Boottop or antifoul first?

RadiumRob

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I am repainting my boottop as well as antifouling shortly. Does it matter in which order they are done? My instinct is to paint the boottop first, but I can't find anything to reinforce that.

Thanks,

Rob
 
I always paint the boottop first, that way you only need one strip of masking tape for boottop then one for the bottom. If you do it the other way round you need two strips for the boottop (but maybe you could get away with none for the bottom). I just like a rest having put one strip of masking tape on.
 
Don't think it matters from a technical point of view, just which is easier to get a neat line with.

On Kindred Spirit, we always did antifoul first. My mum and I would slap it on with rollers, and then my dad would go round sitting on a stool with a finer brush and paint in the boot top by hand. We didn't use masking tape, the faux-clinker shape of the hull made it too fiddly. Careful hand painting was fine, you never look at the waterline from close range unless you're swimming anyway.

New boat has coppercoat on the bottom, and a "boot top" of coloured tape above the waterline :)

Pete
 
I do the antifouling first then the boot top

I often don't bother with tape but if you do you need two strips which ever way round you do it
 
Antifoul first for Claymore's reason.
Also if you get it done and then think, "Hmm, I'll do the boottop next year" then it's less work and this policy can be carried on for several years.
 
Lakesailor's recent advice - and he knows a thing or two about doing up boats to look damn good - is never put boottop over antifoul because water travels along the antifoul and then underneath the boottop and I'm guessing lifts it.
 
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