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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Help with bottom paint removal.

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/23/2004 : 18:36:52

I am working hard on the bottom of the boat. I have about 16 yrs worh of paint applied . How in the %$#&^ d you get it all off?
Must be cheap.
The quicker the better.
I am taking it down to the gel coat.

Help Help Help.

PO of 1988 Wing HN 5775
"Cote d'Azure"
Fleet 25

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5913 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2004 : 09:20:13

It's a tough job, but very rewarding. With a clean, smooth bottom, the boat moves in the lightest zephyrs, points better, and does everything better.

Last year I stripped 22 years of bottom paint, and the best method I found was to use a paint stripper that is specifically designed for removing paint from fiberglass. It's not as aggressive as strippers that are used for other types of paints. Don't assume that, just because the can has a picture of a boat on it, it is ok to use on <u>fiberglass</u> boats. The writing should specifically say it is designed for use on fiberglass.

Get a good respirator to protect your lungs from chemical burns, and plastic goggles to protect your eyes from any accidental splash or drip. Use rubber gloves and wear old clothes, and scrape away!

Edited by - on

svmoxie
Past Commodore

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USA
331 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2004 : 09:43:58

You want it off cheap? Try a wallpaper hand scraper.

You want easy? Pay someone to soda blast it. Check out Franks page...

http://homepage.mac.com/fhopper/PhotoAlbum63.html

For a chemical stripper, I used and recommend the Peel Away product.

So... faster costs more. Other than paying to have it blasted you will probably use some of all of the above along with a random orbital sander, solvent wash, rags, gloves, shop vac, eye protection, respirator, tyvek work suit... etc, etc.

Bottom line, if you want it fast, break down and pay to have it blasted, but be sure to use an epoxy barrier coat before you bottom paint it as the blasting will weaken any moisture protection still in place. I hand scraped mine, stripped the keel trunk, sanded it all and then barrier coated it. It took about a week of hard work to get the hull all clean.

Good luck

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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5913 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2004 : 10:32:38

At first I tried a wallpaper scraper, but found that my bottom paint was very well bonded to the surface, and it was very hard and slow going. It helped to replace the blade frequently.

The stripper that I found cost about $25-30 a gallon, and I used about 2 gals. I applied the stripper, waited to let it work, and then used a wallpaper scraper to scrape off the softened paint. I usually had to apply it about twice to get it clean. When most of it was off of an area, I wiped it with acetone, and, at the end of each day I washed it with soap and water, to make sure I stopped all chemical action.

I know you want to keep your expense to a minimum, but don't try to get by without a good chemical respirator, and do apply a barrier coat while you're at it. The barrier coat is a little expensive, but bite the bullet and get it done while the bottom is completely stripped. Sailboats of all makes built between the early 1980s and 1988 were prone to blistering, and it's wise to protect them.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2004 : 11:06:09

When I was faced with your project I checked around the boatyard and saw just about every way to get to the bottom of it

, While I agree with everything said I chose to have it sandblasted. Hell it's only money. Cost $350 and worth every penny of it. I can't agree more with Steves assesment of the needed paraphernalia when working with aromatic hydrocarbons and therein lies the best reason for not using them, their toxicity.

Watched as a fellow stripped his bottom with chemicals without a respirator. He had such a smile on his face.....

might have been chemically induced.

Val on Calista # 3936
Patchogue, N.Y.

Edited by - on

Bruce Baker
Captain

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USA
402 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2004 : 12:37:01

Although my boat is 21 years old, it had relatively little paint on it. The pressure wash left places where the hull was white. I used a random orbit sander with a fairly aggressive 60 grit sandpaper (with vacuum hose) and it took the paint off in no time. I was wearing an expensive breathing apparatus and safety glasses. Even so, I was covered from head to toe in black powder. I'll cover up more next time:)

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Bruce Ebling
Navigator

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USA
155 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2004 : 18:46:22

I own a 1989 model, is there some treatment that Catalina did to prevent blistering that I would not want to sand or scrape off? If so is there a different treatment to strip old paint off the newer boats.
Bruce Ebling
1989 WK "Selah"

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 08/24/2004 : 20:37:15

As for the cheap bottom-job.....Don't forget the trip to the Emergency Room!

After looking around at home depot for a higher horsepower tool to take the paint off, I found a sanding attachment for the angle grinder! 14000 rpm and 50 grit sandpaper, EXACTLY the tool I was missing.
My boat 1988 is a real mess as there are 7 visible coats and a thick barrier type base coat. The big problem is the fact that the barrier coat is blistered on top of the gel coat. The gelcoat is pristine once the barrier coat is removed. I called around for soda-sand-walnut shell blasting. The only place I found using walnuts wanted $3 a sq. foot! Thats $25 for the rudder alone. Nobody here is using soda yet.

I commenced to ginding and was making real progress when I decided to call it a day and get dinner going. I flipped the ginder off and set it down.....ON MY THIGH! It was on an edge and cut right through the coveralls. I checked my leg to find a large gash that was already cotterized and not bleeding. I headed to the ER and was happy to get 7 stitches. I am in the Navy so at least it was all free.

This falls under the rule that "Life is tough, but tougher if you are stupid!" It will take about a week and I will hate all of it. Then it will only be a small yearly job. And the boat will be faster. Look out Mug Racers.

Tom in Jacksonville.

Edited by - atgep on 08/24/2004 20:39:36

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5913 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2004 : 09:17:18

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">After looking around at home depot for a higher horsepower tool to take the paint off, I found a sanding attachment for the angle grinder! 14000 rpm and 50 grit sandpaper, EXACTLY the tool I was missing.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">That sounds too aggressive. My keel had a thick barrier coat, and the chemical stripper took it off, although it took an extra application and some scraping. In fact, the chemical stripper not only removed all kinds of paint, it also removed the coal tar epoxy that I put on the keel to prevent rust. Chemically stripping the bottom removes the paint without removing or appreciably damaging the gel coat.

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