Bottom paint

[May Be Some Time]

Hello folks I am wondering what has been used for bottom paint? Plus I am also interested on the side paint as well. Any help would be great as I am new to the Alcan family and on a steep learning curve.

Thank you and looking forward to the comments.

Shane
May Be Some Time

[dpearson]

Bottom paint for aluminum boats can be a real nuisance to find, especially in Canada. Common bottom paints should not be used as they usually contain metals that will react with the aluminum and cause corrosion. Most marine paint manufacturers make paints that a safe for aluminum, but they are hard to find in Canada. There seems to be two good approaches to dealing with this, one is to import the paint from the US and hope it doesn't get stopped at the border, the other way is to hire someone to paint the bottom. Boat painters typically have access to paints that you and I can't buy easily. If you navigate to the Interlux web site, it will ask you "Who's painting?" and if you say you are a DIY painter it will hide certain paints from your view. It does, however, show Trilux 33 which is safe for aluminum.

With respect to top-side paints, many of the marine paints can be used successfully. The thing that will make or break a paint job on Aluminum is preparation. Any paint you like will stick to the aluminum oxide layer. The problem is that the aluminum oxide layer comes off the aluminum underneath. Surface prep usually involves breaking through the oxide layer somehow and making that last long enough to get a coat of paint on. Find a marine topside paint you like and follow the aluminum prep instructions to the letter.

[May Be Some Time]

Thank you for the info. I will look in to all you direction.

Thank you again
Shane

[swcyr]

Bottom paint..Consider Amercoat 240 for bottom paint on your aluminum hulled boat....its a PPG product....this is not anti-foul...it is what you can get now that coal tar epoxy has been banned,,,(and a lot of other coatings)..I hope this helps....Stephen