EwanClark
Well-Known Member
First of all I would like to declare an interest, as we are the manufacturers and suppliers of Coppercoat.
We, as a matter of course, monitor various forums for discussion of our product but have until now made the decision not to respond, as we believe web forums should not be used as a marketing tool.
However as our product is becoming more and more commonplace, a number of threads are being started by people looking for technical advice with regard to boats that already have the Coppercoat anti-fouling system. We have therefore made the decision to respond to some of these points to save people from well meant but misleading or inaccurate answers/advice.
A much debated point is whether or not Coppercoat needs abrading annually. The simple answer is that this is not usually necessary. We have many customers who have Coppercoat treatments that are over ten years old which have never been abraded. For example, “Zest” owned by the Norbury family (Sarah Norbury being the current editor of PBO) which we initially treated in 1993, is in the water (at the Hamble) all year round, only coming out annually for a couple of hours for a routine inspection. Nothing more than an annual pressure wash has been required in the last 14 years, in an apparently “high-fouling” area.
That said, a small percentage of our clients have found it beneficial to lightly burnish their Coppercoat. This burnishing should only be done using a fine grade of wet and dry paper (600-800 grit), a scotchbrite sanding pad or similar. The idea is to polish the surface - you are not looking to sand the Coppercoat, or to remove all of the green patina which as “Pasarell” (is that you, Peter Sims of Eco-Sea?) points out is an active part of Coppercoat. Any coarser grade will only “score” the surface, which might enable marine life to gain a hold. Coppercoat offers an exceptionally hard surface and this burnishing will not degrade the life of the product. In line with our application instructions, we recommend that in areas of high fouling treated boats will benefit from a light burnish after the initial application of Coppercoat, prior to the first immersion.
As with all anti-fouls, the performance of Coppercoat may vary from location to location and boat to boat. Consequently there can be no set rule when it comes to maintenance. While some boats will stay clean without burnishing, it is entirely possible that others may need attention from time to time.
Coppercoat is a simple product, based on the idea of using epoxy resin to attach copper to the hull. We use 99% pure copper powder in Coppercoat because over the last 16 years we have found this to provide the strongest anti-fouling properties and the longest effective life. Trials with copper-nickel showed a slower production of active cuprous oxide and consequently weaker anti-fouling performance. Importantly, the clever and truly unique part of Coppercoat is our specially designed epoxy resin. This breaks down at approximately the same rate as the copper and therefore provides a constantly refreshing anti-fouling surface. This is the main reason why annual sanding is not necessary in most circumstances. Of course, there are times and conditions when the rate of degradation of the copper and the base epoxy differs, and it is then that pressure washing and/or burnishing may be required.
Another point that raises many questions is application. Coppercoat is designed to be a DIY product. Most of our customers in this country are boat owners applying the product to their own boat. As “Galadriel” points out, with any job preparation is important and as Coppercoat is a permanent epoxy coating, it must be applied to a suitable substrate - for example, clean and abraded gel-coat or epoxy. Full details for application can be found on our website but as a “rule of thumb” if the weather is suitable for general painting (i.e. dry and warm), you can usually apply Coppercoat.
With regards to higher temperatures causing problems with curing, we currently have distributors in 16 countries around the world, not including the customers we supply directly. The ambient temperature in some of these areas (e.g. Dubai, Kuwait, Turkey, Australia, etc) is considerably hotter than here in the UK. This causes no problem to the application.
When using Coppercoat the copper must be kept in suspension. This is normally achieved by simply stirring the mix, as and when you go to top up your roller tray. We do not recommend mechanical mixing, as whisking the product with a drill is not beneficial. A bucket and stick is the only equipment required to mix the product correctly.
Finally please note that this advice is for the benefit of Coppercoat users. Since launching this product (and indeed inventing the genre of long-life copper-epoxy based anti-fouls) back in 1991 (when Coppercoat was known as Copperbot) several “similar” products have been available. Consequently although statistically unlikely, it is possible that some forum readers will have systems such as Copperclad, Copperbot 2000, CopperGuard, Cupro-FF, Cop-R-bot, Cu-17, Halcyon 5000 or Royal Copper. While some of the advice contained here may be applicable to owners of boats with these discontinued systems, we can not be held responsible for these products or their performance.
I hope that this general information proves useful.
I will sign off by stating that it is not our intention to be a regular contributor to this forum. For those of you with questions about the application, use and maintenance of Coppercoat please contact us directly for the most technically accurate and knowledgeable advice. Having supplied this coating to over 30,000 around the World boats over the last 15 years we should know the answer to your question!
Copper
We, as a matter of course, monitor various forums for discussion of our product but have until now made the decision not to respond, as we believe web forums should not be used as a marketing tool.
However as our product is becoming more and more commonplace, a number of threads are being started by people looking for technical advice with regard to boats that already have the Coppercoat anti-fouling system. We have therefore made the decision to respond to some of these points to save people from well meant but misleading or inaccurate answers/advice.
A much debated point is whether or not Coppercoat needs abrading annually. The simple answer is that this is not usually necessary. We have many customers who have Coppercoat treatments that are over ten years old which have never been abraded. For example, “Zest” owned by the Norbury family (Sarah Norbury being the current editor of PBO) which we initially treated in 1993, is in the water (at the Hamble) all year round, only coming out annually for a couple of hours for a routine inspection. Nothing more than an annual pressure wash has been required in the last 14 years, in an apparently “high-fouling” area.
That said, a small percentage of our clients have found it beneficial to lightly burnish their Coppercoat. This burnishing should only be done using a fine grade of wet and dry paper (600-800 grit), a scotchbrite sanding pad or similar. The idea is to polish the surface - you are not looking to sand the Coppercoat, or to remove all of the green patina which as “Pasarell” (is that you, Peter Sims of Eco-Sea?) points out is an active part of Coppercoat. Any coarser grade will only “score” the surface, which might enable marine life to gain a hold. Coppercoat offers an exceptionally hard surface and this burnishing will not degrade the life of the product. In line with our application instructions, we recommend that in areas of high fouling treated boats will benefit from a light burnish after the initial application of Coppercoat, prior to the first immersion.
As with all anti-fouls, the performance of Coppercoat may vary from location to location and boat to boat. Consequently there can be no set rule when it comes to maintenance. While some boats will stay clean without burnishing, it is entirely possible that others may need attention from time to time.
Coppercoat is a simple product, based on the idea of using epoxy resin to attach copper to the hull. We use 99% pure copper powder in Coppercoat because over the last 16 years we have found this to provide the strongest anti-fouling properties and the longest effective life. Trials with copper-nickel showed a slower production of active cuprous oxide and consequently weaker anti-fouling performance. Importantly, the clever and truly unique part of Coppercoat is our specially designed epoxy resin. This breaks down at approximately the same rate as the copper and therefore provides a constantly refreshing anti-fouling surface. This is the main reason why annual sanding is not necessary in most circumstances. Of course, there are times and conditions when the rate of degradation of the copper and the base epoxy differs, and it is then that pressure washing and/or burnishing may be required.
Another point that raises many questions is application. Coppercoat is designed to be a DIY product. Most of our customers in this country are boat owners applying the product to their own boat. As “Galadriel” points out, with any job preparation is important and as Coppercoat is a permanent epoxy coating, it must be applied to a suitable substrate - for example, clean and abraded gel-coat or epoxy. Full details for application can be found on our website but as a “rule of thumb” if the weather is suitable for general painting (i.e. dry and warm), you can usually apply Coppercoat.
With regards to higher temperatures causing problems with curing, we currently have distributors in 16 countries around the world, not including the customers we supply directly. The ambient temperature in some of these areas (e.g. Dubai, Kuwait, Turkey, Australia, etc) is considerably hotter than here in the UK. This causes no problem to the application.
When using Coppercoat the copper must be kept in suspension. This is normally achieved by simply stirring the mix, as and when you go to top up your roller tray. We do not recommend mechanical mixing, as whisking the product with a drill is not beneficial. A bucket and stick is the only equipment required to mix the product correctly.
Finally please note that this advice is for the benefit of Coppercoat users. Since launching this product (and indeed inventing the genre of long-life copper-epoxy based anti-fouls) back in 1991 (when Coppercoat was known as Copperbot) several “similar” products have been available. Consequently although statistically unlikely, it is possible that some forum readers will have systems such as Copperclad, Copperbot 2000, CopperGuard, Cupro-FF, Cop-R-bot, Cu-17, Halcyon 5000 or Royal Copper. While some of the advice contained here may be applicable to owners of boats with these discontinued systems, we can not be held responsible for these products or their performance.
I hope that this general information proves useful.
I will sign off by stating that it is not our intention to be a regular contributor to this forum. For those of you with questions about the application, use and maintenance of Coppercoat please contact us directly for the most technically accurate and knowledgeable advice. Having supplied this coating to over 30,000 around the World boats over the last 15 years we should know the answer to your question!
Copper
