Antifoul removal tool??

mickywillis

mickywillis

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Now I know of the dangers and unpleasantness caused due to dry sanding old antifoul, but what about this for doing the job?

http://leaflet007.co.uk/aldi-drywall-sander-sun-27-september-2015.html

Doesn't appear to be a vacuum suction system, but could easily be adapted I'm sure?

Not sure how heavy the unit is or how easy it would be to get the sanding discs, but for under £50and 3 year warranty, may be suitable.
 
Good quality hand scraper, orbital sander, Masks, gloves and glasses and get stuck in.
I did this and then walked up Woodbridge high st with blue arms and face, with patches where glasses had been and mask. Eyes were looking upwards for the spaceship I had come from.:D
 
Never keen on getting dust from grinders, sanders etc. I have often suggested using a powered wood chisel. It sounds as if it should dig lumps out of the gelcoat but is actually easy to use to just remove the antifoul.

I have used a Bosch tool for years now and have been meaning to put a short video on YouTube for ages.

Finally got around to it (https://youtu.be/nJdE-dPW3xY). Not great quality video but gives an idea of speed. Produces very little fine dust and the antifoul falls to the ground and can be swept up later.
 
Mistroma said:
Never keen on getting dust from grinders, sanders etc. I have often suggested using a powered wood chisel. It sounds as if it should dig lumps out of the gelcoat but is actually easy to use to just remove the antifoul.
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I believe that Bosch tool has been discontinued.
I managed to get one second-hand complete with its wooden box and a selection of chisel bits but the motor gave up the ghost half way through a job. I am now onto number 2 and hopefully it will keep going for some time yet.
 
I started to scrape using a carbide hand scraper and then discovered the Aldi / WorkZone electric (300W) Multitool which cost £29.99 and works as a scraper, a detail sander and a reciprocating saw.

The scraper attachment worked very effectively on multi-layered antifoul and I reckon that it easily cut the job time in half.

At that price I barely expected it to survive such a tough job but that was three years ago and it's still going strong!
 
raven said:
I started to scrape using a carbide hand scraper and then discovered the Aldi / WorkZone electric (300W) Multitool which cost £29.99 and works as a scraper, a detail sander and a reciprocating saw.

The scraper attachment worked very effectively on multi-layered antifoul and I reckon that it easily cut the job time in half.

At that price I barely expected it to survive such a tough job but that was three years ago and it's still going strong!
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I have one of those too, bought from ALDI. What a great tool for peanuts. I also bought the extra attachments and the gouge saw fitments are a boon....I don't usually buy cheap tools, but this one surely is a top winner!
Sanded all my wood work, cut out interior timber with gouge saw, sanded hull & superstructure....you name it, that tool has done it.
 
Gordonmc said:
I believe that Bosch tool has been discontinued.
I managed to get one second-hand complete with its wooden box and a selection of chisel bits but the motor gave up the ghost half way through a job. I am now onto number 2 and hopefully it will keep going for some time yet.
Click to expand...

Yes, I mentioned that in the video and that there was a possible alternative from Andrew James Worldwide. It was out of stock when I looked a few months ago and status has still not changed, so may never be available.

https://andrewjamesworldwide.com/usercontrols/productIndividual.aspx?ProductID=329
 
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I think the Proscraper is worth it's weight in gold. I connected mine to my trusty Karcher wet & dry vac and did the whole hull on my Fisher 30 back to the epoxy in the equivalent of 3 man-days. I probably got through about 6 double-sided blades (which are not cheap) but, walking round the boat, you could not tell anyone had been scraping. Not only that, but I didn't get covered in toxic dust!

The other big advantage for me was taking the tops off surface blisters in a poorly-applied epoxy coat to allow them to dry out prior to sanding back to the orginal gel coat. With anti-foul and epoxy shavings, I reckon I filled the wet & dry's dust collector about three times.

I found the best technique was to ensure the blade was approximately at right angles to the surface and to pull (not push) with as much pressure and as fast as possible.

It' still not my favourite job but the proscraper made it 100 times easier than using a hand scraper.
 
rgsmg53 said:
I think the Proscraper is worth it's weight in gold. I connected mine to my trusty Karcher wet & dry vac and did the whole hull on my Fisher 30 back to the epoxy in the equivalent of 3 man-days. I probably got through about 6 double-sided blades (which are not cheap) but, walking round the boat, you could not tell anyone had been scraping. Not only that, but I didn't get covered in toxic dust!

The other big advantage for me was taking the tops off surface blisters in a poorly-applied epoxy coat to allow them to dry out prior to sanding back to the orginal gel coat. With anti-foul and epoxy shavings, I reckon I filled the wet & dry's dust collector about three times.

I found the best technique was to ensure the blade was approximately at right angles to the surface and to pull (not push) with as much pressure and as fast as possible.

It' still not my favourite job but the proscraper made it 100 times easier than using a hand scraper.
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The Proscraper is the yellow plastic thing, isn't it?

If so, it is a handscraper, isn't it?

Sounds like it's definitely a lack of technique on my part. Maybe I'll give another try this winter.
 
NealB said:
The Proscraper is the yellow plastic thing, isn't it?

If so, it is a handscraper, isn't it?

Sounds like it's definitely a lack of technique on my part. Maybe I'll give another try this winter.
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Yes, yes, and either that or you have some very stubborn (or many many layers) of antifoul on. I've documented some of my recent experience scraping, sanding and coppercoating a 40 footer: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?438767-Top-and-bottom-cleaning

I liked the Pro Scraper, but did almost all the work with the Bahco 665 (two handle) scraper, which I liked even better. I only used one and a half blade (3 sides) for everything.
 
When I compared the Proscraper to a 'hand scraper' I meant something like Yngmar's Bahco. Sorry, loose terminology on my part! I had a less heavy duty version of the Bahco. Whilst the Bahco worked brilliantly scraping off old varnish on my wooden rubbing strakes, it was a nightmare trying to do the anti-fouling as I ended up covered from head to toe in dust despite wearing the usual protective gear.

What really sets the Proscraper apart is it's ability to connect to vacuum dust extraction. At certain angles I could see the debris being sucked through including long shavings of the epoxy coating where it had been over-applied.

If you are going to do a whole hull, it is worth while getting a good strong industrial-type vacuum cleaner with large collection capacity. My Karcher was perfectly OK but I got through two filters - the filters are worth it so you don't end up exhausting the fine anti-foul dust to atmosphere and they also prolong the life of the motor's bearings etc.

Another essential is to ensure you have a fairly flexible hose on the vacuum which can rotate somewhere between the scraper and the vacuum cleaner's body. I was forever re-positioning the vacuum cleaner to ensure the hose was not trying to twist the Proscaper.

And lastly, to repeat someone else's tip, grind or file off the sharp corners of the blades as this minimises the risk of gouging the surface.
 
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