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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

bottom preparation

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cks
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126 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/10/2006 : 11:15:29

i was paging through the don casey book at B&N last weekend and he suggests scraping the bottom with a 2-3" scraper instead of lightly sanding before painting. Any thoughts? has anyone tried this, and how long did it take?

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 03/10/2006 : 12:10:51

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by cks
 i was paging through the don casey book at B&N last weekend and he suggests scraping the bottom with a 2-3" scraper instead of lightly sanding before painting. Any thoughts? has anyone tried this, and how long did it take?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

CKS,

Although I didn't get the idea from Don Casey, after initially trying the sanding route and not liking the results (clogged discs, paint dust, moonman suit, respirators, goggles, paint dust in every nook and cranny,...etc) I ended up using a two-handed pull scraper, shown below, to rid my hull of the bulk of the old flaking bottom paint. The old paint was such that simply dragging the scraper over it sent paint chips flying like wood chips from a chainsaw. After the bulk of the paint was removed, I followed up with a finish sanding.

As for how long it took???...At the time it felt like an eternity because even though the paint came off rather easily, it still required repetitive scraping motions that would soon tire my arms, especially when scraping directly overhead. The routine was, scrape until my arms tired, then go work on something else for a bit. Since there was no dust, just flakes, I could climb in the boat to work elsewhere for a spell while my arms recovered for round two.

If you do decide to try this type of scraper, round over the sharp corners with a file to prevent them from accidently gouging the hull.

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ClamBeach
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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 03/11/2006 : 17:53:08

The picture of that scraper provides a great reminder about why I use ablative bottom paint.

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5936 Posts

Response Posted - 03/11/2006 : 18:54:16

Scraping works if the paint is in bad shape, and is peeling and loosely bonded to the hull. If the paint has a tight bond to the hull, scraping is too slow and too hard. The same is true for sanding. Also, sanding is too aggressive, and it removes too much gelcoat. IMHO, the best way to remove old bottom paint yourself is to use paint stripper designed especially for fiberglass. Paint it on, let it work, and then paint on some more without removing what you put on previously. Keep re-covering it until the bottom paint softens and you can scrape it off reasonably easily. Put a tarp under the boat to catch the old paint stripper and paint as you strip it off. There's no easy way to do it yourself, but I've sanded it and scraped it and stripped it, and stripping it is the easiest.

Edited by - Steve Milby on 03/11/2006 18:56:02

cks
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126 Posts

Response Posted - 03/13/2006 : 08:09:09

My bottom coat overall is is pretty decent shape-it was sanded and painted by the boatyard two seasons ago- i just wanted to to apply another layer of ablative paint this year- how does one"lightly" sand it?- is it true as i've heard from some people thati can just paint without additional preparation?- bottom was powerwashed at haul out last season.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 03/13/2006 : 08:45:03

You might want to just scrub it with a green/medium hull scrubber

Edited by - Frank Hopper on 03/13/2006 08:46:00

reuben
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USA
202 Posts

Response Posted - 03/16/2006 : 12:05:18

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">My bottom coat overall is is pretty decent shape-it was sanded and painted by the boatyard two seasons ago- i just wanted to to apply another layer of ablative paint this year- how does one"lightly" sand it?- <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
My situation is similar: two easy, freshwater years into our Micron Interlux bottom job, it looks good except where the slings created friction & loosened some paint. Last spring I sanded these spots with a 3M pad and applied more Interlux, but crane-out revealed my touch-up didn't adhere well. Is it a simple matter of sanding more deeply? Maybe I was too fearful of damaging the gelcoat; anyway, your suggestions are welcome.

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dblitz
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240 Posts

Response Posted - 03/16/2006 : 14:18:23

I haul my boat every year so I get to paint it every spring. Since I'm not too concerned about speed/racing, I just carefully power wash and then lightly scrape any loose paint. Then I apply two coats of ablative paint and I use the least expensive paint I can find because I haven't really seen a difference on the Hudson in the no. of barnacles that are on the boat between $ 140.00 a gallon and $ 80.00 a gallon. One thing I do try to do is to brush the paint on instead of using a roller because someone once told me that paint adheres better with a brush. Paint prep is what makes it a big job with the clouds of toxic dust floating all over the place (if you sand/scrape) or the contaminated vacuum if your place requires your sander to be connected to one. Power washing makes it almost pleasant and painting is no biggie.

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