I intent to paint the hull and wish to powerwash before before painting. Does anyone have recommended psi settings to use which will not damage the gell coat?
Power washing the hull
- Thread starter pat8667
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Pat, as I recall from previous hull pressure...
washings done by the local yard it is around 1600 to 1800 PSI. That should take off most all marine critters without harming the previous bottom paint or the gelcoat. I'm assuming your boat has one or more coats of either hard or ablative bottom paint on the hull to help prevent marine growth. Once you finish pressure washing the hull below the waterline, scrape off any loose bottom paint, feather the edges where some old paint has come off, then lightly dry sand the bottom. I use the screen door type sandpaper from Home Depot on a swivel pad that attaches to the end of a painting pole that sheet rockers use to smooth out the wall board compound after it has dried. I use the one inch diameter dense foam paint rollers on the end of the pole to apply the paint, also from Home Depot. Two coats of ablative last me three seasons. I've been very happy with the several bottom jobs done this way. It's fast, very little mess, and except for the paint, low cost. Hope this helps. Terry
washings done by the local yard it is around 1600 to 1800 PSI. That should take off most all marine critters without harming the previous bottom paint or the gelcoat. I'm assuming your boat has one or more coats of either hard or ablative bottom paint on the hull to help prevent marine growth. Once you finish pressure washing the hull below the waterline, scrape off any loose bottom paint, feather the edges where some old paint has come off, then lightly dry sand the bottom. I use the screen door type sandpaper from Home Depot on a swivel pad that attaches to the end of a painting pole that sheet rockers use to smooth out the wall board compound after it has dried. I use the one inch diameter dense foam paint rollers on the end of the pole to apply the paint, also from Home Depot. Two coats of ablative last me three seasons. I've been very happy with the several bottom jobs done this way. It's fast, very little mess, and except for the paint, low cost. Hope this helps. Terry
The key is practice
I powerwashed my hull and waterline just prior to bottom painting this year and it was wonderful. Fast and effective at getting rid of waterline crud and loose paint. I used an electric powerwasher rated at 1600 psi. Yet the key, IMHO, to not doing damage with a power washer is to practice on something you don't care about first. Experiment with settings on the nozzle, nozzle distance to the object, and most importantly, the angle of the nozzle to the target. You do not want your boat to be the first thing you use the powerwasher on....
I powerwashed my hull and waterline just prior to bottom painting this year and it was wonderful. Fast and effective at getting rid of waterline crud and loose paint. I used an electric powerwasher rated at 1600 psi. Yet the key, IMHO, to not doing damage with a power washer is to practice on something you don't care about first. Experiment with settings on the nozzle, nozzle distance to the object, and most importantly, the angle of the nozzle to the target. You do not want your boat to be the first thing you use the powerwasher on....
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