Antifoul Removal

[SpaceCygnet]

I know there have been posts on using a caustic soda and wallpaper paste mix to remove antifoul but I just cannot find them. What I am looking for is the mose effective amounts or ratios to use. So if anyone has direct experience, I would appreciate the benefit of their knowledge.

Thanks.

 

[exfinnsailor]

Hmmmmmmmm ..

A decent scrapper would work .. Caustic Soda is deadly .. Its drain cleaner .. The last thing you want to be doing is standing under something thats dripping .. I dont think there is an easy way unless you get someone with the right equipment to do the job for you . IMHO you must be mad to even consider it .. Yes I have used it .. Yes it burns like hell .. Even a small bit ..

 

[steveparker]

There's some more information here: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35549

I'd say just mix the caustic soda as per the instructions, then add some wallpaper paste until it's a bit stiff and sticky. Caustic soda solution isn't anything like as bad as some people seem to think. Someone on that other thread reckons it will burn the bristles off a paintbrush. That's nonsense. I used to work with the stuff stripping antique furniture when I was a kid. I always used paintbrushes to apply it. I also regularly got it on my skin. It doesn't burn instantly, it takes a little while to start so it's easy just to rinse it off when you feel it starting to build up. If you were using it above your head, though, you would definitely want goggles on.

Steve.

 

[exfinnsailor]

Have a look at this ..

Have a look at Wikipedia .. Here .. .. You must also consider what you are going to do with it after you have used it .. Suppose you could clean the drains with it .. Don't just wash it off as you will kill the wild life and plants ..

 

[steveparker]

I definitely agree there's a pollution issue involved. In fact marinas must be some of the most toxic environments around with everyone scraping all that old paint and gelcoat off and it all just accumulating and turning into slurry in the rain. No wonder the fish have two heads at our marina. I know people have finally started talking about this one, but I don't know what the cost-effective solution is for marinas yet. Better paints, probably.

Steve.

 

[Jim@sea]

I watched a "Glass Fibre Laminator" who worked at a large boatyard do this on his own boat, (20 years ago) use Nitromors Paint Stripper. In order not to damage the Gel Coat, he would apply one stroke with a 2" brush, then immediatly scrape it off with a 2" scraper, and then he would immediatly wipe the scraped area with a piece of kitchen roll dipped in thinners which of course dissipated any Nitromours residue. OK its a bit messy, you have to have containers to drop the stripped Anti-Fouling into together with a container for the used kitchen roll. But it works, you dont damage the gel coat, bit slow, messy, but cheap as chips.

 

[SpaceCygnet]

Thanks for replies. I totally agree with comments re-environment. I would always collect the old antifoul (from manual scraping or with aid of some chemical remover) and dispose of appropriately. I plan to scrape as much as I can (have already done some) but was hoping to use the caustic soda mix for difficult to get at areas.

 

[Starfishbooks]

I have just used the wallpaper paste and caustic soda trick to clean off my boot topping ready for painting the topsides (we have copperbot on the hull so only needed to get the boot topping off).

Very effective, but it does come with a strong health warning. You do need to be well protected as any splashes on exposed skin will burn quite quickly. Eye protection is essential too. I kept a large bucket of clean cold water to wash off any splashes immediately.

I mixed 250g of caustic soda in 1litre of cold water, then added wallpaper paste to thicken.

You will need a nylon brush (normal bristles dissolve) for application, easily found these days as most of the cheap brushes in your local DIY store are nylon. A garden sprayer works well to keep the 'gunk' moist and to wash off with. I used a stainless pan scourer to start with, but found that after leaving the 'gunk' for an hour, all came off very easily with a wipe of the scraper.

Boat yards are fun. I had lots of interest in what I was doing, the local GRP specialist kept coming back to check progress. While packing up, he told me that he had heard of using caustic, but hadn't seen it done before. He did say that Freddie One Arm swears by it.

So there you have it, it works and is recommended by Freddie One Arm!

 

[SpaceCygnet]

I did try the costic soda and wallpaper paste but found it only of limited benefit. It did soften the outer 1 or 2 layers but it still needed scraping. You also end up with a messy sludge with the paste and fuling. In the end, I scraped most of it off by hand with one of those scrapers that has a tungsten blade. Slow, borin but it does work. And it builds up your arm muscles! It also makes it easier to gather up the scrapings to dispose of appropriately.

 

[capt_courageous]

Do not even think about using caustic soda. It is about as safe as neat sulphuric acid. Nitromors works, it is a slow but relatively safe process. Caustic soda burns of the skin can be horrendous never mind the chance of blinding yourself. Spend a few bob on the proper stuff and stay healthy enough to keep sailing.

 

[samwise]

A much more expensive but also considerably less environmentally harmful antifould remover is the Cirrus Systems Removall product. This is the best chemical antifoul removal product that I have encountered. You can apply it by brush or spray (Cirrus offer two versions). Full details on their website. It works quite slowly and can be left to work for up to 12 hiours while you go and do something else. Then just scrape it off. Multiple A/F layers may need a second application but it got through the five or so layers on our Westerly pretty effectively. I would steer clear of any aggressive strippers such as caustic soda for reasons of personal safety as well as environmental concerns.