Peel Away... Not as good as expected...

[Douglas McMullin]

Well I finally dove in head first with the non-caustic Peel Away this weekend. I had performed a few test spots last week that produced poor results, but I figured it just needed much more time to work.I did two sections over two days and allowed it to set for eight hours. The temerature was in the 60's both days. Each time the chemical hardly softened up the epoxy paint from last year. Perhaps the paint is not compatible with the stripper. It was Interlux Bottom Kote.

Anyone out there used this stuff and had better results? I figure I will take off what I can and disk sand the rest. Im not going to coat the hull twice with this stuff...

Douglas McMullin
CD25 "Allia"
Swans Island Maine...

dmcm@revnetx.net



dmcm@revnetx.net

[Bruce Bett]

I was considering using Peel Away, but figured the cost for a CD 25 at about $250 plus a weekends work. For $100 more I'm having mine sandblasted. We'll see eh?

Bruce Bett
CD 25 "Sostenuto"
La Salle MI

Well I finally dove in head first with the non-caustic Peel Away this weekend. I had performed a few test spots last week that produced poor results, but I figured it just needed much more time to work.I did two sections over two days and allowed it to set for eight hours. The temerature was in the 60's both days. Each time the chemical hardly softened up the epoxy paint from last year. Perhaps the paint is not compatible with the stripper. It was Interlux Bottom Kote.

Anyone out there used this stuff and had better results? I figure I will take off what I can and disk sand the rest. Im not going to coat the hull twice with this stuff...

Douglas McMullin
CD25 "Allia"
Swans Island Maine...

dmcm@revnetx.net

BETT@smtp.munet.edu

[Walt Bilofsky]

Well I finally dove in head first with the non-caustic Peel Away this weekend. I had performed a few test spots last week that produced poor results, but I figured it just needed much more time to work.I did two sections over two days and allowed it to set for eight hours. The temerature was in the 60's both days. Each time the chemical hardly softened up the epoxy paint from last year.

Powerboat Reports (sister mag to Practical Sailor) rates Peel Away tops (most recently in the April 1997 issue) but warns that it is not fast. They report the instructions call for checking to see if it's done its job after two hours, then after six hours, and if that's not enough after 24 hours.



bilofsky@toolworks.com

[Tom B.]

A few years ago I tried Peel Away and the only thing it peeled away was greenbacks from my wallet!! The write-ups sound great (I thought it would be a piece of cake). My hull had 3/16ths of an inch of anti-fouling. I applied a test patch and waited eight hours and, nothing. The next morning I called the company (no 800 number) and was told that the product works best in warm temperatures, contrary to the reports I quoted them. Alas, I waited for warmer weather and let it set under its peel away paper for 24 hours and, lo and behold, it didn't work!! I had to scrape/wash off the peel away, of course the anti-fouling was still intact. Back at square one, I had to sand the hull. Thankfully, the hull was in excellent shape (no blisters, voids, et cetera) so I rolled on eight YES 8 coats of Interlux 2000. I started the 2000 at the top of the boot stripe and then put three coats of Interlux Micron CSC. Will have to add more this spring -- not bad after four seasons in fresh water!! My advice to all who think of going this route -- save your money for a nice meal and a good movie!! Re sandblasting -- BE CAREFUL, this will take off your gelcoat and you are going to be in for a bigger job than you think.


Well I finally dove in head first with the non-caustic Peel Away this weekend. I had performed a few test spots last week that produced poor results, but I figured it just needed much more time to work.I did two sections over two days and allowed it to set for eight hours. The temerature was in the 60's both days. Each time the chemical hardly softened up the epoxy paint from last year. Perhaps the paint is not compatible with the stripper. It was Interlux Bottom Kote.

Anyone out there used this stuff and had better results? I figure I will take off what I can and disk sand the rest. Im not going to coat the hull twice with this stuff...

Douglas McMullin
CD25 "Allia"
Swans Island Maine...

dmcm@revnetx.net

[Stephen]

I used two 5-gallon drums of Peel Away ($87 a piece at Home Depot -- still have about one-half a drum left). It did an alright job. You need to apply it thick. I started with one drum and, as I began to run low, applied it more thinly. The thin parts did not do well at all and I ended up re-applying the Peel Away.

The best way to scrape it off, I found, was to use a long-handled snow scraper (plastic, for your car). Two other important factors seem to be temperature and carefully covering the Peel Away to prevent it from evaporating. My test coat failed on both counts. It was below 50 degrees and some parts dried out. Even so, some parts were stripped to the gel coat.

One other thing: somehow, applying the neutralizer helped even more in removing the paint. The instructions say to apply the neutralizer while the surface is still damp from the Peel Away, rub well with a stiff brush, and rinse well with low-pressure water. I followed these instructions, although I would say I used medium pressure with my garden hose, and a lot off additional paint seemed to come off in the neutralizing process.

So, at this point I'm not looking at a clean hull, but a mostly clean hull with lots of splotches of thin paint. I think it will be fairly easy to sand. I'm going to let it dry a few days, test the ph (per the neutralizer instructions), and then commence with the sanding.

Best,
Stephen



sailing@star.net

[Bruce Bett]

The sand blasting was done yesterday. It looks like a good job. It certainly took the bottom paint off and I don't think I lost too much gelcoat. A sand blaster can be a dangerous impliment in the wrong hands, but this gentleman seemed to know what he was doing.

Bruce

A few years ago I tried Peel Away and the only thing it peeled away was greenbacks from my wallet!! The write-ups sound great (I thought it would be a piece of cake). My hull had 3/16ths of an inch of anti-fouling. I applied a test patch and waited eight hours and, nothing. The next morning I called the company (no 800 number) and was told that the product works best in warm temperatures, contrary to the reports I quoted them. Alas, I waited for warmer weather and let it set under its peel away paper for 24 hours and, lo and behold, it didn't work!! I had to scrape/wash off the peel away, of course the anti-fouling was still intact. Back at square one, I had to sand the hull. Thankfully, the hull was in excellent shape (no blisters, voids, et cetera) so I rolled on eight YES 8 coats of Interlux 2000. I started the 2000 at the top of the boot stripe and then put three coats of Interlux Micron CSC. Will have to add more this spring -- not bad after four seasons in fresh water!! My advice to all who think of going this route -- save your money for a nice meal and a good movie!! Re sandblasting -- BE CAREFUL, this will take off your gelcoat and you are going to be in for a bigger job than you think.


Well I finally dove in head first with the non-caustic Peel Away this weekend. I had performed a few test spots last week that produced poor results, but I figured it just needed much more time to work.I did two sections over two days and allowed it to set for eight hours. The temerature was in the 60's both days. Each time the chemical hardly softened up the epoxy paint from last year. Perhaps the paint is not compatible with the stripper. It was Interlux Bottom Kote.

Anyone out there used this stuff and had better results? I figure I will take off what I can and disk sand the rest. Im not going to coat the hull twice with this stuff...

Douglas McMullin
CD25 "Allia"
Swans Island Maine...

dmcm@revnetx.net

BETT@stmp.muner.edu