Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

[kdmiller8251]

I am looking for help or information on the easiest cheapest way to remove anti-fouling paint. Any help would be great.<br /><br />that has Anti-Fouling on about 1/3 of it, is there anything out there that will get it off without harming the gelcoat???<br /><br />Thanks in advance

 

[DJ]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

tallman,<br /><br />Bad news. The only way is to sand it off.<br /><br />Also, the hull was sanded to apply the bottom paint. It will never shine like the rest of the boat. Once bottom paint is applied (correctly) you're stuck having bottom paint forever.

 

[kdmiller8251]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

Man, Thats not what I really wanted to hear..<br /><br />I heard of this stuff called removall 610 that is supposed to not harm the Gelcoat..<br /><br />I guess whent they put it on, they harmed it.....<br /><br />Ooh well, life goes on.... I guess I will double check and see if they applied it correctly while I am at it, Maybe they just brushed it on.. HA figure the odds

 

[KeltonKrew]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

You can use Marine Peel Away (available at Sherwin williams, www.boatersworld.com and other places.<br /><br />On another site I'm on, they use Easy Off oven cleaner. Results seem to work great. <br /><br />Neither product harm gel-coat, however you will have to either fine sand your remaining gel-coat and polish or apply another finish. The gel-coat must be sanded to get the bottom paint to adhere.<br /><br />you can use a product called VC Underwater Epoxy made my trilux that is not anti-fouling. It is teflon coated which reduces drag. You are not stuck with conventional anti-fouling paint. Do a lot more research and surf the net. You'll find you have some options.<br /><br />It's possible.

 

[kdmiller8251]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

Ok this is the actual situation and why I want to remove it, I guess I should have stated this before.. This was a saltwater boat prior to my ownership. I now use it all the time in freshwater and trailer it. So there is no need for the antifouling pait which is flaking off and looks like crap... So I want to get rid of it and bring back the original gelcoat if possible..

 

[DJ]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

tallman,<br /><br />I sort of figured that's where you were headed.<br /><br />Same answer. Sorry.

 

[John Carpenter]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

I've done a few and have one looking me in the face as we speak. I am sorry to say that there is no easy AND cheap way to do this. The easy way is to pay to have it done...not cheap. The cheap way is to sand, chemically strip or hydroblast yourself. The last two are not really cheap either, so...you are left with sanding. If you do not already own one, buy a good random orbital sander as you will wear out a cheap one the first time you do this. I use a DeWalt (with 80 grit paper) and it has held up through 4 bottom jobs. You can sand the bottom on most trailerable boats in a day...laying on your back, sanding over your head & eating/breathing toxic dust. Hard,dirty work. Buy a set of Tyvek coveralls and a good dust mask & have fun. It might not sound like it but you are better off doing this yourself...I would never hire a yard for a bottom job.

 

[kdmiller8251]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

So what happens after I sand it down<br />Do I just leave it?<br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Tallman

 

[Mikedg]

Re: Removal of Anti-Fouling paint

I will also have to agree with the others on the bad news. If the boat was prepped properly for bottom paint, it was probably sanded with coarse 80 grit paper to open up the gelcoat for mechanical bond. When you sand the remaining paint off this will also cut into the gelcoat.<br /><br />With the gelcoat now damaged, the odds of water penetrating the gel and causing osmosis is greatly increased. You will have to do something to seal the gelcoat below the water line. Companies such as Interlux and others make special bottom paints for trailerable boats which provide a hard finish and are available in a wide range of colors.<br /><br />You can probably find a bunch of threads on this site on the topic or check into sites for Interlux, Petit and others.<br /><br />Sorry there is no easy fix.