Hi guys, I have 2 gallons of anti fouling copper ablative paint by Pettit. I’m painting a glass over wood barge type hull that’s 8x22 + the sides and transom. I suppose I could use one gallon and then the other but I’d like to mix them but they are not the same. What say y’all?
You need to call Pettit tech support line to get the correct answer.
Yea, that was my first move and they said my paint is so old it’s discontinued. That I should dispose of it and buy some new.
I responded that I know top coat last forever in the can and just wanted to know about mixing, but. No more response.
I have an undergrad was in Chemistry. Based upon the fact that one is a polymer paint and the other is not, I would not mix them.
Thx Mark, I’ll be taking your advice unless I find out something else. Jim
I too have an undergrad degree in chemistry but disagree. Both contain solvents so neither are water based. Mix a small sample of equal amounts of both and see if they dry hard
I thought of doing this, I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thx jim
David’s analysis in incomplete. I agree that since both paints use petroleum distillate as a solvent that they will mix without the “oil/water” mixing problem. My concern is the chemistry that happens as the solvents evaporate and the paint cures. ACP-50 is a polymer paint, so as it cures the smaller molecules (monomers) link together to form longer polymer chains that hold the copper in place. When you mix in the other paint that uses a different (unknown) chemistry to form the binder, it is probable that it will interfere in the polymer formation resulting in a softer paint. Worse case it will not harden at all. The idea of a test batch does not really tell you anything unless you have a way to measure the hardness after it cures. It may “feel” hard only to turn into a gooey hazmat mess after a few hours/days/weeks/months in the water (saltwater?). I kept a sailboat in the water year-round for about 15 years, and I always went with the best bottom paint that I could buy because cost of the paint was a small percentage of the cost of the project. If you are determined to use these old paints, a much lower risk approach would be to not mix the paints. Apply the first coats with one of the paints, then after it fully cures apply the second. Make sure that you follow the label instructions on the can for over-coating. The ACP-50 is likely the better paint, so I’d apply that first. It is possible that the paints may not be compatible even as overcoat, so it will still be somewhat of a science experiment. Your boat, your choice good luck.
The ACP 50 spun up quickly and laid down nice on plywood. The pro coat, however, was another story. It took me about a half hour of digging and spinning it up, but it finally whipped up nice and man it went on smooth. The pro coat definitely seems a better quality of the two. Then I mixed a little cup and put a sample of both, everything dried quickly, but what I have left in the cup I thought I’d let it get hard and see what it does underwater. It’s quite a conundrum. I haven’t made my mind up yet, but I’m a few weeks away from needing it, thanks for you guys responses,
jim
Both paints are solvent based and ablative and have similar amounts of cuprous oxide. I still don’t think that one is a polymer paint really matters though mixing may very well lose some of the self-polishing features of the ACP-50.