Grinding fibreglass

[Roy M]

Absolutely, on the air file! There is nothing better for fairing those huge expanses of hull curves, unless, it was a bevy of strong shouldered Amazons in minimal protective gear, following your direction from your umbrella covered barstool. Having done my share of hull fairing, I can assure you that one's imagination runs rampant when considering optional tasks or alternate methods of this utterly boring task.

[schoonerdog]

A lady at our marina was applying bottom paint and underwent a huge immune response reaction. Severe inflamation of the joints, weakness, pain, she had to walk with a cane for over a year. I'd always thought that it was simply a coincidence. Toxicity reaction to copper?

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

Yeah actually you can Scott.
Grinding it can be a messy. You certainly need to be well rugged up with overalls and gloves and a damn good respirater.

Sluissa, yea that's very dangerouse stuff and should not ever be sanded dry. It should be wet sanded only. Even then, you need to be well protected. It's nasty nasty stuff. It seems to affect different people in different ways. As you said, some don't seem to have imediate affects from it, but I can gaurranttee you that if they keep that up, they will eventualy have some seriouse health issues. I do have a friend of mine that can't go near Anti-foul. He was a commercial fisherman and had to always get someone else to paint the hull on the boat for him. As soon as he gets near it being painted, he starts coughing up blood.
I haven't had a seriouse issue with the stuff yet, but if I get any dry dust on my skin, especially face, it burns. So I be real careful around it. Infact, this haul out, the yard will be waterblasting the hull down and spraying they new stuff on for me.

[Mathil]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Talbot-
Air tools are also used in chipping and scraping and sanding for another bigger reason. They are designed so that some of the clean air LEAKS from every joint and connection, which blows out any debris. Regular electric tools get packed full of abrasive debris and chew themselves apart. The air tools last "forever" because they are self-cleaning.
The fact that they don't make sparks in explosive atmospheres or electrocute you in puddles is almost a happy co-incidence.<G>

Air tools also have easily oilable joints. Just put a few drops in the air connection and the whole working mechanism is properly oiled. Ever oiled an electric tool? Probably not as they never have any oil fittings! They still have wearing bearings and gears and such though.

[Stevens 47]

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Not all tools are created equal........Sometimes you gotta bite the bullet......
 
Air file for hull fairing.
 
Hutchins Manufacturing Air Sanders 


Got one of them the 8x16" version the hardest part is paying for the sand paper for it.

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Air tools also have easily oilable joints. Just put a few drops in the air connection and the whole working mechanism is properly oiled. Ever oiled an electric tool? Probably not as they never have any oil fittings! They still have wearing bearings and gears and such though 


Beware of oiling your air tools if you are close to the finish stage as the oil in the air exhaust will contaminate all of your hard earned work.

Shot the second stage of LP today next week is non skid.

[Easterly-30]

Has anyone used a paint stripping nozzle on a pressure washer to remove the paint on topsides or bottom paint? I was wondering if that would harm the fiberglass. Or, if there would be some environmental restriction about using that method?

[hellosailor]

Well, Jim, depending on how your state, marina, or landowner feels about becoming a SuperFund Site?

You need to build a bath under the boat, contain, reuse, recycle, and scrub the water for all the bottom paint chips, separate them out for hazmat disposal, and then either clean the water or send it out for hazmat the same way.

Some places turn a blind eye, others know that the EPA can come in and order the yard closed while containment an remediation efforts are underway. [Tranlsation: bulldoze, remove, hazmat dispose of, the top foot of soil and then replace it.] Oh, and of course, pay the fine.

Topsides shouldn't be any problem, that's just "plastic" waste.

[Roy M]

Easterly-30, the boatyards in San Diego do this, and our environmental regs are among the toughest anywhere. All waste water, rain water that has touched the ground, etc., flows into sediment basins, then into storage tanks. That is the first part of the response.

When the preliminary washdown is complete, they can follow up with more aggressive means of removal if the hydroblast isn't totally successful at complete removal. These include 3M pads, sandblasting, etc.

I saw this hydroblast removal happening this week at the local yard. Huge pools of red water ran down the collector drain. The hull retained its white epoxy primer coat, which was sanded, re-epoxied, then new bottom paint applied.

[Easterly-30]

Thanks for the comments folks! I see that the yard would have to be set up especially for hydroblasting, and that it won't harm the fiberglass. I've heard that sodablasting is a good way to remove the paint and that it won't harm even an underlying gelcoat. This too would have to be done for you by professionals. I got one quote on sodablasting as $75/hour plus material. Of course, I don't know how fast that method clears the paint off. Anybody?

[GordMay]

It takes longer to set up (lay out ground filtre tarps & tenting, if required) and clean up and dispose of removed paint etc, than to actually perform the soda blasting.

At an average of 20 square feet per minute, the blasting might take a couple of hours for a 35 - 40 boat hull, and the entire job about a day.

[Easterly-30]

Right Gord May, It appears that you would have to take extreme precautions i.e. seal up the inside of the boat so that the fine dust wouldn't get inside the boat. Also, that dust would end up all over the boat wouldn't it? So the boat would have to be wiped down or washed to remove the dust. And, even with wearing protective clothing and mask your paid professional would be covered with that toxic bottom paint dust. It sounds to me like the Festool grinder and the dust extractor combination is the best choice for removing the paint, smoothing the base, and even burnishing the finish. It would be way more tidy, especially when you are dealing with the bottom paint. Thanks for the tips!

[Weyalan]

Once the epoxy has had a coupe of days to go off, I'm gonna get to play with grinding carbon fibre. I'm betting that is gonna be just as much fun as fiberglass, if not more!

[James S]

Not sure its going to be the same.
I’m pretty sure it’s the fiber that makes conventional glass itch.
Don’t know if the carbon would be the same.
Looking forward to your report…I’ve never worked with the stuff.

[Joli]

Glovecoat