Bottom paint removal

[jwj]

I'm about to perform the dreaded task of stripping the bottom paint. I need to go the cheep way....so I'm not media blasting or using a stripper. is there any merit to renting a high pressure power washer and blasting it be fore i start sanding????? Right now there are only two or three coats and it sands quit easily. With a palm sander moving in a back and forth motion it takes about 5/6 passes to get to gel coat with 80 grit. my whole point is to limit the amount of sanding. Anyone have experience power washing off bottom paint. i know someone is going to ask "why are you stripping two coats of paint"..... I'm going to seal the bottom with epoxy to prevent water intrusion. I've put way too much work into this boat to stop here......

Jim

 

[Boater54]

I did the nasty deed last season. Pressure washing does nothing, as the residual left behind doesn't really dissolve. I used a 6" palm sander from Harbor Freight ($29.00) and 80 grit disks. I took it down to just about the gel-coat. I wiped the entire sanded surface with denatured alcohol. I've had good results with "ACT" Bottom Paint, so on went 2 good coats. It's holding just fine.

One other thing...wear the proper protective clothing. If you can get your hands on a hooded mask, use it. This stuff will get in your eyes. By 5:00PM you'll beg for death!

 

[Gregory S]

It depends on what kind of paint is there already and how well it's adhereing. If it's ablative paint, I've been able to remove alot of paint with the powere washer, but not if it's hard epoxy paint. Definately apply the barrier coats once you have the old paint off especially if you sand down to the gel coat.