Bottom paint removal question

[Mr. Sandman]

anyone ever use that tape like stuff the is suppose to peel away old bottom paint? Does it work?

[likwid]

Meh, it'd be messy I assume, 10" random orbit sander and an old shop vac would do it in an hour or two.

[BEETLE]

Jim
If you are talking about the Peel Away, don't waste the time or money.
I "was" going to strip off the paint on my boat... started with peel away, and tried two other stronger products.
They all soften the gelcoat to varying degrees, which began to concern me, so I stopped at the test patch.
Seems the sand and vac route is the best advice.
Once the paint, (properly applied) is on there it's there... bottom paint is a very rugged product to remove with chemical, then add to the equation off of fiberglas.

[Mr. Sandman]

ugh, I was afraid of that. I was hoping for a neat invention that made this chore a non-chore. I hate doing bottoms...I will get a quote from the yard.
My problem is that the guy who painted it first never got all the mold release wax off and the paint has never held right. It looks like hell. I need to get to down to bare glass wiped it down with a wax remover and prep it for fresh paint. Actually it should not be that hard to get off but I know some spots will be a pita.

[zacs]

On ship shape tv a week or so ago they had a guy with a tool that went around grinding bottom paint/gel coat off, right down to glass. They main reason was for curing osmotic blisters. It was a really cool tool, i don't remember what it was called. but it just ripped right down to bare glass and had all sorts of depth controls so you got a nice even finish. maybe if you set the tivo to record all episodes of shipshape tv you will find it, because they do a lot of repeats.

[thefishingfreak]

elbow grease!!
and if your not gunna babysit the yard,,,, do it yourself.
this is a busy time of year so if you want it done right do it yourself. you think the guy with 40 boats lined up behind yours really cares what yours looks like in three months? nope.

wetsand it, get one of those wobbly head sheetrock sanding-pole attachments at home depot, with the sanding screens, and go to town on it. while your buddy holds the hose to it.
absolutely NO dust...
forget those chemicals all your left with is a mess and a pile of haz-waste plus neutralizing that stuff to paint over is tough.

elbow grease..

[Fish On]

Please remember to use proper protection. You do not want that stuff in your body.

[Mr. Sandman]

I saw that ship shape show, they were actually removing gel coat with that machine. That was a big job. I only want to remove the paint. That was quite a machine, like a hand planer that took the gelcoat off. My paint thickness varies from 0 to 3 or 4 coats and is very blotchy so I doubt I could use a constant setting like that.

I saw an ad (I think it was sent to me from the C-Map people) about a guy in RI/MA who removes bottom paint without glass damage using a portable soda baster machine he tows behind a truck. The result photos were impessive. It looks great but I can only imagine what the cost would be to get him out here to do my little boat...clearly not worth it. So far that method looks to be the most effective but I have no idea what the cost would be.


I sware that my dad got lung cancer and died from sanding that copper bronze bottom paint. Even if you use a resperator it is a nasty job. The hose idea seems like a good one. I will try a test patch. If it is too hard I will pay someone to do it.

[zacs]

in your original post you said you wanted to go to bare glass.
If you don't want to remove gel, than you're right, thats not an option.

i have heard good things about soda blasting, also heard of blasting with walnut shell. maybe there is a blaster out there already?

[Tuna Helper]

I spoke to someone last year about soda blasting my 19 footer. I was quoted $500. It sounds like a very reasonable price.
These are the folks I spoke to:
http://www.masssodablast.com/

[Mr. Sandman]

Tuna Helper,

Yeah, those are the guys.
I just sent them an email to see what the cost and logistics would be.


Did you end up using them?

thanks

[macojoe]

Home Depot, sells a stuff called Bix there are two kinds, get the
"BIX" strength sprayable stripper

Helped a friend do his, it worked great!! Spray it on and wait the required time. Scrape off, or perssure wash off.

There alot of guys on THT that have done the same thing with the same stuff!

I have to do mine also, just need to find the time?

Good Luck

[Tuna Helper]

Didn't end up getting it done. I was unemployed at the time and $500 may as well have been $5 million.
I may do it this Spring.

[MakoMike]

I just e-mailed MA sodabasting for a price, I'll let you know what I find out.

[Homerun04]

Keep me in the loop on the soda blasting....Saucy needs some new paint

[InTheHole]

I just got a reply from Mass soda blast:
$45.00/ft + $200.00 (materials)
27ft x 45 = 1215 + 200 = $1415.00, it may be fair for the work being done (?) but too rich for my blood. Now where did I put that sand paper ??

[Mr. Sandman]

I was afraid of that.

[InTheHole]

anyone use the ablative paint instead of hard epoxy ? pros? cons?

[MakoMike]

IMHO ablative is the way to go. You can see when it wears off an know that its time to repint, plus it doesn't build up like regular bottom paints do.

[Tuna Helper]

I'd love to use ablative. But, I heard you can't use it on a "fast" boat. I have a 19 footer that tops out at 40+ mph.

My average speed (considering that a good deal of Boston's Inner Harbor is a no-wake zone) is probably 20-25 mph.

Anyone know if I can use ablative?

[Mr. Sandman]

Ablative is the way to go...I never heard that fast boat theory before.

You should never have to sand...if you do apply it right the first time

It works well from what I have seen. Hard paint is there forever, long after the antifoulant agent has leached out. This is how you get a big buildup of worthless bottom paint. Ablative wears off over time and can last for several seasons.

There was a great test of antifoulant bottom paints that ran a 9 month test both in FLA and in CT. (Powerboat review) The results were basically that some of the $80/gal paints with 40% CU worked better then some of the $130/gal paints with 70% CU. The bottom line was West Marines ablative (about 80 bucks) was one of the top pics. Also they determined that NONE of the slime agents work that well and added a lot of cost to the gallon of paint. They looked at hard and ablative. Most worked pretty well (some better then others)in fact one reviewer said that he would put any of the paints on his boat because most were very effective. I think there is another test planned too.

[InTheHole]

Thanks for the info
I think I will give the ablative a try. If it works as well / better than hard paint and I do not have to remove multiple coats of bottom paint every few years it's an easy decision.

[thefishingfreak]

you can do what they call a carolina coat. i used to do it on my little boat.
do the running surface with vc offshore{sailboat race paint} and the sides whear the sun hits with regular antifouling paint. held up great for me and i'd like to think the slick bottom saved a little bit of fuel/added a little speed.
i have no way to prove it did,, but in theory it did.

[likwid]

Originally Posted by InTheHole

I just got a reply from Mass soda blast:
$45.00/ft + $200.00 (materials)
27ft x 45 = 1215 + 200 = $1415.00, it may be fair for the work being done (?) but too rich for my blood. Now where did I put that sand paper ??

Jeeze I'll do it for $200 and a case of Brooklyn Weisse.

[MakoMike]

Yea I just got the same quote $1550 to do a 30 footer.

[Sluggoslinger]

Can you use the albative over the hard? The bottom of my boat is a disaster... The origional marina which I don't use any more due to the various damage they did to my boat. (Didn't use any sealant on the transome mounted transducer when screwing it in, put bottom paint on a new boat without even cleaning the bottom, I can chip parts off with a paint scraper, charging me for a spring service, towing the boat to the mooring and leaving it there when they never even checked the steering fluid...)

The bottom has over 10 coats in spots and none in others. I think it must be slowing the boat down. My problem is that I have to do the job under a trailer and it can be pretty miserable. Anyone have any suggestions to make this job easier?

[Mr. Sandman]

Yes you can use ablative over hard (but not the other way around because the ablative sluffs off over time).

However it sounds like you are in the same boat I am, you really need to get down to gel coat and begin anew if you want it to look decent. I feel your pain! I may go with that new Pettit bio bottom paint remover. It got a good review and try that. It is cheaper then 1500 bucks for a soda blast but probably more deadly

[RIROCKHOUND]

Ablative all the way..
a quick power wash in the fall and then repaint in the spring....

BTW West marine was having a sale last week, maybe still are, paint was cheap, especially with the old Port Supply Card....

SS; It's a pain in the ass isnt it (on the trailer) get some jack-stands, if you are gonna do it every year buy some boat stands from west, put some blocks under the keel... makes it a lot easier than a trailer....

[macojoe]

$1100 for my 20 footer

I think I am going to go one more season and then try to get it back to the gel coat?

There is a ton on there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I keep mine on a trailer so when I am done it depends what it looks like (stained) if I will repaint? But if I do, I will paint with a hard paint (enamel) or something

["uffah!!"]

Originally Posted by likwid

Jeeze I'll do it for $200 and a case of Brooklyn Weisse.

I will keep you in mind for next year. I'll have you do my 21 footer!!