hammerite on a saildrive.

[gwc2004]

I'm putting my saildrive back this week and want to repaint it first. I've stripped it back to bare metal and given it 2 coats of acid etch primer. I've got a couple of spray cans of smooth hammerite but have never used it in salt water before. Is it suitable for the job? Any advice on the subject would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dipper]

I've used Hammerite on an aluminium mast (primed first with Hammerite aluminium primer) but I don't know about under water. Ships seem to use it (or similar) extensively on all their ironwork so I guess it will be OK.

You will need to check that the antifouling will stick to it. You will probably need to prime it first.

In other words - I don't know! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[johnalison]

Dunno about saildrive, I use Trilux. I used to use Hammerite on rust spots on my last boat's iron keel after wire-brushing & it worked brilliantly.

 

[PeterGibbs]

I have a Volvo 120 S Drive and went through the same thinking last season - ended up abandoning the Hammerite idea - solid as it sounded - and went back to the spray paint Volvo sell for this purpose. At lift out this year, all well.

I have been scared off by warnings on paint pots that any metallic elemnts in the (antifoul) paint can set up corrosion.

I also used to use the International Prop Paint on my three blade aluminium prop - complete waste of time, even with all the primers, scraping down and bowing to the SW etc. All the prop vendors tell me don't bother with antifoul paints on the prop and drive gear. It doesn't work! And so it seems..

I just reckon the few molluscs gathered over the season are not really going to make a lot of difference to performance, and so put it out of my mind - and save my money.

Hope you can too!

PWG

 

[johnalison]

re props. I've copied some locals and use an anhydrous lanolin product - I think it's called Orca though any a/h lanolin will do - which is quite easy to apply and works better than most. I seldom have any crustaceans after the season.

 

[Pete7]

I use smooth hammerite on my steel diving cylinders. They are repainted every 3 years do to the scratches from crawling through wrecks. Apart from the scratches it works. However what are you going to do about antifouling, might be better to use something in between the etch and the antifouling.

Pete

 

[richardandtracy]

The way hammerite works (as far as I can tell from the literature) is for it to create small glass flakes within the paint once it's cured. I can confirm that something funny does happen after about 5 weeks. I painted some cast iron downpipes with white hammerite over the top of some conventional crimson paint, and the whole lot turned a ghastly pink colour. I sloped off for five weeks having had a major strop, and came back to find over 3 days the whole lot went white, and all traces of pink disappeared.

I don't think it's due to metallic inclusions in the paint - but I may be wrong - so it shouldn't affect anti-foul once the paint has reached the 6 week cure point. The 6 week cure may be against it though.

Regards

Richard.