Removing Bottom Paint

[Ron]

My '73 San Juan has old bottom paint on the hull (about the color of plain old rustoleum). I would like to hear ideas about how to remove the bottom paint before repainting the hull. Commerical boat shop says it will be $700 to $900 to blast it off with pecan shells. Any do-it-yourself ideas? TIA - Ron

 

[Kevin]

Peel Away

I bought my vessel with about 15 years of bottom paint on her. Friends were talking one day how they used Peel Away to remove Lead paint from thier rental homes. It raised an eyebrow so I tried it on my hunter. Amazing results. Put it on 1/8-1/4" thick, cover and scrape off 24 hours later. It scraped off with the consistancy of hot wax. Sold at Home Depot for arounf $75 for a Five gallon jug. They supply it with peel away paper, I used trash bags that I cut open. My hull was snow white when finished. Even the yard workers asked what I used because I did in two days what takes them a week and alot of bull work. Use gloves and long sleeve shirt. Burns when you get in contact with skin. Best thing since sliced bread!!!

 

[Dean Drevlow]

Copperpoxy

I use Star 10 Paste, and Star 10 Liquid. They are a chemical stripper that will take all paint, including the barrier coat off, down to the gelcoat. Messy, but effective. If your paint is not too thick, you can sand it off in a day with a commercial grade orbital sander (something with multiple speeds) and 60 grit sandpaper. This is a lot faster than the chemical route, if you don't have many layers of paint to go through.We sprayed on Copperpoxy after prepping. Supposed to be good for 10 years. All I can say after 6 weeks in warm fresh water is that nothing is growing on it, and it is fast, especially in light air. Check out the link to the Capri 22 NA web site for more information.Dean 1985 Capri 22 #110 FKSR

 

[Ron]

Will 5-gal Be Enough?

Kevin - Thanks for the idea. Just wondering how far 5-gal of Peel-Away goes. The San Juan is a swing keel trailered boat and the abative coat does not appear to be very thick.I'm planing on either leaving it clean and waxed, or having the clear-coat refurbished. Don't see any reason to have bottom paint on a boat that is in only fresh water 10-20 days a year and almost never overnight.

 

[Bayard Gross]

Peel Away precaution

It is my understanding that you should use the Peel Away that is safe for fiberglass. I beleive the less expensive Peel Away is not safe for fiberglass. Check the warnings on the container when you go shopping.When I took down my bottom last fall, I used thity-six grit on a Mikita sander to get off the many modified epoxy anti-fouling paint layers. It sounds radical, but it was the cheapest and fastest way. I finished up using a DeWalt radom orbit sander with sixty to eighty grit paper. I am not the first one in my area do do it this way.