treating running gear

[erice]

i remember seeing a thread regarding "painting" running gear with prop speed or something like it. can you direct me to this thread or share any experiences with products used?

[Bidgood]

For what its worth...We use Interlux Micron 66 bottom paint. The same stuff that works so well on the bottom in the warm waters of the gulf. The problem we have seen with this, and other products, is that they simply wear off over time. While the bottom will be barnicle free after a year with the Micron 66, the prop and running gear need to be brushed off beginning at about 8 months or sooner if you are churning a lot of sand.

Tom L.

[zinbaad]

Last year I completely stripped both rudders, shafts, props, trim tabsthru hull fittings down to bare metal then followed the Propspeed instructions to a tee. I had purchased the large kit which was enough to do all metals.. After complete, Propspeed leaves a soft, silicon like feel which you can dig your nail into.
Results
Looked beautiful & shiney when finished but
Props remained barnicle free, some dig spots which would have needed to regrind & reapply
shafts had some barnicles which had to be scraped
rudders seemed to get coated with small barnicles later in the season
trim tabs needed to repeatedlyu be scraped to remove excess barnicles
Thru hole bronze accumulated some barnicles
For the extensive hours of labor involved an the high cost ($400+) for the kit is was just not worth it
This season I chose to follow the Interlux 2 part expoxy system & apply the Micron bottom painmt on topp of that
Results
Zero barnicles on rudders
minmimal barnicles on trim tabs
I did not expoxy props, left old propspeed coatings as is which worked out excvfept for barnicle buildup at base of props,, will strip and apply expoxy only on base next season
thru hulls remained fairly barnicle free excepty in holes which were not coated
Shafts coated with propspeed previous season were coated with barnicles whichj required several scrappings to remove
BUY the 2 part expoxy and coat with your copper based bottom paint ( same prep time to sand and btring to metal) less than 1/4 the price and will last few seasons
Just my experience my friend

[Cape Codder]

Did the same with competitive Pettit brand on ALL underwater metals (not prop or shaft)
Stripped to bare. applied only ONE coat of 2-part epoxy.
Two coats of Tiecoat rubber paint (Pettit)
Two coats of Pettit Vivid.

Result: NO, and I mean NO, barnicles or anything else.

[ScubaPete]

What waters you guys keep your boats in? Please post where, along with some general information about how long you keep your boat in the water each season, how often you run it, etc. That will help even the playing field when trying to compare one system to another. A boat kept in colder waters for only a six month season may have a completely different result than another boat further south that stays in the brink year round.

[Cape Codder]

Santosha is in the water Mid-May thru October.
The water gets VERY warm at my mooring as it is shallow, averaging 4-5 ft deep. High 70's all summer. Even approaching 80 degrees late July-early August. The boat is used on weekends, nearly every weekend.