GreatLakesPaint

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Dave Irish is the owner of two Irish Boatshop locations on Lake Michigan, and when he gets a chance to step away from the job he switches roles from running full service marine facilities to driving his Mumm 30. He's quick to remind those of us burdened with salt on our decks that in his neck of the woods clean, cool lake water is kind to boat bottoms, and the coating of choice among racers remains VC-17, a hard paint that delivers a smooth surface along with enough biocide to chase away the critters. The majority of club racers have the paint rolled onto the surface while the top-end competitors opt for a sprayed finish. His paint crew also does quite a bit of Interlux Interprotect barrier coat applications. The sprayed epoxy primer sands smoothly and can be polished to a hard durable finish, and if regularly cleaned during the season, can provide a good non-antifouling race bottom finish.