# Interlux 2000E enough?



## SteveON (Aug 10, 2010)

I have a Mirage 5.5 that is kept on the trailer in a dry slip at the marina on a fresh water lake in South Central Texas. Over the winter I sanded off all the ablative paint down to bare fiberglass and repainted the bottom with 2 full coats of Interlux 2000E barrier coat (recommended by a local sailboat repair shop). I've just been offered a really good deal on a wet slip for the Summer. I'm wondering if the bottom paint I've applied will be sufficient for a three month period? 
I'd rather not have to to repaint again if I don't have to, that was a nasty, messy time consumming job and it's getting near the 100 degree mark on a regular basis.
Thanks,
Steve


----------



## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

What anti fouling bottom paint did you use?

Interlux 2000E is a barrier coat to prevent osmosis (water ingress that can lead to blistering), not a paint that will prevent growth. Interlux recommends 5 coats and the first coat of anti fouling paint should be hot coated, in other words put on while the last coat of 2000E is still tacky otherwise it is liable to not stick well.


----------



## SteveON (Aug 10, 2010)

I didn't apply an antifouling paint since was only going to on a trailer. How long could I leave the boat wet before I'd have a problem?
Could i pull it out after a couple of weeks, clean the bottom then relaunch?Thanks, Steve


----------



## jimrafford (Jan 7, 2011)

We're getting ready to barrier coat our boat w/ interprotect. we did our previous boat about 10 years ago. our boats stay in the water year round. When we sold our old boat last summer it passed the survey w/ flying colors.
Jim


----------



## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

What was the point of putting a barrier coat on a boat that's not kept in the water? Sounds like odd advice. 

Regardless of whether there's a barrier coat on the hull or not, for an inland lake where you'll just be soaking for a few months, VC17 is probably the best anti-foul you could put on her now. Goes on easily. Do a search on this site and you'll find plenty of info on application.


----------



## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

Something doesn't sound right here. You sanded off your antifouling to the bare fiberglass? I hope you meant to the gel coat, if you only applied 2 coats of Interprotect 2000. Even if it were applied over a full gel coat, you probably needed the equivalent of 5 or so roller-applied coats of 2000 to achieve an appropriate barrier, just as mitiempo and the Interlux instructions say. The type of roller affects the thickness of each coat, so the controlling parameter is the total thickness of Interprotect. You need to read the instructions on the Interprotect box to determine whether or not you cut corners.

If you've been dry sailing the boat, you didn't need to apply antifouling paint. hopefully you didn't do so and can sand the old Interprotect 2000 coating and apply more. After the proper build-up of epoxy, you would then apply an appropriate antifouling paint for your area. BTW, you don't have to apply successive coats while the last one is still tacky: read the instructions and you will learn that the recoat time is much longer than it used to be. If you wait too long, you need to sand between coats--something you don't want to do.


----------



## SteveON (Aug 10, 2010)

Sorry I wasn't clear. The boat had a really nasty bad coat of ablative that had rubbed off in several areas to the gelcoat. Everytime we would swin we were getting the black mess all over us from rubbing up against the boat. I decided to remove it so I sand it all off down to the gelcoat. Everything looked great but there were small sanding scratches left in the gelcoat that I would have had to remove by sanding more gelcoat off to get rid of. Local boat repair guy suggested the interlux 2000e since he and several othe J22 racers use that on the bottom of their boats ( stored on trailer not in slip). Since the coating was more for cosmetic purpose that actal protection he said two full coats would be enough since mine is also stored on a trailer. Hope that makes sense? Anyway after going back and forth I've decided to declide using the wet slip since that would mean I'd need to resand, apply additional coats of the interlux 2000e, then over coat with an antifouling paint. Way too much work and $$ for the convience if a wet slip for three months. Thanks again for everyones response/advise. 
Steve


----------



## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

Or...if you'd really like to have the wet slip if there wasn't too much work involved.

I don't see why you'd have to apply more barrier coats. If you were absolutely wanting to create a barrier, you'd want to, but that's not what you're talking about. And not necessarily needed. If you gave the two coats you already have a light sanding of 320 or 400 grit and applied VC17 directly over it, you'd be good to go in an afternoon. Application of the VC17's a snap, and you don't get a lot of buildup.


----------



## cghubbell (May 8, 2009)

Siamese said:


> Application of the VC17's a snap, and you don't get a lot of buildup.


Also remember that VC-17 does not require hot-coating, unlike most other anti-fowling paints.


----------



## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

I agree with Siamese, now that you've clarified that your gelcoat was intact (sanding scratches don't count). 

I stripped the antifouling off my 20 yr old Mako powerboat last year and put 2 coats of Interprotect on to make up for wear and tear from the sanding/scraping and then applied the new antifouling. I basically used the Interprotect as a primer, and didn't feel the need for a barrier. This boat stays in the water for 5 months every year and I've had no problems with the gelcoat, which never saw any kind of barrier coat until last year. BTW, I've owned this boat since new.

So, relax. I'd sand the Interprotect lightly with 80-100 grit paper to expose a fresh surface and apply 2-3 coats of an ablative paint that works in your area and enjoy "wet" sailing.


----------

