XM Anti-fouling - not quite what it says on the tin...

I think salinity, amount of mud in the water etc are many variables that contribute to colour.

I think most of us keep trying different makes till we find one that suits our needs best.

I notice that some of the cheaper antifouls only contain copper but no biocides. Worth checking on the tin.
 
We used XM antifouling last season. It was the strangest stuff to apply, very poor coverage and what went on looked mostly coppery, hardly any pigment at all, despite serious stirring. After two coats it looked very patchy and a long way from blue. After launching it did achieve a blue colour, although as the OP notes, much paler than we were expecting. The good news is that it worked no worse, nor better, than most others we have tried. There was quite a bit of the Mediterranean shell on the hull, needing a quick dry sand at the beginning of this season, but nothing to complain over-much about. This year we went back to Flag, again no better nor worse than others and much cheaper. It was also very patchy after two coats but seems to be the same colout throughout now. Two months in the water now, no fouling at all so far. Water temperature is now up to 22C.
 
charles_reed said:
I have yet to come across an antifouling which doesn't change colour after immersion - red is the worst.

I think you're being totally unreasonable and unfair to XM Yachting.
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I agree. Its not just XM, all makes change colour quite rapidly in use.

But I think OP and Bob26 have a point. At the price we have to pay for the stuff, should we just accept that 'rather fetching' shade we selected will only last a few days or weeks, before turning to something much less acceptable? Even if we can rarely see it.

OK the stuff is not there to be cosmetic. Or is it? But any other paint that performed so badly as to fade within weeks of application would be unmarketable, and would quickly be reported to Trading Standards, etc. Its a good point they are making, why DO we accept a paint that fades so quickly? If colour did not matter then why have a choice of colours in the first place. Just because it is in a tough environment why do we accept the compromise that the nice fresh colour we paid for will rapidly fade to something shabby. We mosty certainly would not accept such poor performance on our houses, cars etc.

But then that would probably double the already exorbitant price.

Janda comments on the poor performance of some A/F's. Find out what other people are using locally. Different types of AF are needed depending on where you are. For example, when I moored at Dell Quay, Blakes Cruiser kept the boat adequately clean throughout the season. Still In Chichester harbour, but at Prinsted it is a complete waste of time - the local sealife loves the stuff, and seems attracted by it! Same with International Boot topping: Used it succesfully for years in Cardigan Bay, but acts lke fertiliser down here in Chichester, and will grow long grass while the rest of the hull is still spotless! A walk round at haul out time and a chat with owners about what they used is very informative, and will save much hard work.
 
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Find yourself a small tidal creek with a decent fresh water supply (like a river) - Dumbarton may well do, although the loss of Ballantine's has seriously reduced its attractiveness. Then the Barney Kulls will struggle to grow as the water is too brackish for them.

I have found a suitable spot in Caernarfon & only a/f alternate seasons.

Yes, a/f colour changes - it always has, hence the lack of sympathy. I suspect it is a sign that it is working and the sea water is gently erroding it. If colour happens to be important to you, just pick a colour you like from all the boats around you & ask the captain what it is.
 
Find out what other people are using locally. Different types of AF are needed depending on where you are.
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Unfortunately, conditions change year to year, so something that works fine one year may be useless the following season. Rainfall and hours of sunshine are the major contributory factors, along with the amount of use your boat actually gets.

I agree that XM cruiser goes from Navy to Airforce blue in a couple of weeks, but at £100 for 3 x 3 litre cans, I'm not complaining... (no, my boat isn't that big, I just bought 3 years supply in one go!) :)
 
The stuff I use is some ex Navy, long past its use by date, copper rich mix. It goes on red, and after a few weeks it turns green. Who cares? It works well, and is very cheap.:)
 
My Jotun hard antifoul went on a nice shiny maroon colour, but turned dull pink as soon as it hit the water.

So what? It's not there for cosmetic reasons. I didn't carefully choose that nice maroon shade, I chose "red" over "blue", and it's definitely still red.

I'm on a drying berth and am often there when it's dry (still a lot of post-purchase work to do) so I probably see the bottom more than most. I also have a "character" boat for which aesthetics is important. I still don't care that the antifoul changed colour.

Pete
 
Dougie_the_Mate said:
At the beginning of May I anti-fouled our modest Centaur with XM CX2000 anti fouling - two coats as advised in the instructions.

I can accept that it may do the job for which it was designed and keep wee beasties from her bottom, but it looked so good before the launch that I can only express some disappointment at the outcome - both from the product and from XM in terms of after sales service.
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Yup, navy blue on immersion and airforce blue after a couple of days. I got used it it. The stuff still works despite the change of military allegiances....

PWG
 
Erm, which 'shade' of 'Navy Blue' were you expecting? :cool::rolleyes::cool:

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I used Seago Dark Blue and mine too has turned a Airforce Blue ! Not a major issue as I used to use white but found that turned scum colour very quickly on my drying mooring as the sewage works cleared out.

I think the main thing here is, does it keep your bottom clean !!
 
CG 66

I filled one in t'other day----it asks for "colour below waterline". Given that they expect my boat to be upside down with the bottom exposed to the air :eek:, should I have confidently stated "blue" or "blue when I last looked"?:confused:
 
I used to actually like the coppery green colour the 1980s red "Coppercoat" usd to turn and was disappointed when more modern a/f stayed a boring red or pink!
 
The colour change is caused by the chemical rection of the copper in the antifouling reacting with the sea water, forming some sort of copper chloride, chlorate sort of compound which will probably be green (ish). A less lapsed chemist than me would probably be more accurate here.
Mix that green colour with the blue pigment and you will certainly get a different shade of blue.
When I last used International Optima in Dover White (grey) it turned a pale green, even before the weed grew. I was then told by International that white is the weakest antifouling as they cannot put as much copper in and keep the white colour.
So in a nutshell, if you want your antifouling to stay the original colour, use one without any copper in it. You will then complain that it doesn't work as antifouling.
The best colour for antifouling is green, but as everybody knows a green boat is unlucky.
 
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