Re-do needed. Best method to remove bottom paint?

[Capt Bill]

I just bought a Freedom 255. The bottom paint is about the worse I've ever seen; a hodge-podge mess of epoxy, ablative, and many places just peeling off is sheets. The boat is on a bunk trailer, so no easy way to put it on blocks. I suppose I will have to wait the month or more for a local dealer to do it. No lifting ring on the bow; just a bow eye. Is that safe and strong enough to suspend the front?

Getting to the main question, how would you want it done? Sanding down to gel, stripper chemicals, soda blast, or ??? Do NOT want the gel damaged, but just the pain removed, barrier coated, and 2 coats ablative bottom paint. Is there a mobile service that can do this? And finally, what should this cost? Thanks to everyone who weighs in on this.

 

[DennisG01]

This is at your comfort level, of course, but you could still jack the boat off the trailer using blocking and pull the trailer out from underneath it. Yes, the bow eye is fine for lifting.

As far as actually removing the bottom paint... that's a big, tedious job doing it by hand, whether it's chemical or mechanical. Hiring a soda blast company to come to you is WELL worth the cost!!! Given you're in Delaware, I'm sure you'll find a company.

 

[Legend]

I just saw a 40 footer soda blasted at my Marina last Friday. The guys that did it were pros and had it clean of 20 years worth of paint in 3 hours. Next day it had a seal coat and then the following day with bottom paint. Looks brand new. Sanding and chemicals would be a tough chore!

 

[seasick]

The new thing now is called 'Dustless Blasting'. It uses lots of water and an abrasive that is usually a fine crushed glass. The up side is that the bottom paint and glass powder get washed away and do not make dust clouds. Many of the dustless blasters are mobile services

 

[seasick]

I also did some experimenting with the new Pettit EZ Paint stripper that I mentioned is another post. So far I tried two smallish (about 2 x 2 ft) sections of lower hull in addition to an 18" length of the water line paint.
I would give it 1 star out of 5, maybe less. I am going to test again next week but I don't have a lot of optimism.
I followed the instructions, worked within the specified temps, didn't apply in direct sunlight and waited the 20 /40 minutes as instructed but only a small amount of bottom paint came off. I tries 3 separate applications, each time getting only a little bit off. Mt paint for the last 3 or 4 seasons has been Pettit Hydrocoat and before that was Interlux Micron. Once I got to the older Micron, that seemed to dissolve easier. The instructions advise no to let the gel dry but that is hard to do if you need to wait the 40 minutes. In one section where the chemical dried, the surface turned into something shinny and very hard. The next next application of remover did nothing.
The chemical itself has a very very strong order and I suspect that if used in a closed environment, it harmful be harmful. Even outdoors it is strong smelling and my nose is not it used to be,

The next test will include applying some plastic over the gel to slow the evaporation so that it can work for longer periods without drying out. I will post again after my tests.

 

[Capt Bill]

The new thing now is called 'Dustless Blasting'. It uses lots of water and an abrasive that is usually a fine crushed glass. The up side is that the bottom paint and glass powder get washed away and do not make dust clouds. Many of the dustless blasters are mobile services

well I've scoured the internet and yellow book for mobile blasting services here in Delaware, and cam up with exactly zero. The closes one I found online, was Mikes Soda Blasting in ShadySide, Md. I left him a message this AM, but given he is probably 2 1/2 hr drive from here, he may not make the drive. Other problem is the boat is on a bunk trailer, so blocking would be the first order of business.

I'll keep looking.If you or anyone here knows of a good outfit that will work in lower Delaware, please let me know.

 

[SkunkBoat]

there are things in this world worth paying a pro with the right tools....
You are on a trailer. You can take it to a marina that does that work.

Once its cleaned you need 3 coats of an epoxy barrier. That can be a pain because of dry/recoat times and weather. You don't want to get caught having to sand between coats. Then 3 coats of antifouling paint.
Do you plan on tackling that yourself? Having the whole job done will be big$ but a marina can put it in the shed and do it all in 3 days.

 

[Capt Bill]

there are things in this world worth paying a pro with the right tools....
You are on a trailer. You can take it to a marina that does that work.

Once its cleaned you need 3 coats of an epoxy barrier. That can be a pain because of dry/recoat times and weather. You don't want to get caught having to sand between coats. Then 3 coats of antifouling paint.
Do you plan on tackling that yourself? Having the whole job done will be big$ but a marina can put it in the shed and do it all in 3 days.

I've called around, but the only place that has (had) soda blast equipment, told me that it is out of comission until further notice. If I could find a mobile service that would do it here at my place, I would handle the barrier coat and bottom paint, and also know that it was done right. Not rushed, no steps skipped. I have the time, and a building where I could do the work, then go back in the house for the dry times. Just want to get it done.

 

[kirk a]

My .02 Best method is to pay someone to do it. That said, it is not something you have to do NOW. Use the boat, and find a time where a provider is able to schedule it for you, and get it done then. This is a really tough time of year to get anything done on a boat, without a huge wait.

Probably goes against your OCD nature (joking), but it can be put off.

 

[Pat Hurley]

Captain Bill,

Call Gale Force Blasting ( Chris Stafford ) He is mobile and does plenty of work in Delaware, Maryland, Pa. and New Jersey etc. I had Chris Soda Blast my 30' Marlin in March and he did an outstanding job. My boat is in Ocean City MD. Chris is very thorough and when he is done you'll never know he was there. Full containment of all dust debris etc. Chris can quote the cost to apply barrier and ablative too ...or he will advise you on how to do it yourself and how the products differ. You won't be disappointed

I chose to apply the barrier and ablative myself and did 5 coats of Interlux epoxy barrier coat followed up with 3 coats of Micron 66.... FYI Pettit epoxy is thicker and only requires 2 coats of epoxy barrier

galeforcesodablasting.com

1-800-901-4253 Chris Stafford

Regards, Pat Hurley

 

[seasick]

Interprotect 2000E barrier coat is a 4 0r 5 coat process and will take two days with the recommended drying times to recoat. Pettit HDR(?) is a two coat process. The times to recoat AND time to bottom paint is also critical. If you wait too long, you will have to lightly sand the barrier coat.

 

[Pat Hurley]

Here are a few pictures. Make sure you follow the directions to the T. And if you have any questions they have excellent tech support. FYI we sanded with 80 grit after solvent wipedown to remove any shiney areas on the gel. Soda blasting is fairly mild but it removed the old bottom paint to the finish below. And spared us from inhaling all the crap and back breaking work

 

[Capt Bill]

My .02 Best method is to pay someone to do it. That said, it is not something you have to do NOW. Use the boat, and find a time where a provider is able to schedule it for you, and get it done then. This is a really tough time of year to get anything done on a boat, without a huge wait.

Probably goes against your OCD nature (joking), but it can be put off.

"Probably goes against your OCD nature (joking), but it can be put off."
Seems you know me well.
That's my plan. I'll do little scrape and sand where it's peeling off in sheets (there's a lot of that, actually), and I'll do a quick coat of ablative to keep the barnacles off, then schedule the bottom job later. But I've got to fix a few other things, including the hydraulic steering.

 

[Capt Bill]

Captain Bill,

Call Gale Force Blasting ( Chris Stafford ) He is mobile and does plenty of work in Delaware, Maryland, Pa. and New Jersey etc. I had Chris Soda Blast my 30' Marlin in March and he did an outstanding job. My boat is in Ocean City MD. Chris is very thorough and when he is done you'll never know he was there. Full containment of all dust debris etc. Chris can quote the cost to apply barrier and ablative too ...or he will advise you on how to do it yourself and how the products differ. You won't be disappointed

I chose to apply the barrier and ablative myself and did 5 coats of Interlux epoxy barrier coat followed up with 3 coats of Micron 66.... FYI Pettit epoxy is thicker and only requires 2 coats of epoxy barrier

galeforcesodablasting.com

1-800-901-4253 Chris Stafford

Regards, Pat Hurley

Pat, thanks for the info and photos. That's very nice prep and paint work; your boat looks beautiful. I'm going to call him today.

 

[Legend]

Here are a few pictures. Make sure you follow the directions to the T. And if you have any questions they have excellent tech support. FYI we sanded with 80 grit after solvent wipedown to remove any shiney areas on the gel. Soda blasting is fairly mild but it removed the old bottom paint to the finish below. And spared us from inhaling all the crap and back breaking work

Hey Pat, it looks great, Did you find a noticeable difference with overall performance with the new smooth bottom?

 

[Pat Hurley]

Hey Legend,

I haven't owned the boat long enough to get a feel for the effects. We purchased her late last October and did some fall/winter fishing before haul out in early January. Upon pressure washing we discovered we had the "Earl Schiebs" paint job. It just flaked off exposing gelcoat with no primer whatsoever. Prior to that the finish was fairly smooth with no pock marks. The previous owner had the boat lift kept with no paint since new until they decided to slip it. Apparently they gave it the scuff job and ablative for its last year of ownership before selling it. I hate to half ass it so we sprung for the soda blast and epoxy/barrier. Since we were in deep I spent the extra couple hundred bucks for the Micron 66 upgrade. The boat ran great this past weekend, the engines have low hours and are in tip top shape having everything gone over and checked. We ran out at 4300-4400 rpm doing 24-25kts and coming back with some current in our favor 4400 rpms was giving us 25.5 to 28kts. I don't like pushing over 4500 when running. We do the occasional blowout coming in and put the coals to it at which we were seeing 36 + kts. I don't know how this compares to others with the same set up but hope to get some input from guys around me. Compared to my previous boat with outboards of the same hp and vintage the GW is a bit more thirsty but that is understandable due to the weight and running surface. Love the boat as she checks all our boxes. I have owned larger inboard diesels with deep vee's and although the ride was great it sucked working on them and the money outlay and maintenance was autrocious... heat exchangers,aftercoolers, injectors, injector pumps etc etc etc....