Donzi paint

[22classic]

Anyone paint their boat with Imron ms600? If so, how did the paint hold up on the hull sides to being underwater? My boat lives on a buoy in the summer so I'm a bit concerned that it states not for underwater applications.

What is the correct red?

Thanks for any help!

Best regards,
Matt P.

[gcarter]

Donzi always used gel on the bottom. In the AMH years, almost all boats were white
gel w/the sides and deck painted.
Minicraft of Florida http://www.minicraft.com/gel-kote
offers gel in various manufacturers colors. I've used their products for years.
To answer your specific question, I don't know of any paint that will for sure
stand up to water immersion for months at a time.
That doesn't mean they don't work, only that i've not done it.

[yeller]

I agree with George that I don't think any paint would hold up to extended submersion.
I'd post this question in the Paint section of OSO.

[Ghost]

I'd bet extremely heavily against any pretty paint below the waterline for everyday keeping of the boat. If something says it's not meant for underwater applications, I'd believe it.

Even gel is very different when applied onto an exterior surface since it has to be faired to shape--it requires patch additive and is very different from the gloppier stuff that gets sprayed in a mold, where the mold makes the surface/shape right. But even the thick stuff they spray into molds isn't guaranteed to keep water out. A lot of boats will blister if left in the water, even with factory gel.

Some manufacturers not only do gel in the molds, but then barrier coat the gelled bottom prior to bottom anti-fouling paint. Barrier coatings are usually require a BUNCH of coats. They don't have a pretty finish like the paints we're used to for topsides.

Water is terrible for a boat. :)

[KrausMotorSports]

This actually sounds worse then it really is. But I watch a lot or should I say listen to YouTube videos during my 2 hour commutes to work. Check out BoatWorks Today. There are a few knowledgeable guys that decided to make a DIY Channel on Different Fiberglass techniques and Paints with reviews. Andy Miller from BoatWorks today has great videos on what works From Imron to Paint to Gel Coat and is a professional in the industry. Mine needs a complete paint job and many cracks fixed. Which I'll be making my own thread on. Seems an issue they had with Polyester resin and Gel coat bonds. My 96 has cracking everywhere so I plan to go to town on it over next winter and go with the Sea Foam Green and make it my own.

[gcarter]

I completely re-gelled my 22C Testarossa and I wouldn't leave it in the water for an extended period of time.
Of course I'm in Florida w/nearly 90* water for 8 months of the year.
I've also done blister jobs on larger boats and sealed w/epoxy after after cleaning out 1000's of blisters.
What a job!
I really don't know of a way to keep a Donzi in really good shape outside, in the water or out.
Don't you have any other options?
I keep my boat in my shop and covered, just to keep the dust and spider poop off the deck.
The spider poop is really hard to get off.

[22classic]

We have a house in Tahoe and it sits on a buoy in front of the house, not much of an option. It is already difficult to get a permit etc to have a buoy on that lake i don't want to go through the hassle of a lift. It would be cheaper to buy a new boat when this one gets blisters.....:mad:

[Pat McPherson]

I hate to suggest this, but if you leave your boat in the water, paint it with bottom paint. If you don't the bottom will blister.
We had a 28SS Cig that was simply too big and heavy for me to trailer more than a few times a year. We painted the bottom with white. It did not help the resale but, hey, better than blisters...
The bottom paint can be removed done the line for a lot less $$ than re-gelling...

[yeller]

I hate to suggest this, but if you leave your boat in the water, paint it with bottom paint. If you don't the bottom will blister.
We had a 28SS Cig that was simply too big and heavy for me to trailer more than a few times a year. We painted the bottom with white. It did not help the resale but, hey, better than blisters...
The bottom paint can be removed done the line for a lot less $$ than re-gelling...

+1

Bottom paint isn't the prettiest, but it is necessary if you're going to keep the boat in the water for extended periods

[KrausMotorSports]

Mine has blisters all over it and gel coat cracks. And mine just sat until I picked it up.

[Morgan's Cloud]

OK , I deliberately held off on this for a day or two .

Been there , done that , and with surprisingly good results .

2 quick points to start out with though . Out here we don't really use Imron on marine applications . Despite the much wider range of colors available with Imron we go with mostly Awlgrip and the more recent Interlux 2 part paints .

I've done 2 different boats from scratch that involved completely repainting them . First off make sure the boat is completely dried out . This could take months . Do not rush the job and try to get it all done in a week . Or even a month !
Working with the boats flipped the bottoms were primed and barrier coated first . I work out where the water line on the sides of the hull are going to be and extend the barrier coat up and over the chines .
When all of the prep work is done on the hull sides prime down over the barrier coat again . With careful prep work you can almost make the line from the barrier coat vanish and blend into the new color coat on the top sides . Again , plenty of drying time in between all coats .

When you're done it can look great , you can even re-incorporate your boot stripe and it all looks factory.

I've had them in the water for up to a year without any blistering of the paint . Of course the hull bottom itself should not be done with these finishes and anti fouling paint should only be applied to an epoxy barrier coated bottom . Do not just slap anti fouling on bare gel coat .

[gcarter]

In addition to Steve's response, if a person wanted to do an epoxy bottom, it's now possible.
System Three epoxies have developed a series of epoxy primers and paints to be applied over
their epoxy products that would be used to be a blister barrier. The thing in their favor is it's
part of a system.
Of course we may be saying the same thing.

[joseph m. hahnl]

they specialize in below waterline paint
http://www.bottompaintstore.com/topside-boat-paint-above-or-below-the-waterline-c-13630_13804.html

[Morgan's Cloud]

Very interesting link . They actually have something that I've been looking for for years .
I'll have to bookmark it .
(ya gotta be an old barnacle on this site to find something like that interesting :biggrin.:)

[blacktruck]

Anyone paint their boat with Imron ms600? If so, how did the paint hold up on the hull sides to being underwater? My boat lives on a buoy in the summer so I'm a bit concerned that it states not for underwater applications.

What is the correct red?

Thanks for any help!

Best regards,
Matt P.

"hull sides" you will be fine. Imron, Awlgrip, (There are different products within those brands) no problem, it will shine forever and have an amazing finish if done properly. Better than gelcoat in many ways. Look at a new Formula or Cigarette for example. For the bottom of the hull, maintain the original gelcoat if you can, but I think you were talking about the sides of your boat correct?

You can use Imron and Awlgrip on the bottom but you shouldn't leave it in longer than 10 days, some people push that with no problem but with any boat, it's preferable to not leave it in for too long.

[yeller]

If hull sides would be ok, then it would be ok on the bottom also. The paint doesn't know where it's applied. Underwater is underwater.
If the hull side paint isn't underwater at rest, then yes, I agree it would be ok. My boot stripe blistered because the previous owner left the boat in the water. Granted it wasn't Imron (I think it's PPG) and I don't know how long it was in the water for. Just giving an example that you have to be careful how far down the side of the boat you paint.

Now, when I as at the local boat show last year I talked to a shop selling Imron (I think) and he claimed it'd be fine for a couple months under water. I wouldn't try it, but he was pretty confident.

[blacktruck]

If hull sides would be ok, then it would be ok on the bottom also. The paint doesn't know where it's applied. Underwater is underwater.
If the hull side paint isn't underwater at rest, then yes, I agree it would be ok. My boot stripe blistered because the previous owner left the boat in the water. Granted it wasn't Imron (I think it's PPG) and I don't know how long it was in the water for. Just giving an example that you have to be careful how far down the side of the boat you paint.

Now, when I as at the local boat show last year I talked to a shop selling Imron (I think) and he claimed it'd be fine for a couple months under water. I wouldn't try it, but he was pretty confident.

Not really. The hull is under more duress and more contamination builds up as well as being consistently submerged. That said, lots of guys paint hulls with the applicable paint, there are many. I would not hesitate to paint the hullsides at all with Imron or Awlgrip, it's what leading manufacturers do. Formula boats have been using it forever and most of the high end East Coast painters use it and most Yacht builders. It's actually more durable then gel in most cases (depending), especially color retention. It's not a problem, it's what it is made for.