COMMON BOND
No matter what size boat you have and whether you use it for fishing, cruising or running before the wind with a sail and mast, the one thing that all marina-based boaters have in common is the need to paint their vessel’s bottom. Fiberglass, wood, aluminum, steel, whatever – the need is universal. If you don’t paint your boat’s bottom, barnacles, crustaceans, slime and other nasty stuff will soon be clinging to the bare substrate surface and your vessel’s speed will slow down like you were dragging a giant sail in your wake.
The challenges with using less expensive hard epoxy paints are numerous, and include thick layer build-ups over time, uneven coats that can rob your hull of speed and performance, plus the need to get it into the water within a few hours of painting the boat to insure that the biocide in the paint is fully effective. Yet another problem associated with hard epoxy bottom paints is their long-term effectiveness – just because you see paint on the bottom of your boat, doesn’t necessarily mean that the anti-fouling characteristics are working to full effect. The barnacle-busting biocide is usually only in the top layer of the paint and once that gets rubbed off or wears out, those nasty critters can start clinging to painted bottoms that the owners thought were good to go, but were far from it.
Enter Interlux’s Micron self-ablating underwater hull coatings, the answer to every boater’s prayers for a better bottom paint. Micron technology provides excellent, long-lasting antifouling protection against all types of fouling. It is designed to wear away (polish) at a controlled rate similar to a bar of soap, resulting in reduced build-up of old coatings and minimized sanding at reapplication. This translates to a smoother boat bottom and increased fuel efficiency at all engine RPMs due to less drag on the underwater surface of your boat’s hull. Micron technology allows the boat to be hauled and re-launched the following season without repainting. Depending on how much you use your boat each year and how many “unscheduled” stops to the local sand bars you make during the season, you may not need to repaint your bottom the following season or sand it to remove heavy paint build-up, which is usually required when using hard epoxy bottom coatings. Interlux Micron paints are super simple to use. If you see paint on your boat’s bottom, you are totally good to go, since the protective biocide is mixed throughout every level of the paint, not just the surface layer.
ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY
Micron CF is a multi-season “copper free” antifouling that uses Biolux Slime Blocking Technology to combat slime and Econea to ward off barnacles and zebra mussels. A polishing product, Micron CF helps reduce paint build-up, reduce friction and improve fuel efficiency. Micron CF is a VOC compliant bottom paint. It is available in four bright colors including Shell White, Red, Green, Blue, as well as a crisp Black. Micron CF is suitable for use on all boats (wood, fiberglass, aluminum, etc.) and in all waters, fresh and salt. Like the rest of the Interlux Micron Technology line, Micron CF provides multi-seasonal performance, reduced maintenance and the ability to haul and re-launch without the need to repaint. The self-smoothing characteristics of the paint help maximize fuel efficiencies for the boat owner. With the environment in mind, Micron CF is also formulated using less solvent, which means it meets the VOC regulations in all of the USA.
I spoke to Jim Seidel, Interlux’s North America Product Manager at the Ft. Lauderdale Show and he mentioned, “We’re offering Micron CF in bright, crisp colors that will not discolor at the waterline, like traditional anti-fouling paints do. We have evolved the Micron line of paints to now include this copper-free formula with premium performance. It represents a significant step-change in development for Interlux. With the use of Econea, a copper replacement technology and our proprietary Micron Technology, we’re excited to present the outstanding performance qualities that only a Micron antifouling will offer.”
Micron CF will be sold in the USA in gallon cans and the “theoretical” coverage is 518 square feet. It can be applied via brush, roller or spray gun and Interlux recommends two to three coats for maximum effectiveness. My last MarCeeJay charter boat, a Phoenix 27 Express, used a combination of Interlux InterProtect 3000 as a (gray) barrier coat to prevent water osmosis in my fiberglass layup below the waterline with two coats of multi-season (black) Micron self-polishing ablative bottom paint over that. When I could see the tell-tale gray under-layer, it was time to repaint the bottom. It was a simple yet effective solution to my bottom painting blues. My next vessel will have the same two-part solution; a few layers of InterProtect 3000 to seal the fiberglass bottom and an equal dose of this new Interlux Micron CF over that to keep those nasty barnacles and crustaceans where they belong, namely in the bay, not on my boat’s bottom.
