#Mar pro paint series

Each panel is identified by a series of holes drilled in a simple binary code. We then apply the bottom paints, following the instructions supplied with each paint. Testers begin with brand-new polyester/fiberglass panels, wash them with a de-waxing solvent, sand them lightly with fine-grit sandpaper, and wash them again with solvent to remove any wax or mold-release agent. We’ll see how these winners hold up after six more months in the drink. But, as you’ll see in our Group A 18-month report, fortunes can change quickly. Flexdel Aquagard came out as the top water-based paint. Best Buy honors went to Pettit Premium for an ablative paint and MarPro SuperKote for a hard coating. So which paints kept the slime at bay after six months? As of December, two high-end paints, Interlux Micron Optima and Sea Hawk’s new Biocop TF, performed best overall. While the average prices went up 10 percent, prices of hard paints, which use more copper than ablative/copolymer types, have increased by 13 percent. The search for a no-copper paint is being driven in part by the rising price of copper. Meanwhile, perennial contender Sea Hawk has two new copper-free paints, Mission Bay CF and Mission Bay CSF. On the white and bright-colors front, Interlux began marketing two more paints Micron Extra and Micron CSC as “bright-colored antifoulings,” a category where Pettit has seen much success with its Vivid line. Nearly half of the Group B paints contain a slime-fighting agent. Three trends in the bottom-paint market continue to gain momentum: the use of anti-slime additives, the increasing number of paints available in bright or white colors, and finally, a hunt for an environment- (and aluminum-) friendly paint that can match the performance of copper paints. In June 2006, we sunk a Practical Sailor-record 66 paint panels.

#Mar pro paint free

Today’s anti-fouling paints may be more effective than ever at keeping the bottom of your boat free of marine growth or very close to it but the increasing number of coatings on the market hasn’t made choosing a paint any easier. For a complete picture, see the results of our most recent tests in the 2006 March and October issues. At 12 months, the two types are about even in this regard and you still get great protection from some low-priced paints. Our recent tests show that if you want Excellent-rated protection for six months, you have more ablatives to choose from, but at 18 months, more hard paints offer Good protection. Ultimately, paints of either type can offer outstanding protection, but we’ve also noted an interesting pattern.

The choice is fundamental, as the two paints are not always compatible. Ablative paints wear away over time, so you don’t get the layer-cake build-up over time that you get with a hard paint. Hard paints tend to have a smoother finish that better resists repeated scrubbing and burnishing, although there are some “hard” ablatives that scrub well. Next month, we’ll look at the results of our freshwater test after six months in Lake Erie.īefore diving into the data, you probably want to answer the age old question: “Should I use an ablative or a hard paint?”

#Mar pro paint update

First, we present an update on our Group B panels after six months’ immersion next, on the facing page, you’ll find a report on our head-to-head tests and finally, on pages 12 and 13, there’s a look at the best and worst paints from Group A after 18 months. This month, we have three reports to help make sure your money is well spent. If you haven’t bought your bottom paint yet, there still may be time to order some old stock at last year’s prices, but as of early January, when we checked prices for this article, we noticed 10- to 15- percent increases over early 2006 prices.