Pettit Black Widow Racing Antifouling Paint

Applied 3 coats Total Boat hIgh-build epoxy barrier primer, then two coats Pettit Black Widow in dark blue. Messy job, yet, well worth the effort. I couldn't be happier with the results. I found that ambient temperature and humidity changes will have a big effect on dry times and how to much thinning is necessary. Overall, the finish is extremely smooth/slick and is unbelievably hard. I won't ever use another bottom paint. I'm impressed!

I use Black Widow as bottom paint on our J/122 saltwater racer/cruiser. Our racing season on the TX Gulf coast ended in November, and due to COVID-19, we haven't sailed or done maintenance on the boat (which is about 250 miles from our home in North Texas) since then. Because I had been so lax on the maintenance, I had a diver clean the bottom in mid April (that's a full 5 months). I was scared that the bottom was going to look like a jungle. Diver report came back as very light growth with basically no barnacles. I am hugely impressed with the antifouling properties of this product. Miles better than VC Offshore. I can't tell you which bottom is faster, but they both look quite good and feel very smooth once burnished out.

I bought a 28 ft boat that was lift kept with no bottom paint. I boat in the Chesapeake Bay and I don't have a lift so it stays in all season. I've owned other boats without bottom paints and tried other non paint products, none seem to work. I didn't want to paint the bottom but being that I keep it in all season and the water is conducive to a lot of marine growth I decided I had to do something different. I read up on the Black Widow and saw the video and decided to give it a try. I prepared the bottom of the boat with Pettit's Sandless Primer which went on very well. Using a 1/8th roller I applied the first coat let it sit for the prescribed time then added a second coat. I did not barnish between coats and it used just over 1/2 gallon. I put my boat in the water in April and you can feel how slippery the paint was with your hand. During the summer letting it sit for a week or two some scum would adhere to the bottom but after a little run that scum came off and was slippery again. At the end of the season which is November I pulled the boat and was amazed that there was no growth on the painted surfaces just a slight scum from sitting for a month before it was pulled. After a quick power wash to remove the scum I could see that the ablative properties were working because I could see thin spots in the paint, no barnacles though. The second year I used a Scotch Brite and water and went over the existing paint very easily, I just wanted to remove the winters dirt. I applied 2 more coats and again the same results as the previous year. Great product.

I've just gotten done with a complete bottom job on my 1994 J80 (hull #90). This included an extensive blister repair, barrier coat, and then Black Widow. First, I would say this paint has a tremendous amount of solids in it. When you open the can, expect to see a big black glob. You need to stir this with a heavy duty, metal stirring rod on a drill. I broke two plastic stirrers that did just fine mixing up pretty heavy Interlux Interprotect HS. I had a gallon of the BW, poured off a bit, and then mixed it for 20 minutes straight. When you think you've mixed it enough - you're about half way there. I put some on from the first mix, and it was not a smooth application. However, after mixing it for 20 minutes and then thinning it with Pettit 120 (10%), it went on smooth and even. I used the foam cabinet rollers to apply and 4 coats went on great. Took just over a gallon to do the bottom and rudder. After letting it completely dry for 48 hours, we started sanding. I'm sure I could have put in the water at that point and it would have been much better than the 25 year old bottom that was on before. But we started sanding with 400 grit dry, then moved to 600 wet, followed by 1000 wet. Critical spots (rudder, keel, and the first 3-4 feet) got extra hand treatment of 1200, 1500, 2000. I tried burnishing with rubbing compound as the video shows, but this just made a mess. I used 3M rubbing compound (no wax) but it ended up with a waxy finish, so that got sanded off. I haven't gotten back in the water yet but looking forward to some speed improvement, especially in light summer breeze.

Over-coats over old paint - no stripping, just sand with 80, paint a few coats, burnish and you're ready to go. Half gallon (two quarts) gave us to coats on our 22 foot mini-tonner. This was so easy versus applying VC-17