Which antifouling do you need?
The type of antifouling to use depends on your hull material, where you use your boat, how much money you want to spend on it and how often you plan to maintain the underwater coating. The most common choice of DIY-applied paint is either a hard self-polishing, or erodible type.
DIY
Professional
How much antifouling paint will you need?
There is nothing worse than realising you don’t have enough antifoul to finish the job. Antifouls have a coverage rate per litre on the label or technical data sheet. We as Seajet also have it in our product manual and you can find it on our website. On the Seajet website there is a paint calculator and it tells you the exact amount of paint you need for your project.
Applying antifoul paint
Antifouling contains biocides, so make sure you wear protective equipment before applying antifoul paint. Most of the antifoul paints contain solvents, so if you are working in a shed for example, ventilate the area as much as possible. Make sure you read the labels, data sheets and all the information on the product you have chosen before you start the job. Choose a dry day and with as little wind as possible.
The most important thing before you start applying antifouling is surface preparation. First you need to get everything off of the surface. Use a high-pressure hose. Remove any hardware from the boat. Anything you cannot remove you should cover in tape to keep clean and protected. If you feel the greasy, waxy finish on the boat you will need to remove it before painting. After this you should fill in any cracks or corrosion before you start painting to prevent holes or imperfections.
Sand the boat thoroughly, this gives the paint a surface to grip to. When in doubt, sand away all the old paint.