I/O drive paint - protection from @!#$% barnacles

[abl1111]

Northeast boat. 4 year old, Mercruiser w/ Bravo 3. In saltwater (7) months a year. Mercathode fine. Been using excellent drive antifouling on drive.

The barnacle growth is insane !

Each Spring, I scrape and rough up (3M doodle pad) the drive and gimbal, 6 hours of work, then tape off and re-spray. During the season, I haul 2x and scrape again ( no paint ). At the end of the season, I acid and power-wash and rinse well.

Is there a better prep or paint out there ? My hull - gets almost no growth - I use Petit SLR ablative.

I did hear that some guys will epoxy the drive w/ several coats and then use regular hull paint - anyone know about this ?

Thx.