Bottom Paint Removal

[Pegleg Sands]

soda blasting works great,with no destruction at all to the original gel,if you've got a glass boat.We use it on classic cars avd you don't have to mask chrome or glass,but we always do.There are other media that may work faster and still be safe.Walnut hulls,glass or plastic beads made for this purpose,etc.

[teipafe]

Thanks for the tip. I considered that option, but the cost if the soda blaster machine was too high and nobody at the shipyard had one...

[clockwork orange]

In my experience you have so many layers of bottom paint that it has started flaking off srom the waterline down to the groundcraping is the least difficult method. Soda blasting is the best method but ou need equipment and most marinas will require you to completley tarp the ground beneath the boat as well as from the waterline to the ground and, at least the yard i was in this spring, they would only allow their own contractor,for way to much money, they would not allow me to rent equipment and do it myself.
I tried soy strip, way too messy, i tried 40 grit on a makita sander polisher(with dust collection) a 6" metabo da with both 40 and 60 grit paper, neither was of any use as they just clogged up the paper,it would have cost hundreds in paper and too much torture, most yards will require you to have proper dust collection.
So, i went with scraping, and while it was still hard physical work it works very well, the key is using the right scraper, i used one made in ireland by the folks that make the Gelplane for peeling osmosis ravages laminate. It is just like the carbide scrapers you can buy at home depot etc except that it has a hollow handle so you can hook it up to your vacuum, it is available from the us distributor for about $30, they wanted too much for the blades, $20 for 2 but i found that red devil blades available locally for $8 for 2 fit perfectly, i only used 3 blades to do a 30 ft cat and the vacuum collected almost all the paint, i filled 4 dust bags in a 3 gallon rigid vacuum.

Steve.

[Pegleg Sands]

Originally Posted by teipafe

Thanks for the tip. I considered that option, but the cost if the soda blaster machine was too high and nobody at the shipyard had one...

Yeah,I understand about the cost.Our marina had a couple guys that lined up a few boats,then came around with a truck and spent a week or so.They had tarps and a tent,kept everybody happy.It was like 12 bucks a foot or so.If I replied to your email before,I apologize.I'm not used to this pc and windows.Need my laptop.Hope you find something that works.I just stripped my whole boat down to the mahoganu planks,took off a dozen layers of fiberglass.Now I'm trying to figure out what to do.It sure would would be pretty,but my marina doesn't allow wood boats.Insurance,they said.

[AtlanticGreenPro]

We do a lot of boat bottom blasting using the Farrow System as well as Soda blasting and we service from New York City down to the northern Chesapeake bay... and yes you do have to containment ground cover as well as containment tenting... If done correctly by a professional it's the cleanest way to remove bottom paint.

[clockwork orange]

What is the Farrow system?

[Pegleg Sands]

Yeah,Iwas wondering the same thing.I know from experience the EPA types don't want bottom paint blasted around.It's the pnly way to go for me.I guess I'll look up the Farrow system...

[AtlanticGreenPro]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

What is the Farrow system?

It's a process that uses air, water and olivine or recycled glass at low pressure 50 psi to remove bottom paint without producing dust.

Here's a video of the process is use:
The Farrow System® - Alden Yachts Demonstration - CC

[Pegleg Sands]

Dear Alan,Thank you for the demo video on the Farrow System.It's fantastic!The applicator isn't even wearing gloves.2" masking tape!I can;t believe it's that effective @ 50 PSI.I've had to wera moon suits with respirators,and the pressure would literally cut your fingers off.What range do you cover on the East Coast?Do you you cover Long Island or Brunswick GA?I couldn't get the sound to work on the desktop I have access to and walked out to the car at 5 AM so I could listen to it.Low pressure,no dust,just enough abrasion on the gel coat to hold paint!!When the holidays are over there are a few people I'm showing this to.Thanks A lot,Pegleg.....PS,Have you used it on a car??

[clockwork orange]

Thanks, it looks like the ticket. I watched a contractor sand blasting the bottom of a trawler in a yard in florida a few years ago, he was doing it dry but with a recycling system that vacuumed it up as it was blasted, it was pretty impressive as he was in shorts, tee shirt and sandles, he did wear a n95 dust mask but he didnt need it. I was watching and there was no visible dust in the air and he didnt need to tarp under the boat or tent it. If I remember correctly he charged something like $35 a foot based on overall length. I think he used silica sand. It was perhaps a little more aggressive than I would want for just paint removal but he was also exposing blisters.

Steve.

[Pegleg Sands]

Hi Steve, I used to live on an old Moran river tug.It was so big I used to have to dock it on the outside of the marina tied to the seawall.It drew 8+feet and we had to dredge the marina so I could get it under the travel-lift so I could pull the monster diesels out and put 8-71,s in it.I drydocked it once in Hoboken,NJ and had the bottom blasted.They used sand like you'd mix concrete with.We'd blast about 20ft and prime it before the end of the day.We put a 1in thick sheet of marine plywood leaning up and blew a hole in it in like 30 seconds.I used Flex-O-lite glass beads when I did my sailboat.You can only use em once cause they blow up on contact but they did a great job.But tuis Farrow System sounds great.If I ever have to do it again,I'm deftnitely looking into it.I'm gonna tell some friends about it too.

[hellosailor]

Saw a very nice new way to media blast on a cable show recently. CO2 blasting, using crushed solid dry ice. It hits painted surfaces the same way as other soft particles, and then as it heats up it goes away leaving zero mess except for the paint it has knocked off.

A VERY interesting alternative to cleaning up messy media.

[Pegleg Sands]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Saw a very nice new way to media blast on a cable show recently. CO2 blasting, using crushed solid dry ice. It hits painted surfaces the same way as other soft particles, and then as it heats up it goes away leaving zero mess except for the paint it has knocked off.

A VERY interesting alternative to cleaning up messy media.

Now that sounds interesting..I'm gonna have to look that up.I'm into welding and metalworking.It's kinda like buying a computer anymore.By the time you get it home and outta the box,it's outdated.

[multihuler]

Don't forget the paint is POISON, I have had cancer and always wonder where it came from. Treat it like it will shorten your life and remove it only if you have to, spend money for suits,gloves and top quality respirators. If you spend more than one day buy new suits etc. Be careful how you clean it up and don't be cheap.

[jtsailjt]

I stumbled onto soda blasting several years ago after trying everything else and it did a nice job, though does require someone who knows what they are doing to have a good result. Removing bottom paint is one of those jobs that might seem tempting to do yourself but IMHO is really worth the $$$ to hire a pro, both to get good results and to protect your health. That Farrow system sounds like something I'd like to try next time I need it done.

I had my 35' sailboat at a yard and they agreed to strip it for a fixed price. They mentioned the possibility of using a new (at the time) product that you painted on and then covered with a special type of paper that held the moisture in, until you simply scraped the softened paint off with a putty knife. I left it up to them as to which method and how they wanted to go about it. They first tried sanding with a grinder but there were several layers of paint so they got discouraged after barely beginning and went right to the paint-on product to soften the bottom paint. It was a 35 foot boat and they covered the whole bottom with the stuff and covered that with the special paper. When they attempted to scrape away the paint with a putty knife it was still way too hard, so they used another application of the gooey paintlike substance for a longer time, and when they attempted to remove this with a putty knife, most of it still wouldn't come off. They claimed it was because the bottom paint wasn't the "right" type, whatever that means. But by now, though it was still too hard to scrape off, it was too soft to sand or grind off. Grinding discs immediately loaded up so were unusable. They didn't know what to do with it but heard about a soda blaster contractor who was going all over the state visiting boat yards and he said he could handle it so they hired him to remove the mess. He did a great job cleaning off the bottom paint and preparing the gelcoat surface for repainting, but he only used about 1" masking tape so the upper half of my Awlgrip boot stripe now had a matte finish. So the boatyard hired yet another subcontractor to come in and repaint the boot stripe and he did it outside one fine spring day, and in the process, inventing a new way to capture black flies. Apparently they like the smell of Awlgrip. I happened to stop by the boat just as he was finishing and saw all these bumps and several runs in the paint, and even over the smell of paint, I detected that "sicky sweet" aroma that has recently become legal in some states. So, he had to come back when the bugs weren't out, and when he wasn't high, and repaint my boot stripe yet again. I only drag you through this long, sordid, tale so you understand what a nightmare it can easily turn into and why I think it's SO worth it to hire a professional to do it right the first time. If/when my current boat needs the bottom stripped, there's no doubt in my mind that some form of blasting is the way to go, and my only involvement will be to write the check. No, I'm not rich and am also not afraid to get my hands dirty or undertake a significant DIY project, but some jobs are just better left to someone who knows exactly what they're doing and has all the right equipment to do it right.