Cordless Heat Gun To Remove Varnish

[Jaspell]

Has anyone had any luck with a cordless heat gun that gets hot enough to strip varnish? I’m trying to strip the cabin sole while on the hard but do not have access to corded power. The 20 volt no name unit I got from Amazon didn’t touch the stuff and am wondering if there are any alternatives that are up to the task. TIA

[S/V Illusion]

Easier to sand.

[fgd3]

A heat gun will soften varnish and make it easy to remove but it will not touch polyurethane. The wood will scorch under the polyurethane without the polyurethane showing any sign of softening. Be sure what material you're dealing with. If the heat gun you tried reaches 200 to 300 degrees F it's hot enough to strip varnish but not polyurethane.

[Jaspell]

I did start at it with the sander which resulted in slow but measurable progress. Is there any way to tell whether it's poly or varnish? As noted, the heat gun I was using produced no results. I chalked that up to the tool, not the sole coating.

[Wotname]

My guess the sole will be a 2 pack polyurethane and not a varnish or single pack polyurethane. A varnish or single pack polyurethane is too soft for a hard wearing area like a the sole.

Thus sanding is the best option. Start with a minimum of 60 grit and when most of it is removed, quickly go to 120 and then 240 or similar.

Hopefully the sole is not a thin veneer.

[donradcliffe]

Propane torch and flame spreader, plus scraper.

[5BTM]

Bahco/Sandvik carbide tipped scraper, model#665.

[GordMay]

Rub a small amount of acetone, using a clean cotton swab, into the wood.
If the acetone beads, the finish is polyurethane.
If not, wait for a couple of minutes - then, touch or scrape the area lightly.
Lacquer will dissolve completely, but varnish will just become tacky.

[capt jgw]

The method for testing topside paint, which I think would work the same on varnish, is to soak a rag in acetone and place it on the surface for 20 minutes or so. If the surface softens or blisters, it's a one part product.
For doing a lot of sanding or other work without AC mains power, I'd buy a portable generator. You'll find it useful for a lot of other projects too. I have the Harbor Freight 2000 watt model, seems every bit as good as the Honda I wore out at less than half the price. Get the add on warrantee on it. I usually don't do those but the clerk said I could exchange it for a new one no questions asked even if there was nothing wrong with the original. I did, twice. I don't think Honda offers that.

[gonesail]

more than likely your floor boards are veneer. if so .. sanding will be a risky task. in the end it may be better to just replace the sole with new plywood. or you could put a few coats of varnish on top of the existing finish which i am guessing is not a good solution?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Jaspell

Has anyone had any luck with a cordless heat gun that gets hot enough to strip varnish? I’m trying to strip the cabin sole while on the hard but do not have access to corded power. The 20 volt no name unit I got from Amazon didn’t touch the stuff and am wondering if there are any alternatives that are up to the task. TIA

Obviously?

A good heat gun uses 1500 W. A typical drill-type battery holds ~ 50 Wh, or could run 1500 W for 2 minutes. So typically the cordless guns are only 300 W and can only run at that rate for 10 minutes (but they often claim 40 minutes, which must be on low (barely warm).


Handy for electrical heat shrink, but that is about it.


Not all tools can be cordless.

Lots of good advice given by others.

[keepondancin]

Try a stripper, like Citrus Strip, might soften it so it can be scraped. Use a good scraper like the Bahco, with a carbide edge. The Kidney Killing strippers aren’t available any longer, like ZipStrip. I wouldn’t’ Just sand, it would be very easy to sand through the veneer. Lightly sand after the finish is mostly off. I am surprised a heat gun doesn’t work.

[Jaspell]

Originally Posted by Wotname

My guess the sole will be a 2 pack polyurethane and not a varnish or single pack polyurethane. A varnish or single pack polyurethane is too soft for a hard wearing area like a the sole.

Thus sanding is the best option. Start with a minimum of 60 grit and when most of it is removed, quickly go to 120 and then 240 or similar.

Hopefully the sole is not a thin veneer.

Thanks. It's 1/4" teak and holly veneer on 3/4 plywood.

[slugsgomoo]

I did my cabin sole, and because of it being a thinner veneer, I chemically stripped and then sanded, which worked way better than heat or sanding.

Every piece I could do outside of the boat I did, and the pieces that couldn't be removed had to be done in place- have a good respirator (you should for the new finish anyway). A good trick is to put the stripper on and then cover the area in plastic film to keep it from evaporating away too quickly. Scrape it clean, acetone wash, sand it, and then do your normal cleaning prep before finishing.

I ended up using a poly that I used in my house because of how bulletproof it had been over 10 years- The boat we're into year 3 and it's still looking great, though certainly not perfect, but then neither is the rest of the boat

pic of the sole in my garage

[skipperpete]

Plus one for the Bahco scraper, bought it for the antifoul strip and now with the other side of the blade I’m stripping interior varnish perfectly with no dust.