Second treatment with Velox

Poey50

Poey50

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The photo shows my Gori prop after pressure washing at the end of the first season when I used Velox (primer and topcoat). As you can see I've lost a fair amount from the blades and some from the boss.

Should I remove it all and start again or just redo the blades and topcoat the boss or something else? (But please don't tell me not to use the Velox - I've ready plenty about the alternatives.)

Velox end year one.jpeg
 
I've just re-done my prop, it was removed to replace the cutlass bearing so I took the opportunity to strip the Velox and start again. Just finished the second coat this afternoon. I must be honest and say I've not been very impressed with the Velox, lots of barnacles when hauled out in the autumn. Lets see how it performs this year, I might add a 3rd coat.
 
Velox is not a silver bullet - we find its better than most alternatives. PropSpeed can be as good but needs to be professionally applied (because they do not sell retail), its a suspected carcinogen and being soft the coating is susceptible to damage. To remove PropSpeed you now need to use a proprietary acid stripper and once removed you need to regrind and further acid wash to ensure you have a silicone free surface. You can grind off the PropSpeed - but they you are spraying a potential carcinogen over everyone else - and here they get a bit picky!

We find if we do not use the engines growth soon starts, even on Velox. The secret is - use your engine every week!, or dive and wipe down before hard growth starts. Once you have hard growth when you remove the shell you damage the surface and you are on the slippery slope to more growth.

We are now getting 2 years from our AF but to get 2 years from our Velox we need to ensure the props are clean, so beach (its a cat) every 6/8 months. We have just recoated at 1 years - a quick refresh. We will strip back to bare metal at 2 years.

We keep our cat in the water 365 and water temperatures through the summer are around 24 degrees, ideal for growth.

Realise - some of the experiences on this forum are for boats that might only be used for 6 months of the year - and sit on the hard the rest of the time. So for some a season is 6 months, for others a season is 12 months.

Vyv has been trialling electro coated copper on one of his props. There is a strong suggestion that if you suitably isolate the prop, a good sealed coat, you can successfully coat with a copper based paint (even for props on sail drives). I think you might be able to treat the sail drives the same way - think Coppercoat - it would be worth ringing them, AMC, for advise.

We will be due to slip and re-apply AF at the end of this year, our 2 years of AF life. We will strip back the props and saildrive (we have Velox on both) and I will be checking up on use of CC, instead of Velox. So based on what I hear I find it a serious option - but I may change my mind! I know the gurus will tell you CC and aluminium (the saildrive leg) do not mix but I know of one alloy yacht out of the UK that has been copper coated without issues - and was in Thailand last time I heard.

Jonathan
 
Follow the instructions:

On top of VELOX PLUS from previous season, another two coats of VELOX PLUS can be applied
directly as explained above in points 2.2 and 2.3, after cleaning and lightly sanding the surface with fine
sandpaper or abrasive pad (like Scotch Brite). We suggest removing all the antifouling paint in any case at
least every three years.
Click to expand...

If your primer is still okay, do that. On our prop, some primer touching up was needed first.
 
Each year since we originally applied Velox over Hammerite we have abraded back the Velox, leaving the primer in place, and applied two new coats of Velox. This has proved very effective. I agree with Jonathan, using the prop as often as possible discourages growth. In 2016 our boat was stationary throughout August in Leros Marina, the resulting growth being the worst in our five year experience. However, it is considerably better than it was in previous years when we had not undergone the long stationary period. Two photos from 2016 attached.

 
Thanks all. As the Velox has taken the primer with it (especially on the blades) I think I'm going to have to abrade it all back and start again.
 
Velox Plus is now available on the East Coast of Australia again. Marlin's metal primer has been recently improved for increased adhesion. Great outcome, great solution, especially with the warmer water in Sydney's harbour.
 
Iv'e used Velox with Hammerite Special metals primer and it worked well on our prop. No loss of primer, and only a few minor spots of Velox missing after one year. Antifouling performance was excellent, and much better than when I used to polish the prop.

The Hammerite I used was water based (great for cleaning brushes), whereas it used be VOC. However, it seemed to work ok.
 
you are better off using Velox Plus with the manufacturer's Metal Primer. Marlin's metal primer has been recently improved for increased adhesion. Scratch my head as to why you would use something else.
 
rollorollo said:
you are better off using Velox Plus with the manufacturer's Metal Primer. Marlin's metal primer has been recently improved for increased adhesion. Scratch my head as to why you would use something else.
Click to expand...
That may be the case now but previously it performed very poorly.

Why use something else? Hammerite is far cheaper, performs superbly on a wide variety of substrates has excellent adhesion and is available everywhere. See post #7. Why take a chance?
 
Fair point Vyv but this is against the manufacturers recommendations. I haven't heard of any issues locally (Fremantle) with Marlin's metal primer, and I have personally seen excellent results with the Marlin's "metal" primer on timber and fibreglass too. Indeed, why take a chance! But yeah if you are happy with another primer then knock yourself out, as they say 👌... Velox Plus is the star ⭐ of the show anyway ⛽ 👍
 
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