ferro cement

[paul t]

hi all am new to this site , how ever am proud owner of Hartley Fijian ketch built professionally in new Zealand in 1988 , needs extertnal repaint and am considering soda blasting for removal of existing paint , any help comments appreciated paul t

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Paul.

[boatman61]

Hi Paul.. Welcome to CF..
Very few Ferro owners here methinks.. might find more info here..
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...tions/messages

[svJuggernaut]

I own a Ferro 35' Endurance cutter. Very strong material. I love my floating sidewalk.

[billy4184]

I have no idea about soda blasting but sandblasting is extremely dangerous to a ferro hull. In the right hands, it might just work, but if not, your boat will never be the same again. A bit too hard for a moment too long and you have a lot more problems on your hands than before.

I have a ferro boat and although I have never sandblasted it, I've heard very few happy endings about it and quite a few sad ones. Like I said, I don't know about soda blasting particularly.

Billy

[a64pilot]

Soda blasting is very similar to sand blasting, but much, much gentler.

[Mattyb]

I have a ferro boat and am just going through the process now. I am only sanding and scraping the paint off. I have an expoxy undercoat which I dont want to damage. Its not that hard really but depends on how much time you have.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by billy4184

I have no idea about soda blasting but sandblasting is extremely dangerous to a ferro hull. In the right hands, it might just work, but if not, your boat will never be the same again.

This is confusing.... first you say you know nothing about soda blasting, then go on to say sandblasting is dangerous...
I mean, if one can soda blast a fibreglass boat without any problems, why not a ferro? I wouldn't think of sanblasting anything but a steel boat.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Soda blasting is very similar to sand blasting, but much, much gentler.

Right, it is high pressure air with an infusion of sodium bicarbonate for abrasion.

I am having my boat soda blasted this spring and have done some homework. While this will remove the bottom paint, it will cause no harm to the substrate - and I have seen a boat right after the job was done.

[lonesoldier0408]

I've seen soda blasting on various restoration project, in skilled hands you should be fine, however a glance at warranty and insurance of the service provider would be prudent to say the least... Where are and can I speak to previous clients... An ounce of prevention...

[billy4184]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

This is confusing.... first you say you know nothing about soda blasting, then go on to say sandblasting is dangerous...

I don't see what is confusing about this.

Good luck with soda blasting your boat, I might give it a go one day if I look into it and find it is safe.

One must be careful with ferro boats as what comes off cannot simply be glued back on.

Billy

[DumnMad]

The risk is contamination of the cement surface to the extent that it may affect the bonding of new paint.

This link seems to say it is OK; Soda Blasting Concrete - The Concrete Network

Good luck it sound good, especially the alkaline part.
Two great Hartley Fijians 50 odd metres from me.