Bottom paint removal question

[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?