What type of automotive paint did you use? This is my first boat and the bottom paint really needs to be removed. Looks like it has 2 different colors on there in some spots, black and blue. :head: Will the automotive paint hold up if left in salt water for and extended period of time?

Automotive paint on a boat bottom is for cosmetic reasons only. It will have no antifouling properties, and my guess is within a week you have barnacles.

If you plan to leave your boat int e water for more than 72 hrs at a time you should really use bottom paint. There are several types to choose from dependant upon how you typically use your boat and the amount of time it stays in the water.

Using something other than bottom paint will cause your paint to blister.

I'm on my 4th coat of Interlux A2000 primer. I'll be sanding down what I have before applying my last coat of primer, sanding again with 80 grit and I hope to begin application of the Interlux VC Performance next weekend.

Thank you for the heads up on the automotive paint. I'm still up in the air if i'll be trailering next year, or bit the bullet and make the wife happy with a slip.

Once you have sanded off what you can of the bottom paint, and patch in what needs to be patched, does the primer act as a "sealer" or is there something different that needs to be done before you prime and paint?

I'm a real newbie at this sort of stuff,:you: and appreciate all the help and tips i've been reading on this forum. :sun:

Your gel coat is your sealer. Once you get your bottom paint off you go from there. The primer binds the paint to the gel coat. If your gelcoat is very damaged then you need a sealing primer. Primer generally is not a sealer. The bottom paint is for the antifouling. Before deciding on the paint, you should make your best guess because trailer queens get "special" paint.

I can attest to the effectiveness of a pressure washer on bottom paint. Had to pressure wash an axle and borrowed my neighbors pressure washer. After getting the axle cleaned up, I applied aircraft stripper to a 2x4 section of the V20, waited about 20 minutes and spent five minutes to clear that section down to bare hull. Then i ran out of stripper :cry:.

The difference in automotive and marine paint is the flexibility. Marine paint has a flex additive in it already. If you use automotive I highly recomened buying a flex additive to mix with the paint before application.