"Indestructible Coating?"

[mausgras]

Anyone familiar with this stuff? Is it being used as a hull coating?
Looks like it has potential.

https://youtu.be/DWkYRh6OXy8

[sailormed]

Very interesting, from what I can find out the most interesting usage for marine use is as a PERMANENT antifouling surface. Anybody has more information?

[Franziska]

Interesting stuff.

Still, a lot of questions to be asked too.

How does it stick to the material it's applied to if the edge of the coating is exposed to the elements.
How well does it keep adhering when thousands of load cycles are applied.

UV Resistance? If not, it be over coated or painted?

Long term submersion resistance?
Resistance to water passing through that coating into substrates underneath?
Boil test?



In the case of the watermelon the content can not exit and as long as the coating is very strong in tension (which it seems to be!) pressure rises but get deflected also sideways.

Anyway interesting stuff.

One more thing, the guy getting the demo has a pretty relaxed attitude towards the fumes and touching the not fully cured stuff.

The drum clearly states Isocyanate on it. Nasty unhealthy stuff before it has fully cured.

His demonstrator should at least have him made to wear gloves.

Franziska

www.ladyrover.com

[a64pilot]

It's just bed liner, and yes many commercial boats will spray it on their deck where the net sits etc. however Line-X is hard and slippery when wet whereas Rhino Liner is more rubbery and less shiny and slick, but it's been used for years on Jeeps and what not that take a beating.
Years ago I had the tail wheel spring on an agricultural airplane sprayed with it as when they apply dry fertilizer the spring is essentially sand blasted, unfortunately the bed liner didn't last all that long, the fertilizer ate it off in short order.

[mausgras]

I was thinking more as a hull coating, perhaps under a conventional coloured gel coat as added protection from collision or penetration by submerged objects.
That axe attack didn't seem to have any impact.

[Our Tyme]

Had this stuff in the bed of my 2500 RAM work truck. Held up for 10 years of pumps, hoses and you name it tossed on it. Only chip was from a forklift blade. Great abrasion resistance but not smooth at all. If it could be put on to provide a smooth surface you may have an idea. Agree it needs to be tested underwater for extended period of time if not done already by mpg.

Ken

[UNCIVILIZED]

It is interesting, & probably worth looking into. For nonskid at least. Though it needs to pass most of the tests that are along the lines of ones that Franziska mentioned, & perhaps a few more. Also, how does one get it off? Both in terms of if you need to do work on a deck coated with it, or in order to repaint or recoat later on? And how long are the fumes from it toxic/does it outgas for a while in the hot sun?

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

It is interesting, & probably worth looking into. For nonskid at least. Though it needs to pass most of the tests that are along the lines of ones that Franziska mentioned, & perhaps a few more. Also, how does one get it off? Both in terms of if you need to do work on a deck coated with it, or in order to repaint or recoat later on? And how long are the fumes from it toxic/does it outgas for a while in the hot sun?

I think if it meets those tests, might be a good new hull mold sprayed on material in place of gelcoat. Since it is so resilent, it'll make GRP hulls more breach resistant and you can sand as much as you want to remove old antifoul.

[Franziska]

Question, could it be colored in?
The properties shown would perhaps make a less yacht like surface finish acceptable to serious cruisers.

Problem it can only be applied with an airless high pressure gun. Costly equipment and can only be applied by pro's equipment accordingly.

Still the health and safety issue perhaps stipulates that anyway.

www.ladyrover.com

[Zach]

We had a wise guy, decide to use truck bed liner inside a coolant tower at a factory I worked with. Instead of painting it with another round of zinc chromate.

Didn't find out that truck bed liner isn't set up for constant water immersion until it flaked off and did 10k of damage to the filter and pump system.

Something else to think about, is that if something is so indestructible that you can't grind it off easily, you can't fix it for a reasonable cost...

Ended up having to install a new-used-replacement coolant tower, because while it would flake off from water immersion, it wouldn't sand off reasonably and that meant it was cheaper to replace rather than re... paint.

Zach

[valhalla360]

For non-skid, it's probably viable (the rubbery type). The occasional rain or wave over the bow should compare well to a pickup bed sitting out in the weather and getting blasted by rain doing 70mph down the freeway.


Permanently submerged is going to need a lot of testing before I would consider it. The stuff does not come off easy but I could see large patches failing and the remaining parts solidly adhered.

[mausgras]

Thanks for the comments I've sent an email to line-x with these questions and a few others but no reply as yet.
I'll post the answers when they come in.
Thanks everyone.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

I think if it meets those tests, might be a good new hull mold sprayed on material in place of gelcoat. Since it is so resilent, it'll make GRP hulls more breach resistant and you can sand as much as you want to remove old antifoul.

Can't spray it into a mold, as it bonds on when hot & in liquid form. So by the time you had a mold fully coated with it, most of it would be 90% cured, & it wouldn't adhere to the hull. You might be able to spray it onto a hull's exterior after the boat's built, like with LPU. Though getting a smooth finish from it would be "fun", since it's rubber (essentially).

Also, it's too soft to be used as a finish on hulls. And, structurally it wouldn't add anything to them, as in simplest terms, by the time the coating was stretched enough to come into play, the glass would long since have shattered. As GRP only stretches a few percent before suffering huge strength losses, or full on breakage. Look up the numbers. The stuff's actually fairly brittle, when pushed.
And the above is assuming that you could actually use it as a hull coating to begin with, which, there are huge issues with that as well.

Used on a hull could also present other issues. You'd need to reformulate antifouling paints to work with it. And there would be the issue of developing new hull repair proceedures. Plus heaps of other things. Lots of new chemistry, & tech skills would have to be developed for boat maint. From birth to death, & every conceviable issue in between.

Plus, & this is big. You'd need to be able to make it as pretty as an Awlgrip finish, & keep that look for a decade plus. Along with overcoming stupid levels of resistance to change at all levels of the yachting industry, market, & with buyers. So it'd be a multi-decade fight at a minimum.
Oh, & let's not forget the environmental guys, along every step of the way. Scrutinizing every bit of all of the above, & more

[mausgras]

You have raised many important questions which I will seek an answer to, but "resistance to change at all levels" Hmmmm!!!! not sure I can agree with that.
I've always considered the Yachting industry to be most receptive to innovation and technology, especially new materials and designs.
You only have to look at the huge range of new materials and mechanical devices in yachts compared to just a few years ago. Boating is a true incubator for disruptive design. Just look at the latest Americas Cup boats.