Anti Fouling Removal

[judeobscure]

Hi

I want to remove old anti - fouling and paint from a boat I bought last year.

I dont really want to run to the expense of having it blasted, spend hours with a scraper or use a harmful remover.

I have seen advertised Interstrip and Aquastrip, can anyone recommend which of these products is the best?

Thanks Jude

 

[Evadne]

I think you covered the three options that actually work in your middle paragraph.

Interstrip removes about 4-5 coats maximum per application and costs as much as antifouling: if that's all you have on then there are probably better jobs to do. I used it in conjunction with scraping, and then tried scraping on its own, and the difference in paint removed was negligible, although dry scraping is much, much less messy.
I've not tried aquastrip.
If you have trouble getting replies its because this question is asked several times each year. The search facility will throw up plenty of info., if you plug "antifouling removal" into the search string.

 

[Lizzie_B]

Look at www.catalina38.org .Click on technical tips link and then on stripping bottom paint.
Good luck
M.

 

[anubis]

Yep. No easy or quick way if you love your hull! Hand scraping works well. Bosch do an electric tool. youneed to take the edges of the blades if you go this way. Is quicker though. Liquid strip is very messy and expensive and I've not been impressed.

 

[alienzdive]

The easiest way is to pay someone else to do it!

 

[andyroo]

I think there are a number of issues to consider:

(i) Do you have two-pot anti-foul on the hull? If so using antifoul removal paint doesn't really work and is very expensive;
(ii) If you have two-pot antifoul on the hull suggest you either scrape and take the risk of damaging the gelcoat by scratching it, sand it, or get it lightly grit blasted;
(iii) If the boat has one pot antifoul on the hull you can use the antifoul removal paint, but again very expensive and might need several coats depending on the number of coats on the hull.

I have had experiences with scraping for weeks, sanding and using antifoul removal paint on two pot (wasn't very effective at all) and in the end got it grit blasted! Looking back at it now, it would have been cheaper to have had my hull grit blasted on day one, rather than spending many weekends scraping/sanding and then using ineffective antifoul remover. I suppose it all depends on how much time you have got.

 

[ex-Gladys]

I used Dilunett- which is Caustic Soda based. Harmless to the environment, because it neutralises, can make a nasty mess of skin (don't ask me how I know....) It is economical,easy and relatively quick... If you use decent protective clothing (Overalls, wellies, rubber gloves taped to the sleeves of overalls, eye protection and a hat) and a foam brush, it took me about an hour and a bit to coat our 26 footer. I left it overnight and then used a 3" flat scraper and got back to the original 2 pot paint in about 2 hours.

One 2.5l pot cost me £28, and did the whole boat.

No connection with the company, other than as a satisfied customer.

 

[judeobscure]

Thanks to all who took the time to reply, all your advice was very much appreciated.

Jude