Chris H
Well-Known Member
I need to try some of that, I’ve had enough of getting under the boat every week to clean it.
Propspeed - any good?
- Thread starter Illusion
- Start date
Portofino
Well-Known Member
Hi guys the yard came back with this ….
Sigma Universal Primer (Sigmacover280)”.
I suspect this is the gold primer layer it’s sticks to all the metals .
Prop shaft .P bracket, bathing platform , rudders and there boxes on my boat and importantly the props them selves.
Then just normal AF on the metal work but Trilux on the props + rudders + shafts + flaps + rams
The important bit is the
Sigma Universal Primer (Sigmacover280)”. Primer to stop the stuff just peeling off as water seeps under it .
Previous to this professional yard in Italy ( 15 seasons in the med ) I gave up .Had outdrives but found nothing worked on the props either or the actual legs themselves.
I just ended up just bare metalling it and dived in .Problem with frequent diving apart from being a fag is you never get the OEM smoothness as the weeks go by . With the legs I did use VP stuff but is was rubbish if iam honest .
My previous DIY attempts below .
Af in the P bracket and shaft and just left the props + rudder .= the AF just peeled off eventually and they developed a rough surface = drag.
^ like this ….pretty crap .
Even this dropped off because of the inadequate primer .The silver was some international primer btw .Did not work .
Looks like they used the Sigma Universal Primer (Sigmacover280)”.on the under water through the hull fittings as well .
Basic problem is finding a PRIMA that sticks and tacks AF to metals .
Without this eventually water penetrates and the layer on metals peels off .
PPG SigmaCover 280 - New Guard Coatings
Last edited:
petem
Well-Known Member
Looks a tidy job. Fingers crossed that it works for you.
Portofino
Well-Known Member
It did Pete i used the local yard in the travel ban / Covid disruption last season 2021 and they applied it and as I said it worked nothing came off this time sumner / season 21 .
I had pretty much given up on the stern gear and resigned to diving in with scraper periodically .
Last season was great as I said gained a few knots or turned around achieved same speeds at 75 % load so the motors had it easy .
Anyhow I have re booked with them this year to repeat .
The yard is Amico Loano , they have a huge facility in Genoa as well .
Just figured they must know what works and what’s rubbish by now .
When i was in France I used professionals to do the annual on my outdrive S Seeker .They used std VP products on the legs .
That was iffy often peeled off and I normally needed a diver or DIY prop scrubs .They just left the props bare metal .
When I retired @ 54 and had more time I did try all sorts and did follow the instructions carefully.Patchy ( no pun intended ) results .In the yard most did nothing just left bare metal props + rudders .
So when I went to a shaft drive 5 yrs ago I just assumed nothing worked as guys just polished up shafts , rudders , props in the yard .As you see from the pics ^^ even my attempts to get something to stick basically failed .They have lasted a month or two tops before peeling off = more diving etc .
How ever this year ( sorry last season ) the local yard in Italy ?? does not allow DIYers in due to H+S etc and it was cheap something like €2500 all in inc the metal work .So a no brainier .
I was 50 / 50 with the sterngear .
One 1/2 of my mind said nowts ever worked in France either professionally or careful DIY .
Other 1/2 was saying surly in this day + age and with high end SY clients some one some where has figured out how to get stuff to stick to under water metals and a bonus if they spin .
So I gave it a punt .
The extra metal work was only quoted at €2-300 anyhow and I figured they had 72 gallon drums of the stuff on site considering the size of the boats SY s and a 800 ton lift they have on site .Handling the stiff every day .
Anyhow nice to see they coated the under water through the hull fittings as well on the pics .Those are there pics a progress report they do .
BartW
Well-Known Member
that sigmacover280 is interesting and new to me,
I wonder why they use diffferent 2nd layer on props and shaft / versus platform frame, flaps, ... green / black
the green stuff on the props is that really Trilux ?
initially I thought it is Velox, because many years back when I was in SOF (yard in Marseille) , I had exactly that collor on my props
and I'm 100% shure it was Velox !
I'm a fan of Velox+ , works well for me,
but not everywhere available,
so good to know if there is a alternative; this sigmacover 280..
I wonder why they use diffferent 2nd layer on props and shaft / versus platform frame, flaps, ... green / black
the green stuff on the props is that really Trilux ?
initially I thought it is Velox, because many years back when I was in SOF (yard in Marseille) , I had exactly that collor on my props
and I'm 100% shure it was Velox !
I'm a fan of Velox+ , works well for me,
but not everywhere available,
so good to know if there is a alternative; this sigmacover 280..
Portofino
Well-Known Member
I don’t know Bart .
The props + rudders + shafts might be Velox on top of the Sigma
The other flaps + stainless steel bathing platform brackets submerged could be normal AF but it was hard and did not rub off if you swam past it with your clothes..
What ever the top coats are they did not come off for once .
In the past the shafts SS and SS bathing platform brackets were particularly difficult to find anything to stick .
This works .Never had such clean stern gear for a full season June to mid Oct .
Just got a re quote €209 + tax to do it all again ……the metal work bit all of it .
€877 + tax for 2 x coats of AF on the rest of the hull .
On top of the lift + pressure wash etc which is about €1000 ish .
I couldn’t buy it + consumables for these prices let alone pay guys to prep + apply .
Last edited:
BartW
Well-Known Member
It would surprise me that they use velox on another primer, so I would be interested if you could asc the details if the work they offer, especially on the props, which primer, which top coat..
I never did AF myself, but always check what products they use,
vas
Well-Known Member
I've been using velox and it's primer for the last 4yrs.
Velox primer is a semi translucent greenish thing that has a particular smell.
When my paint shop was transferring it to spray cans for me (I was told that if you want it to hold, don't brush/roll it, spray it!) he commented that smell and texture reminds him of an ss etching primer he's selling in his shop.
So last year, I skimped on the velox primer and bought a few cans of this ss etching primer. Guess what it works (well will be more certain in June when I dive under the boat and see with my own eyes)
so may be a generic etching primer for stainless steel they are using followed by whatever a/f
Velox primer is a semi translucent greenish thing that has a particular smell.
When my paint shop was transferring it to spray cans for me (I was told that if you want it to hold, don't brush/roll it, spray it!) he commented that smell and texture reminds him of an ss etching primer he's selling in his shop.
So last year, I skimped on the velox primer and bought a few cans of this ss etching primer. Guess what it works (well will be more certain in June when I dive under the boat and see with my own eyes)
so may be a generic etching primer for stainless steel they are using followed by whatever a/f
Ekotek
New Member
Hello, the velox primer is a plastic type, it's not an etching primer, all etching primers have the corrosive pictogram on the can and you can clearly read the acid ratio in the MSDS, I don't think there's an etching primer for SS yet.
One guy nailed it, it's the water transport that causes delamination and blistering, you read about propspeed and cavitation, the guys that sell it say the pitting is due to cavitation but don't they know that cavitation only occurs on the props? I've inspected failed propspeed on tens of boats and they all have the same pitting on the props, rudders, flaps and shafts however the only place cavitation occurs is on the props, there's no cavitation on both sides of the flaps, not on the rudders e.t.c. I got to give it to them they have great marketing but regarding the actual product no thank you.
Last edited:
