Soda Blasting on Cape Cod
 

I'm thinking about having my Mako soda blasted to get all of the old bottom paint off. It was origionally painted on a nice smooth gelcoat and some parts are 7 layers think while others are flaking off. Considering my max speed is about 22kts now I think having a smooth bottom could be a major help.

Anyone know who does this and what they charge per foot?

I know a guy that does it here in RI, but I'd guess you would have to bring the boat to him. He did mine last year and it camoe out great!

Mike, did it improve your performance at all? What was your reason for doing it?

I had about 15 years of hard paint built up on the hull, and it was beginning to look like the surface of the moon with all the craters, etc. It improved performance, but only by a little, I picked up a knot or so at cruise RPMs. This year I'm having the props redone, which should take full advantage of the smooth bottom and really up the performance.

Sounds good, I did the prop last year and this year its the hull, kind of backwards... oh well.

If you need a good prop company, check out propco, they worked a miracle for my boat.

yo,
in the SOCO mag you can get it free anywhere around here
Great article about this subject ,Co name TERRA AUREA and they also have an add in this mag. They do just what you want ,
I don't think I can put there # up in a post either get the mag or PM me I'll give you their #
Link

Props make a huge difference. MM, did you have OceanProps do it?

Well they're not done yet, but I'm bringing them to oceanprops on Friday. Do you know Mike?

We've had the big (tour boat) props done there and it made a big improvement, and the smaller boats have been done there as well. A bit $ but probably worth it fuel wise if you run a lot

The price he gave as "ballpark" weren't too bad. He won't commit to a price until he sees the props. I can't blame him for that. If he's out in left field there are other places around.

Any new leads on soda blasting closer to North Shore of Boston? Also seeing different instructions from manufacturers about barrier coat, or not, new vs. old gelcoat.... Any insight? Thanks

Its my undersatnding that barrier coat is almost mandatory after soda blasting.
I had mine done.

I heard that it is very aggresive and removes alot of the gel coat too.

A guy I know had a nightmare of hull finishing this past spring after soda blasting.

Anyone heard or used these guys?
http://www.mtnkboston.com/index.htm

Van, I think it depends on the condition of the hull. If something is hidden by the bottom paint, this would reveal the problem, like blistering. The reason to use soda is because it shouldn't damage the gelcoat.

After blasting of any kind I think you ***really*** want a quality barrier coat done... Even soda blasting will leave the gel-coat in a porous condition and I think you will be leaving the door open for blister problems in the future. If you are going to spend the coin to blast, put the barrier on and then use ablative bottom paint to avoid buildup in the future.

BTW, one "problem" with blasting is it will expose any problems you have with the bottom. You may have to fix them before you re-coat. So if you discover you have blisters after blasting, you have to fix that then barrier coat...it could run you more then expected....be prepared for that.

I had my SS OB prop done by Ocean Props and it was fine. If he has to do additional welding to add material due to a rock nick he will charge you a little more but in my case it was only like 20 bucks more. It comes back nice...almost like new.

Not true, I saw my hull between the blating and the barrier coat and there gel coat was completely intact, though not shiney. But even perfectly intact gel coast can and does let water through, so the IMHO the barrier coat on the bottom is the way to go.

Hmm, wasn't sure, maybe the guy i know had a different treatment.
But i know it took way too much off and he had to use some kind of epoxy to redo the bottom b4 painting.

Good to know.

Maybe the boat you saw was sand blasted?

I stand corrected, he did have soda blasting (he called it soda ash).
He said it chewed up the gelcoat but did not go through. It left it chalky so it needed mega cleaning and then barrier coating which he said was a nasty job (worse than bottom painting)..I guess if you have to then just expect lots of work after its done.

Good Luck

I can't really say how much work the barrier coat is. I had it done by the same guy that did the blasting.

I can.

It sucks. the biggest trouble is that I you need at least 4 coats of the stuff, and you CAN'T let it dry/cure between coats. The fist coat should be sticky when you start the second, etc.... do this 4 times then 2 coats of ablative bottom paint. It makes for a full day, thats for sure.