Bottom Paint

[dodgercc27]

Spring time is looming and it will soon be time to roll on some new anti-fouling paint and splash the boat.

I have a few 1 inch spots on the bottom of my hull where the bottom paint is uneven.  Any suggestions on how to even out the layers without having to blast the entire bottom?

[lazybone]

How many layers are on there total.

[pablosgirl]

What you need is to sand the spots with a long board.  This can be either the store bought foam kind or you can make your own with 1/4" plywood scrap.  The West System's faring guide has a description and drawing of a home made long board.  You need to use a long board to be able to evenly sand down the high areas around the low spot with out sanding the low spot.  This is what a long board will do for you.  Start with 80 grit paper and sand the area over and around the low spots with medium to light pressure.  Press too hard and you will deform the sander into the low spot.  Remember you are trying to remove the paint from around the low spot to fair it into the low spot without sanding the low spot until the final few strokes.

[Miles Henderson]

I did a major over-haul on my entire bottom last Spring  . 

I found that there were, simply stated, depressions in the hull that needed to be 'filled-in'.  What I did was sand the high areas so I could really see the low areas that needed to be filled-in.  Then, I circled the low area (which was often oblong or of abnormal shape) with a black magic marker.  Then, I would fill in the low depression with two to three coats of paint.  If found using a plastic resin spreader was a good way to smooth the paint after it was applied to these depressions and feather the paint to the higher edges (kinda like what you would do when applying dry wall mud).  Hope this helps.

[dodgercc27]

Great thanks