, I wipe the entire bottom with Acetone before spraying. I also thin the paint with Acetone, by filling the can to the top, before transfering to the sprayer container.

Post by **Tim Bosma** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 10:54 am

We've used VC17 on Hot Tamale (#477) for the past 9 years. It was the bottom paint when we bought the boat, so I don't know what underlying prep was done. We switched to VC17 w/ Biolux this year and are very pleased with the results. When we pulled it out after 22 weeks in the water, we only has to wipe it down to remove a few small growing things.
We did scrub the bottom 4 times during the last half of the season, but still found a minimal amount of algae. Each spring we wipe the bottom with acetone and sand out any rough spots then we roll on a new coat at full strength.
Thanks,

Mark Enns · Post by **Mark Enns** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 2:28 pm

I took Tom Elsen's advice and called the Interlux help line (1-800-468-7589) for some help. They seem to think that my problem is that my Interprotect bottom is too smooth. He says that I need to use some 80 grit sandpaper and basically roughen up the surface a bit so that the paint will have something to adhere to. He claims that with the Interprotect being such a hard surface that the 80 grit sandpaper (used dry) will just roughen up the surface enough to make the paint stick without making it to rough and slow.
This advice seems to make sense though I wish I would've know this before I spent countless hours with my crew doing the final wetsand on the bottom to get it super smooth! If I could only drysail........

Dale Eager · Post by **Dale Eager** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:58 pm

I don't buy the too smooth explanation. I applied 5 coats of Interprotect to my rudder and then wet sanded it to 400 before applying VC17M in April. No problems with adhesion. The 2000E has a VERY strict time window listed on the can for the time between last coat of Interprotect and first coat of anti-fouling. Something like MIN 5 HRS MAX 7 HRS at 60-80 degrees. Not too bad when you are doing a rudder at home, but almost impossible if you are trying to do the whole bottom. They state beyond the maximum time you must sand with 80 grit and apply another coat of Interprotect. Sounds like a bonding issue.

ff · Post by ff » Thu Oct 16, 2003 9:30 pm

MY BOAT HAS GROWN A BEARD

Hi Mark (and others), I too have an interprotect preparred bottom sanded very smooth and then sprayed with VC17.
After a thorough bottom rubdown before the nationals this year (august) I was left with little bottom paint especially around the waterline where you need it most. I now have a good 2" of green hairy stuff on the boat.
The boat has NEVER had this much growth.
Previous boats where I did'nt bother cleaning the bottom never had this much growth.
I'm not sure I buy the too smooth theory either.

Here is my question: has anyone tried Baltoplate in fresh water?

Coldduck · Post by **Coldduck** » Mon Oct 20, 2003 3:31 pm

I am in the final steps of refinishing my bottom and applying Interprotect 2000E Barrier coat. I believe the VC17 is compatible but Interlux recommends that the hull be washed and sanded before applying VC17. Other coatings like Micron can be applied in that special window without sanding but if I remember right you need to sand for VC 17.

I believe an important step is to wash the hull with hot soapy water prior to sanding. I was told if you don't, the residue can be sanded into the surface and cause adhesion problems.

Has anyone tried using VC Tar as a primer for VC17?

ff · Post by ff » Mon Oct 20, 2003 4:56 pm

After our last coat of Interprotect the hull was wet sanded and washed before VC was sprayed on professionally.

Took a walk around the club after haulout last weekend and I have noticed that boats with Interprotect on the bottom, even in small areas where a repair has been made has very little VC left compared to boats with old bottoms or newer (non-interprotect) bottoms. The boat next to me has VC Tar and the VC 17 seems to have held up well.

Frank
Yawanna #122 (no longer has a beard)

Tom Olsen · Post by **Tom Olsen** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 10:38 am

We have used VC17M (with the copper added) on our hull #76 for the past 8 years with no adhesion problems. It is applied over an epoxy barrier coat in which we sanded with 150 to take out any imperfections. The boat is on a hydrohoist now but when we wet sailed for 8 years, we only power washed before yearly painting (5 kits). We use an inexpensive Wagoner airless sprayer with excellent results. We burnish with newspaper before launch. We have very aggressive algea growth in our lake and when the boat was left in the water we pulled it up on the crane every few weeks to powerwash the bottom. It is a very thin mil paint, so any sanding to remove growth will remove a lot of paint, even with #400 or #600 wet.

Stef · Post by **Stef** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 10:25 am

I'm new to fresh water sailing. I will be leaving the boat in the water for the season this summer. Some here say no anit-fouling is necessary. The bottom already has anti-fouling (purchased from saltwater sailor) and appears to be in great shape except a finger nail spot around the thru-hull. Is touch up available? I have no idea what type of paint was used, it's black and dull and very uniform. Is it true that you really don't need anti-foul in fresh water?

Post by **Tim Bosma** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 3:01 pm

Stef,
Without anti-fouling of some sort you will get a beard of algae (slime), little white bumps that I found the name of last year but now have forgotten, and, in most Great Lakes, zebra mussles. We use VC17 (red of course) with copper additive (and biolux this last year.) Every 2 weeks after mid summers night we hop in the lake and rub it down with a ScotchPad. Then we take a shower to rinse off the lake crud, and take a scotch to try and forget the ordeal. At pull-out, we seldom need to power wash and this spring we will only need to touch up a few small areas - less than a sq ft.

S2 7.9 Meter Class Association

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