Sexy Bilge! From Gray and Gross to White and Wicked
Why did we do it?
A wise and veteran sailor who completed an eight-year circumnavigation aboard his Caliber 40 sailboat once told us “Never buy a boat that needs its fuel and/or water tanks replaced.” Well, we didn’t follow that advice (and to be fair, at the time of purchasing our boat we didn’t know the tanks needed to be replaced). We were told the wrong information at the time of purchase, that the tanks were fine, it was an old Dickinson diesel heater that leaked the fuel into the bilge.
WRONG. It was the tanks. And to that end, we did replace our fuel and water tanks. And in that process, we exposed the bulk of the bilge, including the turn of the hull.
This was a painful (and expensive) discovery. However, with hardship comes opportunity. And so in continuing the pursuit of a dry and clean bilge in our 40-year-old sailboat, we decided to remove & replace the tanks and also tackle the bilge. You may have seen our video about the DIY Dry Bilge system. And we’re continuing to battle the stanky with this post showing our process for painting the bilge a nice bright white.
First, let’s take you back to November 2020 when we had our pre-purchase inspection. These photos of our bilge remind us how far we’ve come. There was a couple of feet of water in the bilge and about an inch of diesel fuel floating on top.
Disgusting. Dirty. Smelly.
Now some photos showing how far we’ve come in our progress towards our clean & drier bilge.
A huge improvement if you ask us!
So how did we get there?
Well, it started with deciding to replace the tanks. Removing all the tanks meant we had a one-time opportunity to access areas previously unreachable (and therefore unpaintable).
And then once a decision was made, we began researching. There are various posts across the sea of information discussing this topic over the years. So let’s sum up the top three options we considered:
Option 1: Clean it and leave it
Clearly, a flooded & dirty bilge with an inch of diesel on top can’t be left as-is. One of the requirements prior to us taking ownership of the boat was the seller had to have the bilge pumped out and the diesel removed. He did that for us, and we were thankful. But it wasn’t CLEAN clean. It still had a slick of oily diesel along the stringers and turn off the hull. And of course, an oily surface comes with the diesel smell.
So what could we do about that?
We needed to clean it. We considered just getting in there and scrubbing with soap and water and hosing things down. But that would have left us with years of stains that soap couldn’t remove and the original drabby gray paint.
This option might have been fine if we didn’t need to completely replace the diesel AND water tanks. But because we have all the tanks removed, we also had glorious access to places that may never see daylight ever again! So why just clean something when we could improve it? We eliminated Option 1.
So that brings us to choosing between Options 2 and 3.
Option 2: Clean it and paint it
The key to a good paint job is preparation. We can’t just paint over what was down there. We had to clean the bilge no matter what option we chose. But cleaning was especially important when prepping for paint.
But the thing is, in our research, we saw horror stories about how bilge paint may fail, flake off, and clog bilge pumps with chunks of paint (and eventually flakes of paint can make their way overboard into the water!).
A bilge can be a nasty area that is usually (or constantly) damp/wet. It can be a harsh environment that encounters sea water, fresh water, shower water, brown water, black water, cleaning solvents, bumps/scrapes, dropped tools/parts, etc. So the coating must be durable enough to withstand whatever is thrown at it (or dropped into it!).
We eliminated a simple paint for this reason. This is a one-time opportunity to do this right. Because eventually, we’re putting new tanks back in! And knowing that with paint there is a risk of failure, we didn’t want to take the chance of having to paint again.
Option 3: Clean it and paint it with a two-part epoxy “paint”
This is the option we chose to apply to our bilge. Again, we had to clean the bilge no matter what option we chose. Knowing the risk of a regular paint flaking off wasn’t something we wanted to deal with, we decided to go with a two-part epoxy “paint.”
We are using the word “paint” in quotes because the product we used is like paint in that it can be rolled or brushed on. But in reality, it’s more like a thickened & whitened two-part epoxy that hardens into a robust and durable shell.
The product we purchased and used is Water Gard 300 (link) from Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. They did not sponsor our use of the product nor do they know we are writing this blog post. We researched the product and purchased it with our own money. We are writing this blog post because we’re impressed with the product and want to share our experience.
We chose Water Gard 300 in the color white. And the results have been outstanding. The resulting coating is a smooth & shiny white hard shell that has been an incredible transformation for us. Here are some links for further reading & research about this product and its benefits:
Water Gard 300:
https://epoxyproducts.com/mar4_wg.html
Bilge Paint example:
https://epoxyproducts.com/bilge_paint.html
Benefits of Adduct Epoxy:
https://vanguardconcretecoating.com/types-of-epoxy-resins.php
https://epoxyproducts.com/chemistry.html
So far we’ve been thrilled with Option 3. But it does have its challenges.
How did we do it?
We chose to use Water Gard 300 (link) from Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. This part of the post is also not sponsored, nor does the company know we are writing this post.
We simply want to share that this product is working for us. And while we’ve had great results, it’s a bit tricky to mix and apply. So we wanted to share our steps and tips & tricks to how we got the good good results of a sparkly white bilge.
First, the bulk of our bilges we painted with the three-gallon kit (link). And if it weren’t for our waste in mixing (more on that below), the three-gallon kit likely would have been sufficient for our 1984 Sceptre Yachts 40-foot sailboat. We ended up needing to purchase an additional three-quart kit (link) to finish the job.
Now let’s get into the tips & tricks and advice if we were to do this again.
Recommendation #1: Research
Don’t take our advice only. Do your research. Make sure this is the product you want to use for your application. There are many different solutions out there and your specific use case may be solved by a different product or approach.
Recommendation #2: Plan
Do your best to calculate how much product you’ll need for your space. This stuff is expensive and doesn’t come with free shipping. The unmixed product also has a shelf-life. So too much product and you have something you may not be able to use, or it may expire. Too little product you’re paying for shipping again to get more.
Also, the preparation for applying the product takes a LOT of time (more on that below). So if you have to prep more than once because you ran out of product, it’s a waste of time.
Recommendation #3: Preparation, Prep, and Prepare
Let’s break this recommendation into three parts, because there are three things that need to be prepped:
Prep your boat
Prep yourself
Prep your product and tools
Recommendation #3A: Prepping the boat for the application is the key to a successful job. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), our bilge was empty because we had to remove the fuel and water tanks, as they needed to be replaced. This also meant most of the flooring, built-in cabinetry, and settee were removed. So we had great access. But your access may be more limited or different.
Our bilge had a layer of diesel oily sheen throughout (which we discussed in our previous post) so we had to make sure things were clean. Our chief engineer, Matt, is also a sadist. So he sanded most of the bilge using 80 grit and an orbital connected to a vacuum cleaner with a bag and filter.
While sanding we also noticed exposed old holes in some of the stringers and bulkheads that wouldn’t be needed. So we filled those with thickened epoxy and sanded again everything as smoothly as possible (for a bilge, it’s not perfect).
We then washed the bilges with soap and water, scrubbed them with our boat brush, and wiped everything down with soapy & wet towels.
That meant having extra water in our bilges. So before pumping overboard, we used our wet/dry vacuum to suck out anything that was floating in the water before we pumped out the water. That kept the vast bulk of what we pumped out free from debris. And then when there was just about an inch of water left in the bilge we sucked that up with the vacuum as well as that meant we could capture any debris that sunk.
Then we left the bilges to air dry. But it’s not critical to have the bilges completely dry as this stuff can be applied underwater! Another reason we chose the product we did.
After that, we wiped down with acetone everything that would receive paint.
And of course, the bilges weren’t empty. There were bilge pumps, hoses, tubing, wiring, nuts/bolts, structural pieces, wood supports, plastic supports, seacocks, etc. Some of those things we didn’t want to be painted. So for them, we taped them off with painters tape. The blue tape from Home Depot wasn’t as good as the green “frog” brand of tape. The frog tape is more expensive, but it is thicker and stronger which makes it easier to remove after it has been painted. Once the Water Gard 300 dries, it does dry into a hard and thick shell. So having a thicker/stronger tape helps as the tape doesn’t tear as much when removed.
We also tied off hoses, pipes, and wires up and out of the way so that they weren’t touching the bilge itself. We used sail ties and spare line wrap around and up to a grab handle or other hard point to lift up and out of the bilge in order to paint under it (and also taped it!).
And of course, when taping things we put our hands down on the places we had previously cleaned with acetone! So we had to wipe down with acetone again! So next time perhaps consider doing the acetone wipedown last. And have you ever watched the television show Dexter? Dexter is a serial killer and when he is going to kill he almost always lines his kill space with plastic drop cloths. We hung those all over the boat. We taped off handles/touch points such as grab bars, the corners of cabinetry, etc. Anything that we think could have gotten paint on it we covered in plastic or taped it off.
Recommendation #3B - after the boat was prepped, we prepared ourselves. To prepare yourself, know this: this stuff is MESSY. It gets everywhere. Even if you think you couldn’t possibly get this product on your skin or hair, you will.
Wear clothing you don’t care about ruining. And then on top of that wear a Tyvek/painters suit. Tape the cuffs of your suit to your wrists (it’s painful to remove, but less painful than scrubbing dried two-part epoxy from your arms).
Invest in a good quality face mask with a filter designed for chemicals/painting (not just a particulate/dust filter, get a filter cartridge that is designed for fumes. There’s a difference and your lack of headache will thank you.)
If you can, purchase a Tyvek suit that doesn’t come with built-in booties. Purchase the booties separately and swap them out as you need. Because once you step on the paint (you will) your feet become stamps for the paint, and once it starts to dry you’ll step down and pull up your foot and your suit boot will rip apart leaving suit fibers in your paint. So if you step in the paint (again, you will) you can swap out for a fresh set of booties while keeping the same suit.
Purchase a bulk quantity of quality disposable gloves (not the cheap vinyl kind). You’ll end up swapping gloves multiple times in a session.
While following the material application details, try to apply the paint at as cool of a temperature as possible. It gets HOT inside a full Tyvek suit and respirator. And you’ll be doing plenty of boat yoga inside the suit as you apply the paint to hard-to-reach areas.
And we can’t stress this enough….protect yourself with proper PPE. This stuff isn’t your run-of-the-mill water-based paint that easily washes off. This is a professional-grade product that will stick to your skin nearly as well as it’ll stick to a properly prepared surface.
And the off-gassing is significant. Wear your mask with a proper filter. And avoid being inside the boat for at least 12 or more hours while it dries. The last thing you want to do is be sleeping aboard the same day as when you applied this stuff (or we suppose if you do need to stay aboard, wear your mask?!).
Recommendation #3C - prepping your materials and tools is next. This is where we learned the most lessons. We had applied Water Gard to our bilges across three different sessions, sometimes days/months apart. And each time we got better.
We strongly recommend thinking of your tools in two categories when working with this product: tools you intend to keep and reuse later and tools you will just throw away.
An example of a tool you want to keep: is your drill. The Water Gard is THICK so mixing by hand would be painstaking. Instead, use a drill with a drill mixer attachment. And your drill will get covered in the stuff. So tape the drill completely! Use painters tape to tape up the entire drill (chuck, handle, trigger, battery, etc. everything on the drill should be taped!). Another example of something you may want to keep is the roller cage and handle. Tape them up! Stuff you will probably throw away: chip brushes, rollers, mixing sticks, mixing bucket, paint tray, measuring cups, scraping sticks, Tyvek suit, booties, drill mixing attachment.
The mixing of the two-part material is where we saw the most improvements in our technique. And as we said, this stuff isn’t cheap so the better you mix, it with the least amount of waste, the better it is for you.
So first off, start with proper mixing cups like these:
At the time of writing this article, the directions call for a 2:1 ratio. So having the graduated marks on the mixing cup helped us a lot.
Our home consumes a lot of sour cream! And we save the clean plastic containers for boat work. Originally we dipped old (clean) sour cream containers into the larger container the product comes in. Then we squeezed out the product into a mixing bucket. This was a big mistake and led to a lot of waste because the sour cream container would have the product on the outer sides that we couldn’t completely use. We also couldn’t squeeze it all out.
Instead, we refined our process to the following that worked well for the 2:1 ratio.
Get two proper mixing cups as above
Pour from the containers for parts A and B into the mixing cups, carefully to follow the proper A: B ratio.
Using tongue depressors (like these), scrape out Parts A and B from the mixing cup into a larger mixing bucket. We used these:
4. Using the drill and mixing attachment, mix! Mix for at least four to five minutes or until Parts A and B are fully mixed. Part B is brownish, while Part A is white. It’s pretty easy to see if they are not mixed properly.
5. Pour and scrape the mixed product from the bucket into a paint tray. We used these scrapers to get as much material out of the mixing bucket as we possibly could:
We liked the cheaper, but still somewhat sturdy painters tray, this one specifically: https://www.homedepot.com/p/7-in-Mini-Roller-Tray-Black-PRT700-24/309297725
This is because the product, once mixed, starts to harden (or “kick”). Because it’s a two part epoxy, the two parts when mixed together is what makes it hard and strong. So using a disposable painters tray worked well because the working time, while decent, still meant we were up against the clock. We could throw away the kicked leftovers, mix up another batch, and pour into a clean tray.
Now you are ready to apply.
Use cheap disposable brushes. Chip brushes worked fine, but the Water Gard is so thick we noticed it pulled the fibers from the brush. But those can easily be picked off the surface if that happens. And we didn’t really need a fine & smooth finish (it’s a bilge!) so chip brushes provided a fine result. And frankly, we noticed the Water Gard has a self-leveling property to it so that it lays down even in the thickest of brush marks or stipple.
Do NOT use foam brushes as the Water Gard is MUCH too thick, the brush will just rip itself apart when trying to apply it.
We used a roller for the bulk of the areas. We recommend following the guidance of using a short-knap rather than a long knap.
And whatever you do, do not use one of these exterior stain pads! We had read somewhere that someone had success with this. We did not. The Water Gard is so thick it ripped the pad apart.
We keep saying the Water Gard is thick, it is! At one point we joked that we should just pour the mixed material out and spread it around with something like this wallpaper smoothing tool:
But we weren’t brave enough to try it. Perhaps if one of you reading this tries it let us know how it works out!
Recommendation #4 - begin with the details
Start by working the details of your bilge first. We’re talking corners, around bolts, around stuff you don’t want to be painted, etc. Get into and around the details with your chip brush first then switch to rolling over the big areas with a roller.
Recommendation #5 - load up your roller
The roller acts more like a spreader of the material rather than an application tool. We found that a loaded-up roller with lots of mixed material on it worked better. And this was especially true towards the end of the pot life.
Recommendation #6 - if it starts to “kick” cut your loss and mix up another batch
Don’t fight it. When it starts to kick (or harden), apply as much material as you can as quickly as possible, but don’t fight it. Just toss it. It’s not worth the extra hard work to try and roll on a hardening product.
Recommendation #7 - use lots of gloves
Trust is when we say this stuff gets everywhere. Swap out your gloves frequently to keep things as clean as possible.
Recommendation #8 - clean up when wet
Acetone and a fresh paper towel work well to clean up and remove any spillage or accidents. But it ONLY works when the material is still drying.
Recommendation #9 - at the end, walk away
When you are done applying for the day, walk away from it all. Trust us that it’s a big job to prep and apply in one day. And you’ll be tired at the end. So when you are done applying just strip off your Tyvek suit, gloves, booties, and walk away. Leave everything to dry and try to keep the boat hatches open for ventilation while you’re gone.
Recommendation #10 - take your mask with you
When done for the day, don’t leave your ventilator mask in the boat. Wear your mask as you exit the boat & lock up the companionway (the cockpit will smell of fumes even if you didn’t paint in the cockpit!). Take your mask with you and away from the fumes because you don’t want the fumes to penetrate your mask while things are drying. Keep your mask safely away from the fumes as they dry in the boat so that your mask can be used again for other projects in the future.
In conclusion, while this material is expensive, requires a lot of tools and materials to apply, and isn’t the easiest to work with, our experience is that the result is outstanding. It’s been almost a year since we applied the first coat in our main bilge and in that time we’ve washed out the bilge multiple times, we’ve built up our water tanks supper, we’ve stepped into the bilge, we’ve dropped tools, we’ve basically treated the coating as the floor of a construction site, and it has held up exceptionally well. While we hope to never have to do this project again, we would do it following the recommendations above and using the Water Gard product.
The result speaks for itself. Look how white and sparkly it is! That’s one sexy bilge.
