Help! for a New Owner of an Old Boat

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by GoFish

First time on this forum (mostly a surf guy) and I could sure use some help. Purchased an '81 Steiger 21' last fall and am trying to get it painted and ready for the season. It appears to have MANY coats of paint, and I'm trying to sand it before painting using an orbital sander and an 80-grit paper. IT'S KILLING ME! Looking to be a twenty-hour job. Any pointers to speed the chore?

Also, should I be filling the dents and dings in the fiberglass before I paint? With what?

Any suggestions appreciated, as I clearly don't have a clue what I'm doing. Thanks!

I'd check the forums at ClassicSeacraft.com & ClassicMako.com for those topics too - lots of good info.

Many layers of different kinds of paint means little chance of a chemical solution beyond sanding. You could find a place that does soda blasting or shell blasting but then you would need to paint a layer or two on of underwater paint before going to anti-fouling (if you intend to slip the boat). You need to be real carefull of any power sander too so that you don't blow through the paint and into / through the gelcoat. In fact, an older boat like that when you get to the bare hull you might want to put some special layers of material to prevent blistering.

If you plan to trailer then you are looking at soda blasting, fairing, blister layer, then gel coat or a good paint....

http://www.diybob.com/HotBlister.htm