Choosing Antifoulant Paint for Your Boat
Antifoulant Paints - How They Work
Antifouling paint keeps marine growth such as barnacles, mussels and sometimes oysters, and plant growth from attaching to your motor yacht. Most antifouling paints use the distribution of metallic elements within the paint to stop these foul critters from bonding. Copper (cuprous oxide) and tributyl tin are two metals that have proven to be successful as biocides, but tin, prohibited worldwide on ship hulls in 2009, was so poisonous that it eradicated entire marine ecosystems.
Copper compounds are now universally acknowledged, but the price of the copper raw material has risen considerably. In addition, high copper concentrations have dissolved in the water system in some sites in the USA placing limitations on the application of copper-based paints.
Paint manufacturers continue to produce a number of new antifouling technologies that tackle these and other difficulties.
New Paint Products
Composite Copper: Substitutes the traditional cuprous oxide with silica, lowering the copper content by up to 40%. The outcome is a copper based biocide that gives superior protection for your yacht, with a base that is made from resources found in the ocean.
Water-Based ablatives: Water replaces the solvents found in standard bottom paints. Low-odor formula permits painting inside. Application is trouble free and clean up requires only soap and water.
White copper: Clean and white in color, white copper (cuprous thiocyanate) necessitates 50% less content than the dark copper used in conventional antifouling paint.
Econea: Paint producers believe that, a metal-free biocide developed by the pharmaceutical industry, is the future of antifouling paint. Advantages include protection at low usage levels, they degrade rapidly and are biodegradable. Unlike some metal-based antifouling agents, ECONEA can be used to easily produce lighter and brighter paints, resulting in bright colors with better uniformity. Because it is a metal-free compound, ECONEA will not cause galvanic corrosion on aluminum hulls. This eliminates the difficulty and cost of thick barrier coats. ECONEA-based paints also add less weight to a trawler when applied at the same film thickness as metal-containing paints.
Antifouling Paint Selections
Copolymer paints are typically used on slow watercraft such as trawlers and sailboats and release biocide at a steady controlled rate all through their lives, wearing away or "ablating" much like a bar of soap. Paint wears off quicker in high drag areas on the hull and appendages. These paints work well in high-growth areas and continue to be effective after haul-out and relaunch. Copolymer paints offer true multi-season protection, lasting as long as there is an acceptable coating thickness. Because they expose new biocide until the coating is worn completely away, extra coats add to their length of service. We advocate a covering of 2 coats on each new bottom job. Copolymer paints with anti-slime additives are best for nutrient-rich, heavy fouling regions.
Modified epoxy paints are better if you have a fast planning – hull boat. Contact leaching paint releases the biocide at a steadily diminishing rate, leaving the hard coating of the original thickness at season's end. Higher copper content, rather than the type of paint binder as with ablative paints, more often than not means greater effective performance in this paint type. Modified epoxy paints stick to most surfaces, and can be applied over most types of paints. On the down side, they lose effectiveness when the yacht is stored out of water. In addition, after several coats of paint, the existing paint will start to build up requiring removal.
Dual Biocides
Paint suppliers often add a second biocide to some versions of their applications, usually in the final coat, using formulas such as Biolux, Irgarol and zinc pyrithione and zinc omidine. These additives further restrict the growth of algae.
Aluminum Hulls and Underwater Metals
Aluminum hulls, outdrives and props need paints such as Vivid, Trilux 33, Trilux Prop and Drive Paint and Alumaspray that do not contain cuprous oxide, which responds in a hostile way with the aluminum. Copper-based paints are safe for use on properly primed stainless and bronze.
Zinc anodes must be left unpainted to retain their effectiveness.
Conclusion
Good preparation and priming are the basis for any paint job and antifouling paints are no different. Solid prep determines good adhesion and better performance over time. Remember that most bottom paint changes color when exposed to air or water, so do not judge the color of your bottom paint on dry land. It will show its true color after a couple weeks of immersion in the water.
Don't be too alarmed by a greenish tint of bottom paint near the waterline due to the paint's chemical reaction with oxygen. It does not affect the effectivity of the paint.
Questions and Answers
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