Bottom Paint Removal

[Jay B.]

Sealark: how did this turn out? And, where are you located? I was roughly quoted a price of $1500 for "media blasting" in Deale Md today. I also have a CD25. My boat is on the hard right now but I am probably looking to do my bottom work at the end of the coming season.

- my price is going to be about $600. And he will have it done in about an hour. For me - it is a no brainer. He told me that if I insisted on using "soda" - it could be as much as double.

And for the larger boats - he does offer mobile services - so I would imagine most guys that do this would.

[MFC]

I got a guy in Phila who quoted me $800 to soda blast the 330. I don't know if he'll go to MD, but he is mobile and I can dig up his number if you like (email me). One thing to consider, if you are soda blasting in order to barrier coat, you might want to do it in the fall rather than the spring since you'd get the benefit of letting the hull dry through the winter. . ..
Matt

[Jay B.]

Thanks MFC. That is what the guy here said as well. He said I could go ahead and use it this season and do the work in tha fall.

Did you use the guy you received the quote from? Were you satisfied with his work?

I'll email you!

Thanks,
Jay

I got a guy in Phila who quoted me $800 to soda blast the 330. I don't know if he'll go to MD, but he is mobile and I can dig up his number if you like (email me). One thing to consider, if you are soda blasting in order to barrier coat, you might want to do it in the fall rather than the spring since you'd get the benefit of letting the hull dry through the winter. . ..
Matt

[Cathy Monaghan]

I've started removing the 25 years worth of paint from Realization's bottom. I purchased a couple of quarts of Peel Away 6 just to try it out. This is Peel Away 6 not Peel Away 1 or Peel Away Marine Safety Strip. Peel Away 1 uses the cloth/paper and Peel Away 6 doesn't. The label of the Peel Away 1 container indicates that it'll remove up to 30 coats of paint, there's no statement like that on the Peel Away 6 container.

The 2 quarts covered about 1/8 of our CD32's bottom. I applied it thickly -- tried to get it between 1/16 and 1/8" thick which was according to the instructions. Then I went home and left it to work over night. The following day I attacked that area with a scraper and took off most, but not all, of the paint where I had applied the Peel Away 6. Anyway, it works pretty well. Also, I purchased the frist 2 quarts at Lowe's. Home Depot has it too ($55.97 per 1 1/4 gallon) and that's where I picked up the next 2 gallons. I'll need alot more than that, but I don't need to buy it all at once. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

-Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[MFC]

Jay -
I didn't hire the guy (I was broke last fall and I don't want to let the hull dry for a couple months this spring -- I wanna sail it!) but he seemed okay. That barrier coat discussion (particularly Matt C's comments at the end) have me wondering if I shouldn't leave well enough alone -- i.e., not barrier coat -- anyway.

Cathy -
Are you using Peel Away on hard paint or ablative?

Matt

[Cathy Monaghan]

Jay -
I didn't hire the guy (I was broke last fall and I don't want to let the hull dry for a couple months this spring -- I wanna sail it!) but he seemed okay. That barrier coat discussion (particularly Matt C's comments at the end) have me wondering if I shouldn't leave well enough alone -- i.e., not barrier coat -- anyway.

Cathy -
Are you using Peel Away on hard paint or ablative?

Matt

Hi Matt,

There's only ever been ablative paint applied to our CD32's bottom. First it was Micron CSC (the the original owners used it as well) and now Micron Extra with Biolux. The bottom's been painted EVERY year. Even though it's an ablative, there's ALOT of paint on her bottom and it is now failing -- poor adhesion, cracking, chunks of paint falling off. So it's time to remove it and start all over again.

Peel Away should work on either hard or soft paints. They have several different products to choose from. I mentioned 3 in my earlier posting, but there are more than those. Peel Away 1, 6 and the marine stipper would be the best ones for removing bottom paints from fiberglass boats. The trick is to leave it on long enough for it to do its thing. Some people have not had very good results using Peel Away, especially the products that use the paper/cloth, but that's usually due to not waiting long enough before trying to peel the paper off. The manufacturer recommends doing a small test patch first to see how long it will take for your particular project.

I chose Peel Away 6 because it removes multiple layers of paint or varnish from a variety of different surfaces including fiberglass. Its method or removal doesn't use that paper/cloth. I used a heavy-duty scraper and the paint came right off. It was relatively easy work, but keep in mind that I'm only doing an 1/8th of the bottom at a time so that I don't kill myself in the process. By the way, this stuff also is low in VOCs and it's safe to breathe around so you don't have to wear a respirator, but you will need the Tyvek suit, gloves and eye protection.

-Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[MFC]

Hi Cathy -

I figured you were using ablative paint. I've got 25 years -- about 1/8" or maybe even 3/16" (!!!uhhg!!!) of hard paint to remove. It is actually adhering pretty well -- thereby tempting me to just touch up and splash -- but I think I've gotta get it off there (it must weigh hundreds of pounds -- maybe 1000???). Your description of Peel Away sounded pretty good. I guess it can't hurt to try a quart . . . except of course by cutting off the wiser course: "patch and splash".

Matt

[Cathy Monaghan]

Matt,

I'm using Peel Away 6 because it is safe and relatively easy to use. It is not the strongest stipper. Peel Away 1 and their marine stripper are stronger products and should do a better job, but I can't be bothered with the paper.

I was able to purchase the Peel Away 6 at Lowe's, and that was the only size they had in the store. I suppose the gallon size could be ordered for in-store pickup.

When I went to Home Depot, they only had the gallon size.

By the way, Lowe's only had Peel Away 6 and Home Depot had Peel Away 1, 6 and 7. West Marine used to carry Peel Away, but now they've got Back to Nature products like Ready Strip. Defender has the Peel Away marine stripper and they also have Smart Stip, which is made by the same company. Hamilton Marine has Peel Away 1, Peel Away Marine Safety Stip and the barrier coat safe Peel Away Marine Strip. Both Ace Hardware and True Value have the Back To Nature products. If you like to stick with marine products, there's stuff like Interlux Interstrip but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.

-Cathy

[Cathy Monaghan]

Hi gang,

Well Bruce and I are still trying to remove Realization's bottom paint, that is between bouts of snow and flooding rains. I think we're finally finished with the snow, but the rains just don't seem to want to go away. There's flooding here in NJ again.

Anyway, here's a little about our experience using Peel Away 6.

The first couple of quarts we purchased, we bought from the local Lowe's. It worked great, removing many layers, but not all, of our boat's bottom paint.

The next couple of gallons we purchased, we bought from the local Home Depot. The product in one of the gallons was fine, but that in the second had separated and was no good. Bruce had thrown out the receipt so we couldn't return it to Home Depot. He contacted the manufacturer and they sent a replacement which was in perfect condition and worked great. (Their customer service was great too!)

We went back to Home Depot to get a few more gallons, but this time we had the folks in the paint department open the containers to check that it was still good. EVERY single container that they had was NO GOOD. It had either totally separated or was on its way.

If you purchase a container of Peel Away 6, it should be the consistency of mayonnaise and a single, consistent light green color throughout. If you open the container and see more than one color -- mottled light green with dark green specks and maybe some white specks or a marbling of light green dark green and/or white, it is NO GOOD, don't buy it. If there is a layer of liquid on top, it's no good, don't buy it. The manufacturer stated that separation can occur if the product sits too long or if it has been subjected to freezing and stirring it will not reconstitute it.

Since we were having difficulty getting a reliable supply of Peel Away 6 we decided to switch to a different product. This was unfortunate because I really like the stuff. It is environmentally friendly and safe to use.

So we've switched to Aqua-Strip and picked up our first quart at the local West Marine. It worked well so we purchased a couple of gallons but that was all that they had. We asked the folks at West Marine to order 8 gallons for us, plus a few more, but they told us that since the minimum amount for the warehouse is 8, that they wouldn't send the store any until they received more from the manufacturer. So now we're waiting. (I don't want to order the stuff myself, I don't want to pay for shipping -- that stuff's heavy.) I think I'll try the local Sherwin Williams.

Anyway, the Aqua-Strip works even better than Peel Away 6 (probably does an equivalent job to Peel Away Marine Stripper or Peel Away 1 -- both are stronger than Peel Away 6 -- but I really don't know). It's also more expensive.

The Aqua-Strip is also environmentally friendly but less safe to use. The stuff burned right through our nitrile gloves. I probably went through at least a half dozen pair of gloves while applying the stuff (a gallon covers 1/8 of the boat's bottom). This didn't happen with the Peel Away 6. So we had to get the heavy duty nitrile instead of the disposable nitrile gloves that we had been using. (I'm allergic to latex. Latex gloves bother Bruce's hands as well.) The Aqua-Strip bubbled the surface of the heavy duty nitrile gloves as well. So you really have to pay attention to what's happening to your gloves and not get any of this stuff on your skin, clothing, shoes, etc. We've been wearing Tyvek suits, Tyvek booties and eye protection. We wore it while using the Peel Away 6 as well, but you REALLY need it while using this stuff.

Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[drysuit2]

So I am reviving this thread after a few years for several reasons.

1. Segue has always suffered from blisters. Never so much that I couldn't take care of the few each season.
I would use an orbital sander to clean down and around to the solid fiberglass. Wait a few weeks to make certain the area no longer oozed any purple liquid; then I would fill the divot with a little resin and silica, finish of with whatever color barrier coat I had around, and move on.

2. So now I have an un-faired bottom. It really doesn't make that much of a difference to me. I am used to it after 30 years.

3. But I'm thinking of selling the old girl. So I'm thinking a nice smooth bottom might help.

4. The DEC laws in NY now are so strict that I can't even paint my own bottom, Much less sand it.
Last year the DEC found a few paint chips from a do-it-your-self-er. The yard was fined $35,000!

5. If the Yard does the work...no problem; plus I don't think my shoulder could take all that sanding. They are now using the high pressure water and glass slurry method. No dust cloud, easier to cleanup.

I am assuming this is just like soda blasting... in the hands of the right operator; fast and easy. The wrong guy can ruin your hull.

Does anyone have any experience, or recommendations?

Thanks