Replacing thru hulls, removing bottom paint, temporary fixing a wet transom..... making progress.......

[Chessie246G]

Ill add some pictures with my cell. Progress has been painfully slow. Thru hulls are a major pain in the a$$. Bottom paint is kicking my butt too. Cant lift my arms above my head today.. LOL Removed the trim tabs and ruined the backing plates getting them off. I absolutely hate 5200....

 

[Chessie246G]

Found some cracking in the glass under the bottom paint. It will get fixed. Can of worms.... broke the drain fitting on the smaller cooler... impossible to get to the bottom of it. I'll figure something out.

 

[Chessie246G]

Strake repair ground out... about 15% of bottom paint removed..

 

[Chessie246G]

Trying to get the transom dry..... the weather here is killing me.. so much condenstion the past few days.

 

[DennisG01]

It certainly can be a labor of love (and pain!) keeping these oldies-but-goodies in good shape!

That looks like pretty good impact damage in pic #542. Be sure to get back to good, solid glass. With the aggressive sanding, also make sure to do a proper epoxy barrier coat.

Good luck! And have fun!

 

[Chessie246G]

It certainly can be a labor of love (and pain!) keeping these oldies-but-goodies in good shape!

That looks like pretty good impact damage in pic #542. Be sure to get back to good, solid glass. With the aggressive sanding, also make sure to do a proper epoxy barrier coat.

Good luck! And have fun!

Epoxy bottom paint--- its going from wet slipped to dry racked. and yes, going to be grinding that back a good bit, it appears to be a previous repair made to the area.

 

[Sullivans790]

Doing the same thing. I could send you some pictures I took the are almost identical. Also took trim off top of transom and dried it out.
I have a 2000 - 226 seafarer.
love the boat but kicked my ass getting the bottom paint off and restoring the gelcoat.

call if you want to share more or need anything. John @ 989-274-7173

 

[Chessie246G]

Doing the same thing. I could send you some pictures I took the are almost identical. Also took trim off top of transom and dried it out.
I have a 2000 - 226 seafarer.
love the boat but kicked my ass getting the bottom paint off and restoring the gelcoat.

call if you want to share more or need anything. John @ 989-274-717

Mine doesn't have a top plate. Full transom, but the starboard scupper leaked. It will get replaced next winter. I've gotten few quotes that ranged from 4,500 to 10,000. Or maybe this year if the gas prices keep going up. LOL!!

 

[DennisG01]

Epoxy bottom paint--- its going from wet slipped to dry racked. and yes, going to be grinding that back a good bit, it appears to be a previous repair made to the area.

So you're going to totally restore the gelcoat? Phew, that's going to be a TON of work, especially considering all those sanding marks and then trying to match the repaired gel areas to the rest. You're going to be measuring your time in the tens of hours... at least. Go for it if you want to, but that's a lot of time and effort for an old boat. And, quite honestly, it's not going to increase the value any. But, hey, it's your boat and your time!

 

[Chessie246G]

The missing gel will get replaced with epoxy fairing.... no way am i messing with restoring it. Final coat will be vc performance by interlux..

 

[Chessie246G]

Wanted to also add do not, I MEAN DO NOT try citristrip to remove bottom paint. Horrible internet advise.... It didn't touch it really. It only softened 1 layer and now has made a complete mess..... gloppy paint,,,, clogged sandpaper. its been over 2 weeks and its still soft. Going to try to pressure wash the bottom to get rid of the stripper and hopefully be able to finish sanding it. Back to Tyvek suits and orbital sanders.... Hopefully.........

 

[DennisG01]

The missing gel will get replaced with epoxy fairing.... no way am i messing with restoring it.

That's good!

The VC stuff... but does that also serve the same purpose as an epoxy barrier coat I mentioned? I don't know much about the VC stuff. Or does that stuff stuff just "look good"? I know it has "epoxy" it's name, but I don't know if completely seals the gelcoat, or not.

Funny about that Citrus stuff - I used that a number of years ago with good results. I put plastic over it to keep it from drying out too fast and then used a scraper to scrape the bottom paint off. It didn't get it all right away as some places were thick - but I think that's to be expected with any chemical stripper. It sometimes takes a couple applications. But it definitely saved me time.

 

[Chessie246G]

Definitely not saving me time. LOL but Im glad it worked well for you. yes, the vc performance epoxy is an epoxy barrier coat/bottom paint. It designed to be used below the waterline. zero antifouling, which I don't need any longer. dry stacked.

 

[Chessie246G]

That's good!

The VC stuff... but does that also serve the same purpose as an epoxy barrier coat I mentioned? I don't know much about the VC stuff. Or does that stuff stuff just "look good"? I know it has "epoxy" it's name, but I don't know if completely seals the gelcoat, or not.

Funny about that Citrus stuff - I used that a number of years ago with good results. I put plastic over it to keep it from drying out too fast and then used a scraper to scrape the bottom paint off. It didn't get it all right away as some places were thick - but I think that's to be expected with any chemical stripper. It sometimes takes a couple applications. But it definitely saved me time.

I'm going on 3 weeks, and its till wet, without it covered, granted I'm in Maryland and we are at the tail end of winter. Temps have been averaging 45-50. Its still wet!!!! Iw as really hoping with the extended wetness it would come off easier. but Scraping with a draw scraper only takes off 1 layer at best, which when working overhead makes a huge mess. Ill be months cleaning this crap off. LOL

 

[DennisG01]

I'm sure you're not doing anything wrong - it's not rocket science. Who knows why it works sometimes and other times it doesn't... too many variables to worry about it.

Try wiping it down really well with acetone - maybe that will dry it up to make sanding easier. But usually citrus-based stuff is water-based, I think? Hit it with a hose real well - maybe that will do it.

 

[Chessie246G]

I'm sure you're not doing anything wrong - it's not rocket science. Who knows why it works sometimes and other times it doesn't... too many variables to worry about it.

Try wiping it down really well with acetone - maybe that will dry it up to make sanding easier. But usually citrus-based stuff is water-based, I think? Hit it with a hose real well - maybe that will do it.

Maybe differences in the paint its removing?? Im not sure. But I know it created more of a mess than it helped..... Im planning on putting it back down on the trailer and pressure washing it all off. Then blocking it back up and back to sanding.

 

[Chessie246G]

Finally making some progress. Removed tue roller assemblies from the trailer and started scrapping (pull scrapper) before sanding. Id say I'm about 3/4 finished. Then onto fiberglass repair, fairing, and fresh coat of vc performance epoxy.

 

[Chessie246G]

I'll never do this job again. Next time I'll pay someone to do it. Literally 3 weeks worth of sanding. 200 discs, 5 tyvek suits, 2 sets of filters for respirators. 30 years or bottom paint is no joke!

 

[DennisG01]

There are many things I enjoy doing on and around boats... and then there are things were I am HAPPY to put bread on someone else's table! I also have a younger brother and a helpful son....

 

[Chessie246G]

There are many things I enjoy doing on and around boats... and then there are things were I am HAPPY to put bread on someone else's table! I also have a younger brother and a helpful son....

Lessons learned..... Lessons learned. Never again. Although my shoulders and arms are going to be ripped here soon... LOL!