Bottom Paint

[dotnmarty]

The original blue paint on the bottom of our boat has multiple scratches and skuff marks. The boat is kept on the trailer. I have tried to compound the makks with essentially no success. I think I would like to just mask off the flat part of the bottom and brush on an approprite black paint. I don't want the traditional bottom paint for a boat kept in the water, just a good, easy to apply, nice looking paint which will provide some protection and look good. Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[thataway]

Few if any paints will be as hard as the gel coat (unless you go to the two part LP paints, and they are not recommended for under the water line). Brightside paint, Perfection, and Toplac are good topside paints. However, are not hard enough to stand up to trailering wear and also may blister under water if you leave the boat in the water for longer period of time. Blistering can be decrease by using the appropriate epoxy primer (this is not osmotic type of blistering--but water permeating the paint and separating from the gel coat).

I would choose "Vivid" bottom paint--it is ablative, soft paint, but stands up fairly well to trailering, and is a mat appearance, not gloss. It is easy to re-apply and does have anti fouling properties.