Winter job - stripping the bottom

M

marykhubby

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Joined
Mar 16, 2007
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25522
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584
Guys
After 5+ years of painting, I am starting to see some flaking. What works best to take off (strip, dissolve, sand blast, etc) the old bottom paint so I can start over?
Don
 
After you're done stripping that bottom paint off I have 2 words:

Ablative paint!!!

Stripping bottom paint sucks, did a 25' and 30' boat many years ago, never again.

Hire someone to do it.

Soda blast.

Jonathan
 
you're scaring the H out of me... i have 36' worth of bottom ahead
someone must have discovered the EASIEST WAY by now. This job will be bad enough!
 
quote:
Originally posted by marykhubby

someone must have discovered the EASIEST WAY by now. This job will be bad enough!

Click to expand...


Easiest way is to pay someone else to do it!!!

I've seen a demo of the new Petite paint remover, looks like it works, but makes a mess.

Other choice is scrape and then sand.

Jonathan
 
There is no easy way. I used chemical stripper with pretty good results. I had to scrape the paint off that was above the waterline though. Never doing that job again !
 
Good advice...
I made some calls about soda blasting this weekend. Gonna take the easier path.
thx!!!!
Don
 
WOW!
$1200 to strip down a 36'x 13' boat. Does this sound about right to you guys for soda blasting?
If so, I am in the wrong line of work...
 
I paid around $900 4 years ago (same size boat), so you're in the ball park.
 
Thanks Ken for being my sounding board. As much as we hate to pay for these type of services for our toys, it makes it easier to cut the check when you feel like it's the going rate...
Don
 
Last fall I purchased a 36' Carver and spent all winter scrapping the hull so I could seal the hull (done this to every boat I have owned). I used a 1" steel scrapper blade. Most came off until I got above the waterline. I tried using interlux stripper, but did not have very good luck with it in cold temp. I thought I was crazy doing it, but I saved myself some $, I got to know the bottom of the boat better than my wife, and it was better than sitting around at home watching TV and drinking beer (I did still drink at the boat when it wasn't frozen!). If you got the $ have it blasted, if you want to spend the $ on electonics, etc, scrape it yourself. At least try and see how difficult it is to scrape. You may be surprised. My hull was not prepped right, so it came off not easy, but not difficult either.
 
UPDATE:
We are 1/2 way through the SODA BLASTing process on the hull. WOW! It does a fantastic job taking the hull down to the gel coat. And I am happy to say, only 1 small blister so far on a 1982 hull - I am feeling very fortunate. My next question will be how to fix the blister and should I embark on barrier coating or skip to ablative...

Yes, I will be out a few bucks for stripping, but I could not have touched what this blasting process has given me without considerable time and labor on my part. Peace of mind has a price. Hey, even the shafts look like new. GREAT ADVICE from the forum - THANKS! I owe you guys!!!!!!!
Don
 
Since you only have one blister I wouldn't go crazy with the barrier coat.

To fix the blister you should open it up, let it dry out for the winter.

In the spring you can use West System Epoxy to repair the blister(s). Here is a link to give you all of the directions you need to handle the repair yourself.

http://www.westsystem.com/ewmag/17/pdf/repairinggelcoat.pdf

Jonathan
 
If you've gone through the trouble of stripping the bottom, barrier coat it. It's not that expensive, and that you can do yourself easily.
 
I read the article Jonathan supplied. If I understood it correctly, blistering can form under barrier coating too (from the inside out due to poor ventilation). Is that your take too?
Don
 
The boat is a 1982 boat (25 years old) that has only one blister. Do you really think it will be a problem down the road?

Either the boat is good or it's prone to blistering.

Doing a proper epoxy job will take you atleast 2 full days of work to get it right. You have to have good weather and time everything just right for it to be a good job, and then apply the bottom paint before the epoxy sets up. 5-7 coats of epoxy, then the paint.

Like stripping the bottom, barrier coat jobs are not so easy to do if you haven't worked with epoxy before.

If you are going to barrier coat, get a quote from the yard first, it won't be cheap.
 
Thought you might be interested in seeing some images of my hull project.

Step 1: Draped the boat, I'm told w/ special Canadian type tape that does not leave a residue on the hull (looked like duct tape to me)
IMAGE_00012.jpg


IMAGE_00010.jpg


Step 2: Soda Blasting in action:
IMAGE_00003.jpg


IMAGE_00001.jpg


IMAGE_00005.jpg

Completely finished the hull strip job since these pics (she sure looks strange with a totally white hull).

Step 3: Despite the draping, she required a major bath before putting her in the storage building.

Soda-blasting consistently roughs up the gel coat but does not remove it. I am not sure if I will have to light sand again before starting the reapplication process - some expert advice here would be appreciated so I get it right. I've decided to "do it right" and go ahead with barrier coat since I've taken her this far. I am a boater, and already invested more than I'll ever get out of her (you'll see she is appropriately named in the 2nd photo above).

I'll try to remember to add pics as I migrate through the process this winter/spring. Have a great weekend everyone.

Don
 
Well... it's been a tough winter for this project. Tore my achilles tendon in NOV and lost 3months due to the healing process. But back under the boat now! Ground out all stress cracks and whatever hinted of a blister. Let them dry out for a couple of months in heated storage. Layered West Marine Resin in and sanded sanded sanded - then sanded some more. Tonight I wiped down the hull, and put the first coat of Interlux Barrier coat on. It was worth all the hard work - Definitely like the results!!!! Now to get those other coats on + VC17M this weekend. Reinforcements are arriving tomorrow (my kids). PAINTING PARTY!
 
Work weekend's over.
4 coats of barrier coat + 2 good coats of VC17m and I need to go to work so I can get some rest! Will let her cure a few days and then have the marina move the supports so I can finish the job. Unfortunately I forgot my camera (priorities) - I'll try to remember the next time.
 
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