Trilux: how hard can it be?

[Kelpie]

After years of dithering I'm finally going to add a boot top, and Trilux seems to be the pick of the bunch if you want something that actually resists fouling.
One of the reasons I want to do this is because my dinghy is slowly turning blue as my precious Cruiser Uno rubs off on it every time I'm alongside the boat.
I know that Trilux will still erode to some extent- in fact International have told me by email that I can't really put masking tape onto it. But is it hard enough to not deposit itself on my dinghy?
As to the masking problem, I guess I'll just have the boot top extend to below the waterline and then paint the colour change freehand, where it'll be mostly fish that can see it...

 

[JumbleDuck]

I know that Trilux will still erode to some extent- in fact International have told me by email that I can't really put masking tape onto it. But is it hard enough to not deposit itself on my dinghy?
As to the masking problem, I guess I'll just have the boot top extend to below the waterline and then paint the colour change freehand, where it'll be mostly fish that can see it...

My Hunter 490 has red Trilux on her bottom and a white Trilux boot topping. Masking tape worked absolutely fine, and even after a longish period afloat I have seen no sign of it softening ... the rollers on her trailer are still black rubber.

 

[savageseadog]

My Hunter 490 has red Trilux on her bottom and a white Trilux boot topping. Masking tape worked absolutely fine, and even after a longish period afloat I have seen no sign of it softening ... the rollers on her trailer are still black rubber.

We've been Trilux users for some time. The masking tape issue that was raised was probably about masking tape being stuck onto a Trilux finish which could be an issue. Normal use of masking tape is fine. We scrub every now and again which refreshes the surface. Don't powerwash it. There's no magic bullet though for fouling.

 

[JumbleDuck]

We've been Trilux users for some time. The masking tape issue that was raised was probably about masking tape being stuck onto a Trilux finish which could be an issue.

I was repainting the underwater bits after Gelshielding them. First I stuck 1" masking tape onto the Gelshield with the top edge along the indented waterline, and put on the red stuff. Then a day or two later I put another strip of masking tape above the waterline (onto the topsides) and another onto the top 1" of the red bit and filled in between them with white Trilux. Normal white masking tape, removed from the Trilux immediately with no problem.

I don't know if it does much good, and I don't really care. She's in fresh water, and never gets more than a hint of slime. I used Trilux because I couldn't find any other paint which was OK for continuous immersion, except some Jotun stuff available in a minimum quantity of 25 litres, and I had half a big tin of Trilux red lying around.

 

[SiteSurfer]

I did my boot top with Trilux earlier this year, I can confirm that being heavy handed with masking tape does cause an issue..
Other than that - it was dead easy.

 

[LittleSister]

I used to have a line of Trilux, a few inches wide, along and just above the waterline. Did the trick, and had no problems with masking tape (but that didn't go on top of the Trilux, just along its edge).

Cleaned surface of old eroding antifouling below waterline with stiff brush and water; line of masking tape above the 'Trilux' line straight onto the GRP; by the time that's done the old below waterline eroding antifouling is dry enough, so applied masking tape on that to make the lower edge for the Trilux; painted the line; removed all the masking tape, starting where I started painting (i.e. giving the wettest bit of Trilux a few minutes to dry a little, but NOT completely, before removing tape). Et voila.

ps. (1) Never noticed it being at all soft, or eroding.
(2) You'll need some prep & primer if you're putting on top of old eroding antifoul.

 

[Kelpie]

Thanks all.
I antifoul between tides using Cruiser Uno, so have limited time for prep and painting. However the boat will look so much better with a boot top, worth the extra work I think, and not rubbing off on the dinghy will be another incentive.
I'm going to go for a full hull repaint soon (eek) so it seems like a good time to make the change. I guess the most sensible order of work will be to paint the topsides first, then the boot top, then the antifoul- that way I'm not trying to stick any masking tape onto the soft antifoul.