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Keep Your Boat Ship Shape with the Right Antifouling Paint
May
How To Keep Your Boat Ship Shape with the Right Antifouling Paint
Enjoying a weekend on the water is an enjoyable pastime for many. Owning boats can be fulfilling, but some problems come along with it – one of them being biofouling. Biofouling refers to the growth and accumulation of microorganisms, plants or animals which accumulate on underwater sections of vessels.
This reduces your boat’s durability and efficiency over time! Using antifoulant paint works to prevent biofoul build up to protect both your vessel as well as your pocket – this article will outline what specific benefits antifoul have.
Antifouling paint protects both your boat and the environment
The sheer volume of trade, travel, and recreation we do on our waterways shows how important these bodies of water are to our day-to-day lives. We cannot ignore the potentially harmful effects this traffic has on marine life; that’s why there’s a demand for effective low-cost antifoulant coatings as part of a vessel’s complete coating system! The right paint:
- Reduces fuel consumption
- Increases the maximum speed of a vessel
- Increases a ship’s durability
- Decreases the risk of transferring harmful organisms into foreign waters
Buy your Boat Antifouling paint online today
There are plenty of options for paint for your boat, including fibreglass and metal. The best choice is the one that’s appropriate to what kind of bottom material you have (fibreglass, metal or wood) as well as the environment in which you keep your boat. If you take your boat into both salt water and fresh water environments use antifouling paint if it spends more time there. Palatine Paints are a proud supplier of Temac products which are manufactured for this purpose but we are equally, if not prouder of our very own boat and barge gloss paint, with a wide range of colours available. Grab yours today!
What Type of Paint Can Be Used on My Boat?
Traditionally, antifoulants work by the use of a biocide – a chemical substance that is intended to destroy or render harmless any harmful organism. The most popular and powerful type of biocide used in these paints is copper, with 90% of all antifouling paints containing it. However, there’s been an increasing trend away from the use of biocides, which has led to new products emerging on the market that utilize different properties to fight biofoulers instead. Biocidal paint coats come in two main types: those paired up with excellent delivery systems for best effectiveness depending on what you’re using your boat for and where exactly you are located; just make sure they have good coverage!
Hard film antifouling coatings
The delivery mechanism for these types of paints is called contact leaching. The coating has biocides in it, and contact with water causes them to be released. As a result, the protection against algae or barnacles doesn’t last long – it starts strong but then gradually diminishes as the biocides are eliminated and all that remains are hard paint films. These coatings also lose their antifoulant ability if they’re kept away from water so they can’t be hauled off on dry land and relaunched without being repainted first. Paints that rely solely on some type of leachate (i.e. active ingredient) have been tried over time by various boat owners who’ve had limited success at best; some even say those products do more harm than good due to toxicity issues created when toxic substances like copper compounds come into contact with humans or animals via touch, ingestion or inhalation when used in sufficient quantities.
Eroding antifouling paint
The name of this type of paint suggests that it uses erosion to deliver biocides. This can be caused by friction from the water or a localized chemical reaction at the surface of the coating for release.
The idea is that there’s more consistent biofoul protection and boats painted with eroding antifoul can be hauled and relaunched without repainting since they have biocides chemically bound to them.
Foul release and other alternatives
Recent developments and the global trend toward sustainability are driving the study of alternative antifouling methods which do not require biocides. These include experimental surfaces such as Teflon or silicone coated, hydrophobic, or textured hulls that may prevent biofouling from growing – known as foul release coatings.
Foul release coatings include silicone elastomers, Teflon-based coating and fluoropolymer coatings, ceramic coatings and wax coats. They’re referred to by biologists as “foul release” because they don’t stop biofouling from settling on a surface; rather they can be slippery enough that it detaches when something is moving through water (i.e. vessels).
Another type of antifouling measure is biomimetic coatings, which looks at the natural world for inspiration. Various types of biomimetic coatings include those that imitate a shark’s scales, and surfaces resembling plants and lily pads on water-repelling coating; all are not toxic to marine life.
Which antifouling paint is best for you? Answer these questions to find out.
Ultimately the decision of what to coat your boat with depends on three things: the type of substrate, environment and intended use. All these factors need to be considered before choosing which coating is best for your specific needs. Before you can decide on a paint job, here are some questions you might want ask yourself:
Considering the costs of whether to paint or not?
What’s the cost of this paint, will it lead to greater fuel efficiency? Can I make my own surface preparations, and if not how often should I repaint it? What kind of cleaning procedures are required on a daily basis?
How long will the coating last?
Different coatings have different lifespans. Some may protect for 3-5 years, while others can last a lifetime (depending on conditions) – how often you need to remove the antifouling and reapply depends on your needs and should be taken into consideration.
What boat paint and antifouling products do you recommend?
As a supplier of Temac products for boot topping use, we highly recommend them for protection and performance. For when it comes to top coat finishes, our very own brand is popular and recommended, you can buy it directly from the product you see below.
Teamac is one of the leading British brands of marine paints and coatings. The range of products includes marine grade varnishes, topcoats, undercoats, primers, antifouling, bilge paint and other specialist marine coatings.
Buy Your Boat & Barge Top Coat Finish & Temac Antifouling
Marine Coatings
Antifouling Paint
Boat & Barge Professional Gloss is a high gloss solvent-borne protective finish formulated as a decorative, protective top coat. It is ideal for use on narrow boats, canal barges and other vessels. We have a wide range of colours available, with colour matching to the RAL Classic or BS 381c/4800 colour charts also available.
- Provides durable, long term protection
- Suitable for wood, metal and other surfaces. Ideal for decoration of narrow boats and barges
- Touch dry in 2 hours, providing excellent wet edge and flow out
- Best applied by brush or roller but can also be sprayed.
Conclusion
Palatine Paints have been manufacturing paints for over 75 years and have a dedicated technical and sales team to answer any questions you may have, about any number of our product ranges.
If you have any questions on the products we’ve listed here, our dedicated sales and/or technical team are here to help.
Email: [email protected]
Call Us: 01942 884 122