Boat U.S. - March 2009 - (Page 28)

specialreport BY Tom Neale What’s New In The Brew? fiTTiNg ouT Your boat’s bottom is under attack by creatures that can slow you down, cost you money, and waste fuel. Bottom paints have become increasingly complex in recent years. Here’s what’s new down with usage, releasing copper, until little remains on the hull; and harder non-ablative paints that release agents with less wear, until most of the agent is depleted, leaving a relatively inert caked coating. Paint companies have now moved into the next era. For example, Interlux has its Micron Extra with Biolux. Interlux describes Biolux as a “proprietary technology” which involves how the binder and the biocides (copper and other boosting technologies) are bound into the paint film to provide the optimal release needed to prevent fouling. Biolux technology is generally found in their higher-grade antifouling paints and its primary focus is to target soft growth. Interlux says the technology polishes away in the water “like a bar of soap” and makes your bottom slicker,” controls the release of active ingredients so that less can do more; and increases the paint’s effectiveness for a much longer time. And when the paint is “used up,” there isn’t a caked coating remaining with unused copper that must be sanded off. Also, storing the boat out of the water won’t degrade performance. Don Zabranski, national marketing manager of Pettit Paints says that his company utilizes various technologies such as their new “Composite Copper Technology (CCT).” “This, says Zabranski, allows them to replace the copper core of the cuprous oxide particle with environmentally friendly silica composite, reducing Y ears ago most of us generally assumed that the more copper a bottom paint contained, the better the paint. Today it’s not so simple. For example, while copper controls the growth of hard vermin such as barnacles, other agents are needed and used to control soft fouling such as slime and grass. These include Irgarol and zinc pyrithione. And even copper isn’t just “copper.” Typically, copper paints contain more effective formulations of the element, such as cuprous oxide. Or, a manufacturer seeking to produce brighter bottom colors or white coatings may use cuprous thiocyanate. This is lighter in color and doesn’t produce the dull and often fading hue to which we’re accustomed in traditional copper-based paints. The Next Generation But paint manufacturers are moving far beyond the simple mixing of batches of barnacle and slime fighters. Today, we’re seeing much more emphasis on the binders that contain the antifouling agents within the paint. Manufacturers have improved the effectiveness of these agents by developing different methods of controlling the speed and manner of their release. For example, in the recent past, most of us thought of bottom paint in two categories: soft ablative paints that wear BoatU.S. Magazine March 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Boat U.S. - March 2009

Boat U.S. - March 2009 Contents Reader Forum Boat U.S. Reports What’s New In The Brew? The Perfect Paint Job Launch Into Spring Boats Gear Wheels One Mom, Two Teens, No Exit So, Nigel Had This Idea Ice Devices It Was A Club Of Their Own Expanding The Boating Universe Tech Connection A Case Study In Getting Results Let’s All Do This Together Classifieds Member Benefits/At Your Service

Boat U.S. - March 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.