Bottom job - 2 Coats of Interlux - started peeling after 3 months

Hi All,

I am still quite new to boating. I had the bottom done March 2019. Just cleaned bottom and repainted with two coats of "Interlux Ultra w/Bio: Hard Anti-foul." My boat is berthed in the Oakland Estuary of San Fran Bay.
I take it out about once a month.

The bottom was done by the same yard that had done the same work for the PO with the same paint.

I expected it to last two or 3 years. It was not cheap - $3,000. It started peeling after 3 months. 3 or 4 areas the size of a hand.

When I boat the boat I had the hull inspected and although it needed to have the bottom painted their were no bad areas on the bottom.

I took it back after my diver reported the peeling and the yard sanded and repainted the bad spots no charge.

3 months later - new areas were peeling- about the same size. I waited a few months and my diver reported more new spots peeling. He provided me pictures each time.

The yard owner tells me he can't do it for free again. He said there must be a problem wiuth the gelcoat so its not his responsibility.

I would like to maintain a good relationship with the boat yard and am not into litigation unless I have to. But I am trying to understand what happened and if it is the yards fault. Obciously I dont want to be taken advantage of. This is serious money to me.

Let me know if Im not asking the right questions.

I'm am wondering - if it isn't poor workmanship, if it's a bad gelcoat, then why they didn't see the problem when they had prepped the surface prior to repainting? He told me you can't tell?

So I know we have lots of experienced folks here and I would really appreciate some perspectives on what might have happened. What needs to be done to repair it. And what should I expect the yard to do with regard to quality of work and standing behind their work and redoing some of it free of charge? Is small claims court for something like this even an option?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can folks can provide!
I really appreciate it!

Jack and Stormy Gal

Obviously the paint you (yard) used is incompatible with what was on the hull before, and is not adhering to it.

You said it was 'same paint' but was it exactly the same? Maybe same brand, but different type? Some paints can require a primer to be used, depending on compatibility with what is already there.

To me the most likely scenario is a misunderstanding of exactly which particular type of Interlux was used previously, thinking the new paint is the same when in fact is is not. If there are old records/invoices then this might be able to be checked.

Of course it is possible that the paint formulation was off spec. for the batch you used. But that it pretty unlikely.

How was the prep done? Was the previous paint completely removed back to gelcoat? If so did anyone put anything on the hull (such as polish) before the paint?

Going back to gelcoat is generally not required if you are certain that the new paint is exactly the same (or labelled as compatible) with the previous paint. But if doing this it is good practice to prime any bare gelcoat. I have used Primocon to do this.
https://international-yachtpaint.com/en/au/boat-paint-products/primers/primocon

Could there have been any coating put over the previous paint? A while back there was a thread on using ArmorAll, or silicone based products. If that has been done then nothing is going to adhere to it!

The paint will likely need to be removed by soda blasting. If you do that, then use the opportunity to put a number of epoxy barrier coats onto the hull and then go from there with a quality paint.

Without being a chemist it will be hard to tell exactly what is wrong. But to hazard a guess, they probably didn’t prep the hull properly before painting it. When it comes off in sheets the bottom probably had something on it that is preventing the paint from sticking. They say there is a problem with the gel coat. I doubt that since the previous bottom paint worked. And besides the only thing that could be bad with the gel coat would be that they didn’t remove all the wax properly.

Comodave said:

Without being a chemist it will be hard to tell exactly what is wrong. But to hazard a guess, they probably didn’t prep the hull properly before painting it. When it comes off in sheets the bottom probably had something on it that is preventing the paint from sticking. They say there is a problem with the gel coat. I doubt that since the previous bottom paint worked. And besides the only thing that could be bad with the gel coat would be that they didn’t remove all the wax properly.

Click to expand...

Either bad prep or not applied in optimal condition. Most of paints have a temp and humidity range for application, go beyond and you may get bad results.

L

If I understand, the yard is the only one to have done bottom work on this boat. You paid the yard to do the bottom. One of two things happened:

- it is impossible to properly paint the bottom of your boat, or
- the boat yard took your money, but lacked the expertise or failed to exercise proper care in doing your bottom.

I am guessing on the second option. I would tell the yard to refund my money or expect legal action and then do it. This business abounds with shitheels willing to steal your money. Don’t be a victim.

However, if you specified the primer, the paint and exactly how the bottom was to be prepped, and did not heed the yard’s advice, well that would be different. Given your newness to boating, I doubt that is the case.

Also, why do you have to figure it out? You hired the yard’s expertise and labor. The yard needs to figure this out and fix it. Or best is to get your money back and go elsewhere. Find someone who takes responsibility for their work.

If the yard cleaned and repainted, they just applied the paint to the previous bottom paint, not the gel coat. If the same paint was used, there should be no problem, unless they did not sand before applying it. Where are these bad spots showing up? If they are only out close to the chine or on the bottom of the keel could it be possible what your diver is seeing are areas that did not get new paint? Is there even a charge on your invoice for sanding the bottom?

Sounds like non-ablative paint over ablative.

Is the sheets of paint falling off thin or thick?

If thin, is it just the new paint falling off? If yes, improper prep by the yard that recently applied the paint.

If thick, is it layers of old paint? If that's the case, hull was not prepared properly by someone years ago.

If you can see the gelcoat, hull was not prepped properly by the person commissioning the boat when new.

And often when years of non ablating paint layers builds up, large pieces fall from the weight of the paint. First in areas where the first coat of paint has adherence issues from inproper prep.

I experienced this in Sandpiper at the first haul out after purchase. Large 12" X 12" pieces fell of during pressure washing. Painted the craters and splashed. 4 years later, more pieces fell off.

The bottom had 30 years of non ablating paint on it.

At the next haul out in 2010, the bottom looked like the surface of the moon with craters all over fron the paint falling off. I scraped and sanded the bottom to gel coat. Three garbage cans full of removed paint that required a fork lift to empty it. Applied epoxy and ablative paint.