transducer paint?

[handball]

I have installed a bronze airmar transducer in my 30 ft. sea ray and have the following question:<br />There is a sticker on the bottom of the transducer that says " do not paint" I wanted to protect the transducer from fouling so I bought pettits transducer paint # 1793. This paint has a zinc base , toluene, xylene, propane n-butane in it.My question is can this paint be used on the bottom of the transducer or is it only made to protect the bronze part of the transducer? Also can this paint be used on the plastic parts of the transducer such as the spinning speed wheel and its housing?

 

[kalan2000]

Re: transducer paint?

I wouldn't paint a thing. I would think that paint on the transducer would attenuate the signal and paint on the speed wheel would affect its accuracy.

 

[ThomWV]

Re: transducer paint?

I really don't know the answer to this one but if I were you I'd give either Airmar or Gem Electronics a call and ask them. I am absolutly sure they will be familiar with the product you bought and be able to tell you if it will react with the transducer's face material (Airmar uses two different plastics to house the transducer so there may be a problem with the paint's solvents for one or the other). I can dig up the number for Gem if you need it.<br /><br />Thom

 

[DJ]

Re: transducer paint?

There is a reason that the manufacturer said-do not paint. If there were paints availble that they thought were OK, I think they would mention them.<br /><br />Anyway, I would check with them first. Better safe, than sorry.

 

[ThomWV]

Re: transducer paint?

Here is one of the answeres to a very similar question that was posted on the Florida Sportsman message board:<br /><br />"Here is that question put to Furuno and their answer.....<br />Question <br />My transducer needs to be cleaned frequently. Is there any type of paint I can use to prevent barnacles, algae and marine growth from fouling it? <br /><br />Answer <br />There are several paint manufacturers of anti-fouling paint. These paints are available from marine supply stores. Furuno recommends "MARINE STAR 20 or SEAJET" made by Chugoku Marine Paint Co. Ltd. For more information you may visit their web site at http://www.cmp.co.jp/english/contents_e.html"

 

[18rabbit]

Re: transducer paint?

Handball - Here, this should help confuse you. <br /><br />Fwiw, I have documentation for an Airmar product sold thru Furuno. The documentation from Airmar says do not paint the transducer with anything. The documentation from Furuno say the transducer should be painted. Same transducer…take your pick.<br /><br />And then this from Airmar’s website saying to paint it:<br /><br />QUESTION: What anti-fouling paint should I use on my transducer?<br /><br />ANSWER: Use water based anti-fouling paint only. Never use ketone-based paint, since ketones can attack many plastics possibly damaging the transducer. We recommend brands such as MDR, Woolsey and Petit. These water based anti-fouling paints can be found at your local marine supply store or contact Gem Electronics our US distributor.<br /><br />Absolutely no paint on the Simrad Combi-C transducer…it's not an Airmar product.<br /><br />It is a trade off between performance and convenience. Anything between the acoustic window and water degrades the performance of the transducer. It may not be noticeable, in which case it would not matter in your application. At some point it may become noticeable with enough coats of paint.<br /><br />The Airmar is installed so it can be pulled and cleaned…no paint. The Simrad requires a forklift to pickup…it’s on it’s own. I definitely would not paint the paddle wheel. Personally, I would not install a paddle wheel that could not be pulled and cleaned…ok, I wouldn’t install a paddle wheel at all.

 

[handball]

Re: transducer paint?

Thanks for the replies fellows,<br />The boat was launched yesterday and I had painted just the bronze portion and not the bottom of the transducer.This airmar transducer has a rubber valve in it so that when you pull the paddle wheel to clean it there is not to much water coming in before you put in the temporary plug.<br />The new fishfinder seems to work well all I have to do now is to learn how to interpret what it is telling me.This unit has water temp. boat speed,depth,distance and all kinds of alarms.Hope you all have a great season.<br /><br />Bill