SLIPPERY ANTIFOULING FLAG PERFORMANCE PTFE

£64.95 FOR 2.5 Litre

If you're thinking of using a low-maintenance metallic copper antifouling, but don't want to use epoxy resin to attach it to the hull, then Flag Paints new product may be the answer. Believing that eroding antifoulings may become increasingly unacceptable in the future, the company has been developing an antifouling based on the slippery substance Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

Very fine copper powder Is suspended in a quick-drying PTFE resin, and is boosted with some additional slime biocides. Flag says that if the slime isn't stopped, it forms a platform for other organisms to attach to, effectively
cutting off the copper.

The PTFE dries in about 30 minutes and, unlike epoxy copper treatments, the whole preparation is supplied ready mixed. As with all new hard antifoulings, the hull must be thoroughly cleared of previous coatings, but the good news is that its two coats can be applied very quickly between tides. The resin can be applied by brush, roller or spray and dries hard and smooth, even in low temperatures. This makes mid-season burnishing easier. Flag Paints' own tests show that the Performance PTFE works well, They expect it to last for two years (maybe longer with extra layers) before It needs repainting.

Jake Kavanagh

• Contact: Flag Paints, Tel: 01621 785173 www.flagfinishes.co.uk

• For more on antifouling see page 132

Practical Boat Owner 473 May 2006 • www.pbo.co.uk