Marine Parts Source Professionals Show Why It Can Be Good to Save Your Extra Paint and Varnishes
Your Marine Parts Source Analysts Has Great Ideas for Your Extra Paint and Varnish
Raritan Engineering would like to share with you this week this helpful tips on why it can be a good thing to save your extra paint and varnish.
So you carried out an exhaustive spring maintenance this year and are now left with several cans of very expensive marine varnishes, bottom-paints, and other marine maintenance products—some opened, some untouched—that you don’t want to go bad. What to do?
Stored in a dry place at room temperature, an unopened container of most of the varnishes and wood finishes will last anywhere from three to five years.
Once a container is opened, a multi-year shelf life is not guaranteed, but here are things to preserve the product for another season:
• Meticulously clean the lid and lip before closing. The catalyst containers for some two-part finishes can cement shut.
• Reduce the amount of air left in the can. You can put the remains in a smaller can (available at most paint stores). We've also heard of people putting marbles in the can to raise the level of the varnish back to the top.
In addition to the above tips, a few readers have recommended pumping half empty cans of varnish with a product called Bloxygen.
A .40-ounce can is available at various internet retailers for about $10. When ours came in the mail, it was so light, we were certain we’d been sold an empty can of "Florida sunshine."
Your Marine Parts Source Experts Know How to Minimize the Waste
Your marine parts source specialists know that, the same, however, couldn’t be said of all the varnishes we protected. The two-parts seemed the most vulnerable, but this may have been due to some negligence on our part. Of the eight cans we sealed, five showed no sign of deterioration.
Bottom line: Based on our experience, Bloxygen is worth using for those who have multiple cans of expensive coatings to protect, but success isn’t assured with all products, particularly two-part wood finishes.
Ever since our first troglodytic ancestor shoved off astride his trusty log, mariners have tried most every concoction imaginable to keep waterborne critters and growth at bay, from mixtures of tar, sulfur, and brimstone, to paints laced with tin, arsenic, pesticides, and even the occasional jar of chili powder.
What Is Bottom Paint, Anyway?
Bottom paint (aka antifouling paint) is a paint or coating designed to discourage weeds, barnacles, and other aquatic organisms from attaching themselves to (and in the case of wooden boats, eating) the underwater portion of your boat's hull. Bottom paints have traditionally accomplished this by inclusion of a biocide, with copper being the most commonly used today.
What's Your Type?
Despite seemingly endless choices, traditional bottom paints can be divided into three broad groups: ablative, hard, and hybrid paints.
Ablative (aka self-polishing) paints gradually wear away a tiny bit at a time to reveal fresh biocide as your boat moves through the water (think a bar of soap that wears away each time it's used). One advantage to this is that as long as paint remains on your hull, you know it's working to prevent growth (like that soap bar, which may get smaller, yet still lathers up).
The type of boat you have plays a significant role in bottom-paint selection. High speed powerboats will want to use a hard or possibly hybrid bottom paint — ablative paints simply won't last as long at speed.
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