Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 28-09-2015, 10:46   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Media, PA
Boat: Pacific Seacraft 31
Posts: 105
Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

I have another hull to strip down and barrier coat.
I have scraped, sanded, and sand blasted previously. I heard that soda blasting had drawbacks. I have seen areas of my hull chewed up thru the gel coat by over zealous sand blasting.

I'm sure this has been addressed here before, but not sure where to look, so I'll just apologize for the new thread and hope for some advise and direction.

Thanks in advance,
Rob
The Legacy + Wind Chimes
RLaird is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 12:04   #2
Eternal Member
 
cabo_sailor's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Tarpon Springs FL
Boat: Cabo Rico 38
Posts: 1,987
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

I am not an expert but you deserve a reply. I'm not sure about soda blasting but the common grit used in many yards has the ability to leave grains imbedded in the glass. There are other materials available that have less potential for harm. I seem to recall walnut shells being used.

If no one else with more experience chimes in I would suggest a web search on boat sandblasting.

The walnut shells are rather hard. I use them to clean brass shells before reloading.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum
cabo_sailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 15:33   #3
Registered User
 
zboss's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: On a boat
Boat: 1987 Cabo Rico 38 #117 (sold) & 2008 Manta 42 #124
Posts: 4,172
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

I had my bottom sodablasted.

The sodablasting is supposed to be able to remove paint and not the epoxy barrier coat. Of course, this depends on how old you barrier coat is and the skill of the person doing the soda blasting.

We ended up having to re-epoxy anyhow.

Interestingly, Harbor freight is now carrying do-it-yourself soda and abrasive blasting equipment for cheap. No need to pay someone to do it.
zboss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 15:46   #4
Registered User
 
Jman's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Northeast, USA
Boat: Luders 36
Posts: 237
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

Search dustless sanding on the Internet. There are franchises all about the US at any rate, uses water and fine glass I believe, but seem to specialize in boats and cars.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum
Jman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 16:06   #5
Registered User
 
haiqu's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Somewhere on Australia's east coast.
Boat: 'Shenoa' Hartley Tasman 27' bilge keeler
Posts: 473
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

The latest thing seems to be dry ice blasting, it's supposed to be more environmentally friendly.

Frankly I wouldn't put a sandblaster anywhere near a yacht due to the excessive abrasion. Soda blasting seems to be the go and requires far less operator skill to do a good job.
__________________
https://www.cruiserswiki.org - Moderator

"The cure for anything is salt water... sweat, tears, or the sea" -- Isak Dinesen
haiqu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 16:13   #6
Moderator Emeritus
 
a64pilot's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Jacksonville/ out cruising
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 31,351
Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

Quote:
Originally Posted by haiqu View Post
The latest thing seems to be dry ice blasting, it's supposed to be more environmentally friendly.



Frankly I wouldn't put a sandblaster anywhere near a yacht due to the excessive abrasion. Soda blasting seems to be the go and requires far less operator skill to do a good job.

At the now Boeing helicopter plant in Mesa Arizona they have a robotic "arm" to strip layers of Carc paint off of aircraft, it looks like a big vacuum head and consists of incredibly powerful IR lights that first flash the paint, then it is blasted with CO2 pellets.
The draw to it is the only residue is dry paint dust, that was before all this greenhouse gas craze, I assume they didn't actually create any CO2, just condense it from the atmosphere.
It causes no harm to either soft aircraft aluminum or composites.

I found it.
http://boeing.mediaroom.com/1998-06-...pache-Fuselage


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum
a64pilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 16:58   #7
Registered User
 
goat's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Everywhere (Sea of Cortez right now)
Boat: PSC Orion 27
Posts: 1,377
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

Quote:
Originally Posted by haiqu View Post
The latest thing seems to be dry ice blasting, it's supposed to be more environmentally friendly.
I was wondering why this isn't a more popular option. We have this done on our industrial heat exchangers on a regular basis. Only mess to clean up is the stuff that gets blasted off. Any entrepreneurs out there?

goat
goat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 17:38   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Oregon
Boat: Seafarer36c
Posts: 5,563
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

I had our hull soda blasted, next time I will find some guy who uses a 7" pad with 16 grit. I thought the blasting job was uneven. The whole point was to have a ready to paint surface. I would have needed to sand after the blast job to make it fair. Why not just sand to begin with ?
model 10 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 17:58   #9
Registered User
 
Ziggy's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: U.S., Northeast
Boat: Currently boatless
Posts: 1,643
Images: 2
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

Quote:
Originally Posted by zboss View Post
I had my bottom sodablasted.

The sodablasting is supposed to be able to remove paint and not the epoxy barrier coat. Of course, this depends on how old you barrier coat is and the skill of the person doing the soda blasting.

We ended up having to re-epoxy anyhow.

Interestingly, Harbor freight is now carrying do-it-yourself soda and abrasive blasting equipment for cheap. No need to pay someone to do it.
Likewise, I had the bottom soda blasted. I plugged up all the thruhulls so no soda got inside. While the gelcoat was left intact, some of the barrier coat was removed and I ended up replacing it. That turned out to be a good thing, since the old bottom paint was always peeling from the barrier coat and I was able to correct that.

One safe alternative is walnut shell blasting, but I think sand blasting is too aggressive for paint removal from gelcoat.
__________________
... He knows the chart is not the sea.
-- Philip Booth, Chart 1203
Ziggy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 18:14   #10
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Media, PA
Boat: Pacific Seacraft 31
Posts: 105
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

Thanks for all the words of wisdom. Lots of mixed experiences out there.
I am one who leans toward if you want something done right... However, not everything I attempt comes out as planned either.

Guess I'll read up on the web a bit and try to decide if there is a local source I can trust with the proper method. It would be sort of 'fun' to try soda blasting myself. The CO2 sounds fascinating. My son has the entrepreneurial bent. Who knows...

Best wishes all and for those of you up north, good luck with your winter projects. For the rest of you, fair skies and a nice breeze!
RLaird is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 18:24   #11
Registered User
 
colemj's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Presently on US East Coast
Boat: Manta 40 "Reach"
Posts: 10,108
Images: 12
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

We had our boat soda blasted several years ago to remove many years of bottom paint. It came out perfect - smooth and clean. A quick light tooth with 80 grit, a coat of barrier epoxy as a tie-coat primer and bottom paint.

I have seen nightmare bottoms resulting from sand blasting. If you go that way, not only do you want a reputable yard, you want the actual reputable person operating it. Sand blasting paint over gelcoat is a bit of a learned art.

Mark
__________________
www.svreach.com

You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
colemj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 18:32   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Media, PA
Boat: Pacific Seacraft 31
Posts: 105
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

So nice to hear a story with a good outcome!
Sand has always provided mixed results for me so Soda will likely be my next approach.
thanks much Mark!
RLaird is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 29-09-2015, 19:12   #13
Registered User
 
travellerw's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Martinique
Boat: Fortuna Island Spirit 40
Posts: 2,298
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

Here is a video about "Dustless Blasting". It really looks like a good process.

travellerw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-11-2015, 08:46   #14
Marine Service Provider

Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 6
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

We use the Dustless Blasting system along with sugar sand, it works great, removes the paint very nice. You just have to start with low pressure and about 18" from the material, then slowly increase pressure until it starts stripping the paint. What most people do is get in a hurry, turn up the pressure to get the job done quick, and wind up messing the job up. Low pressure and take your time, it will come out nice.
__________________
Thanks,
Richard
richard1970 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-11-2015, 08:55   #15
Registered User
 
enjaku's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Chicago, IL
Boat: Allures 45
Posts: 37
Re: Hull Stripping - Soda Blast, Sand

I'm torn between soda or sand blasting, and just using a rotary sander. I plan to leave the aluminum bare, as the lower portion of the hull is bare as well. Once I get the paint off, I'll probably buff the entire hull just for aesthetics.
__________________
USCG Master Captain
S/V Tortuga
MMSI: 367701590
Chicago, IL
enjaku is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
hull

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
SoCal boat yard recomendations-soda blast and barrier coat Thank you dad Construction, Maintenance & Refit 16 03-10-2013 11:18
Mexico sand blast and paint, anyone know a good cheap place? offgridcanuck Pacific & South China Sea 5 26-04-2013 10:17
Soda Blast Residue causes Gel-Coat Discoloration JRMarine Construction, Maintenance & Refit 10 06-12-2012 11:15
Sand Blast Questions kjames Construction, Maintenance & Refit 13 26-08-2011 19:21
To Sand, or Not to Sand: That Is the Question ! concept Construction, Maintenance & Refit 3 11-06-2010 12:21

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:41.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.