Wet sanding bottom paint

[George Elliott]

About 5 yes ago I put 15 litres of a Japanese bottom paint on a 30' waterline sloop in Malaysia. It worked great for 1 yr, turned from pink to light grey in the water, after the year it was completely useless. I wound up trying to remove it 3 yrs ago in Mexico, it plugged sandpaper like nothing I've ever seen, but the paint turned back to pink, so i guess the paint is too hard to ablate. In desperation I tried wet sanding with 36 grit on a 5" RO sander. Worked like a damn, no dust, paper lasts forever. Now I'm about to do the same thing, again in Mexico, armed with 2 RO sanders and a yet unnamed helper. In 25 yes cruising I've only heard of one other boater trying this, after I'd tried it. This time I want to take her back to the epoxy. Anybody got any input? Thalia

[billknny]

Originally Posted by George Elliott

About 5 yes ago I put 15 litres of a Japanese bottom paint on a 30' waterline sloop in Malaysia. It worked great for 1 yr, turned from pink to light grey in the water, after the year it was completely useless. I wound up trying to remove it 3 yrs ago in Mexico, it plugged sandpaper like nothing I've ever seen, but the paint turned back to pink, so i guess the paint is too hard to ablate. In desperation I tried wet sanding with 36 grit on a 5" RO sander. Worked like a damn, no dust, paper lasts forever. Now I'm about to do the same thing, again in Mexico, armed with 2 RO sanders and a yet unnamed helper. In 25 yes cruising I've only heard of one other boater trying this, after I'd tried it. This time I want to take her back to the epoxy. Anybody got any input? Thalia

In many yards in the USA wet sanding is actually required as a toxic dust control measure. So, yes, it is done every day.

[George Elliott]

Thanks for the update, my last haulout in the USA was in 2002, I've never seen it done before. But it stands to reason, the paint comes off fast, clearly its a little hard on the sander, but it beats breathing dust.