Bottom Paint removal

[adamganz]

I've had to rely on the kindness of some fellow boat owners this spring as we approach our launch date. I have a week old baby girl who has made it impossible for me to take care of some required work before the boat goes in the water.

One of those tasks of course is painting the bottom. The person who kindly volunteered to do this for me somehow decided to paint all the way to the top of the boot stripe!

Wondering if anyone knows a good way to remove this paint without also removing the underlying (and original) boot stripe???

Thanks!

Adam

[Keith]

Hi Adam, I'd leave it, intact I prefer it that way. I think it look much better. I've found that leaving unprotected glass between the bottom paint and boot top leads to growth.

That;s my two cents worth.

Keith

[Jim Walsh]

I've had to rely on the kindness of some fellow boat owners this spring as we approach our launch date. I have a week old baby girl who has made it impossible for me to take care of some required work before the boat goes in the water.

One of those tasks of course is painting the bottom. The person who kindly volunteered to do this for me somehow decided to paint all the way to the top of the boot stripe!

Wondering if anyone knows a good way to remove this paint without also removing the underlying (and original) boot stripe???

Thanks!

Adam

Yikes! Hopefully you know which specific bottom paint was used. I'd give the paint manufacturer's technical help line a call and ask their advice. Paints vary so much in ingredients that what might successfully remove one may have less desirable effects with another.
Having your entire boot top covered by bottom paint will look odd. Especially if it wasn't your conscious decision to do so beforehand. Good luck.

[Keith]

ohhh sorry I misread the first time. I now see that they covered your entire boot stripe. Yikes!!

Bottom paint is very soft by nature and since it is new should come off pretty easily with minimal effect to the boot top which is most likely hard enamel. Like Jim said try the manufacturer but I think any thiner would do. I would suggest that the quicker the better. Worst case once it is off you have to rough up the boot top and give it a new coat of enamel

Keith

[Jeff and Sarah]

Congrats on the new baby! Sarah and I just had our third son last Monday (4/17). I had hoped to get all of my spring maintenance done before his birth but that of course did not happen. Luckily there wasn't much to do this year so I'm about caught up and we launch May 1 weather permitting.

Regarding your bottom paint- if you are very limited on time this spring, consider just leaving it until next year. There are a growing number of boaters out there who paint their boot stripes with bottom paint so it isn't complete heresy. I suspect removing it will not be too hard (just be judicious with the stripping agent so it doesn't run down the hull and remove it below the waterline), but the time consuming part might be making the old boot stripe presentable again. Interlux does carry a one-part boot stripe paint that is supposedly easy to apply. I repainted mine with Interlux Perfection a couple years ago and it has held up very well. Since you still have the old boot stripe (I didn't so I had to redraw the line), taping and painting won't be overly difficult.

My vote (given your limited time for boat yard projects this spring) is to launch the boat and sail this season. Handle it next year. I'm sure others will disagree, but this isn't a safety or performance issue and sailing is more fun than stripping bottom paint.

[Stan W.]

What kind of bottom paint: ablative or hard? If ablative then it should come off with a good scrubbing using a Scotchbrite pad. If hard you may have to resort to more aggressive measures.

What kind of bootstripe: paint or gelcoat? If paint, aggressive measures won't matter much because you can always repaint the bootstripe. If gelcoat, you will need to be very careful. I would suggest sanding with a relatively fine grit (220) until the gelcoat just starts to show through and then wet sanding with a series of very fine grits (400 to 600 to 1000 to 2000) followed by polishing compound followed by finishing polish. The idea is not to put any 220 grit scratches in the actual gelcoat.

Was there a band of white gelcoat between the old bottom paint and the bootstripe and do you want to keep that? Bottom paint can leave a permanent stain on light colored gelcoat. If you had such a band and want to keep it you should get the paint off right away.

[Maine_Buzzard]

At some small expense, can you get a contrasting color of bottom paint to mimic the boot stripe? Disguise it for a for a year or two and commit to having the entire bottom and boot stripe soda blasted off later. Match the composition of the recently panted bottom paint and take consolation that you will never see it while sailing.

I was annoyed by the white gelcoat between the black bottom paint and brown boot stripe. A sacrificial strip of tan oil paint, sanded and reapplied each year has been superb. Slime scrubs off without complaint.

Cheers!

[adamganz]

Thanks everyone. Very helpful.

The paint is ablative so it sounds like I can remove it fairly easily...next fall. Boats now in the water. somewere on this site I saw a repainted 36 with the boot stripe and the white space all painted brown., and the bottom paint a slightly darker brown/red/almost burgundy. Was sharp. I might cob that job together next off season.