Does ablative bottom paint have a shelf life?

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mchad

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I have an unopened gallon of petit ablative paint which was bought 3 years ago. There is no mention of an expiration date on the can. Is it still ok to use?

Thanks
 
I would think it would be ok. Gonna take some serious mixing though before use.
 
That's what I wanted to hear. Going to bring it to home depot and bribe a rep to put it on a shaker for a mix...
 
If your boat is at a marina, most of the shops have a paint mixer. My winter yard lets me use their shaker all the time.
 
Do the shakers relly mix this stuff? I always use a paint mixer on the end of an electric drill. Still not easy.
 
The shakers work well. I just had some mixed at a local hardware store. They shouldn't charge if you buy other stuff from them.
 
Ok, not to beat this to death, but if I am going to shake it, do I need to do it the day I am painting, or is the day before ok, with a quick stir before applying?
 
The bottom paint will be just fine. Get it shaken at a paint or hardware store. Oil based paints have a shelf life of many years, as long as the can is full and sealed. I've used oil-based paints that I've kept stored for more than 10 years. Good as new.
 
Should be fine for a couple of days after shaking with no more than a a good stirring with a stirring stick.
 
mchad, How long before you put your boat in the water will you paint? I have already done mine and the can says no longer than 14 days to launch but the yard is really holding me up and it may go past that. Sorry for the hi-jack
 
I'll probably paint just about a week or two before she goes in. I think many paints are different, some have time limits, others don't. My can is at home so I can't say if it has a time limit though...
 
quote:
Originally posted by concorde mike

mchad, How long before you put your boat in the water will you paint? I have already done mine and the can says no longer than 14 days to launch but the yard is really holding me up and it may go past that. Sorry for the hi-jack

Click to expand...


Depends on if the paint is ablative or hard. Ablative should not matter. It's ability to protect cycles on and off as it is lifted from the water and placed back in the water.
 
Stir it as shakeing puts too many air bubbles into the paint.
 
Is there a time limit between painting and splashing the boat? I'm looking at probably a month between the two.
 
Stirring does not work nearly as well as shaking. I have a stirring rod for my drill but I only use it if my yard is closed and I can't use there shaker.
Ablative paint is a multi season paint and I don't know of any time frame before launching.
 
Holy thread revival. 6 years almost to the day.

Some ablative a do have a limit to launch time. It should say so on the can. If it doesn't say there is a time limit then there likely isn't.
 
I have to give FunintheSun some credit at least he looked at the older posts about this topic and the re-opened the topic.
+1
Bill
 
if it is ablative it is fine
if it is hard bottom paint then it also fine as long as it does not get wet.
Ablative comes off slowly like a bar of soap.
Hard paint starts to leach as soon as it gets wet and then when it it gets dry it kills the biocide in it.
So hard paint has to stay wet or stay dry, it can't go back and forth.
They say if you use hard bottom paint and haul your boat, you have to repaint before launch.

Not sure anyone uses hard paint anymore as it builds up over time, but it used to be the best and cheapest. With today's multi season abaltives, that is the way to go.

http://www.yachtpaint.com/LiteratureCentre/antifouling_101_usa_eng.pdf
 
Bill, thanks for the comment. It's that time of year.. Not to hijack a thread, but I do have a question for you specifically. Ethernet repeaters. I need one, I'm thinking rogue or rogue pro. I want to mount it on my radar arch, across the top, so I need a mount to a horizontal surface. I assume it's just an rj45 cable from the antenna unit to a standard Ethernet / wifi hub down in the boat. It looks like the rogue pro is all steel, with the mount I think I need, but unsure if it comes with an antenna. It looks like the rogue has a different mount, for vertical surfaces, and comes with the antenna.

I'm just curious for your advice, since I've seen your many comments on this topic, and you've helped a lot of people such as dave and Walter.

Thanks,
Ed
 
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