ITH
Well-Known Member
Which tool would forumites recommend for the job? Boat is out of the water so access is good, but the knees and the back have past their sell-by date so wouldn't want anything too weighty or cumbersome.
Best sander for removing antifouling
- Thread starter ITH
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pvb
Well-Known Member
You really shouldn't ever dry-sand antifouling. Scraper would be safer.
sarabande
Well-Known Member
I'll second pvb's comment. The dust is toxic, and all debris should be disposed of as environmentally sensitive waste.
FWIW I spent yesterday dealing with weed on the sailing boat (not been antifouled for ages
). We scraped off the vegetable stuff, then the slimey bits were pressure washed. Finally, I tried a Metabo low speed buffer (500 rpm) with 6" polishing heads cut from a (free) 17" floor polisher pad from a hire company.
Apparently, if the pad is even only lightly used, they cannot send the machine out again, so large pads get dumped.
The Metabo + pad abraded all the remaining patches of drying slime and small barnicules, and left a very smooth surface ready for A/F. You do need to keep unsticking the pad, though, and rinsing it in a bucket every few minutes.
FWIW I spent yesterday dealing with weed on the sailing boat (not been antifouled for ages
). We scraped off the vegetable stuff, then the slimey bits were pressure washed. Finally, I tried a Metabo low speed buffer (500 rpm) with 6" polishing heads cut from a (free) 17" floor polisher pad from a hire company. Apparently, if the pad is even only lightly used, they cannot send the machine out again, so large pads get dumped.
The Metabo + pad abraded all the remaining patches of drying slime and small barnicules, and left a very smooth surface ready for A/F. You do need to keep unsticking the pad, though, and rinsing it in a bucket every few minutes.
saltwater_gypsy
Well-Known Member
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All is not lost .
There are now mesh abrasive sheets for orbital sanders which make the dust collection more efficient if your orbital sander has that facility. I think you will find them on the Tilgear site.
If you survive, let me know how you got on!!!!!
There are now mesh abrasive sheets for orbital sanders which make the dust collection more efficient if your orbital sander has that facility. I think you will find them on the Tilgear site.
If you survive, let me know how you got on!!!!!
William_H
Well-Known Member
Sanding antifouling
I understand your difficulties for I also have the same problems.
Dust is a real problem and the only safe way is to either use respirator and eye protection (and protection for the environment) or wet sand it. Wet sanding would probably rule out 240v sanders because there will be water everywhere. Hand sanding is good but a lot of work.
With dry sanding especially you have the problem that sand paper clogs very quickly. Something like an angle grinder with sandpaper pad works better because at 13000RPM it tends to throw off the chips. However then you have a real problem of the risk of cutting into the gel coat. No so bad if you epoxy coat after sanding but disastrous if you don't. An orbital sander is OK but sandpaper clogs quickly. And still lots of dust. A vaccuum cleaner connection can help.
So despite safety concerns I have used the angle grinder with sand paper disc attachment but I also marked the gel coat badly.
I have tried scrapers with some limited success.
Currently I put as little a/f on as possible each season and rub most of it off in the water then finally use wet and dry sand paper (wet) to a degree depending on my patience and energy then slap some more on. I am certainbly not saying what I do is the best or safest just the way it is done after some 26 occasions of repainting the a/f.
good luck olewill.
I understand your difficulties for I also have the same problems.
Dust is a real problem and the only safe way is to either use respirator and eye protection (and protection for the environment) or wet sand it. Wet sanding would probably rule out 240v sanders because there will be water everywhere. Hand sanding is good but a lot of work.
With dry sanding especially you have the problem that sand paper clogs very quickly. Something like an angle grinder with sandpaper pad works better because at 13000RPM it tends to throw off the chips. However then you have a real problem of the risk of cutting into the gel coat. No so bad if you epoxy coat after sanding but disastrous if you don't. An orbital sander is OK but sandpaper clogs quickly. And still lots of dust. A vaccuum cleaner connection can help.
So despite safety concerns I have used the angle grinder with sand paper disc attachment but I also marked the gel coat badly.
I have tried scrapers with some limited success.
Currently I put as little a/f on as possible each season and rub most of it off in the water then finally use wet and dry sand paper (wet) to a degree depending on my patience and energy then slap some more on. I am certainbly not saying what I do is the best or safest just the way it is done after some 26 occasions of repainting the a/f.
good luck olewill.
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ccscott49
Well-Known Member
There are some neat scrapers available which fit on the hose of an industrial vacumn cleaner, a wet and dry one is ideal, then you can scrape wet and all the debris goes into the vacumn. Then any bits that need a bit of sanding can be done wet with coarse(ish) wet & dry. This system works really well and health hazards are minimised.
nimbusgb
Well-Known Member
Compressed air sander and do it wet? You ould need to line the area with a pool liner and arrange to collect and dispose of the run off. Perhaps with a wet and dry vacuum
oldsaltoz
Well-Known Member
Hi Will,
Number Son came up with a pad that fits a grinder and does a great job of removing antifoul.
we an air driven grinder and did the job wet to avoid any dust, mind you it did flick some antifoul in the form of black mud up onto the underside of the bridge deck.
The advantage is that it removes softer material quite well but has a problem with hard stuff, this means you will see the gel coat before you and major damage.
I will have a look to see if I can find the brand name and supplier for you, it was designed to remove glue from floors and walls.
It looks a bit like a miniature industrial floor polishing pad.
Easy to use, as the air grinder is very light and manoeuvrable.
Tip:
Most people apply two coats of antifoul, if your first coat is a thin one of another colour you then get an early warning that you are getting close to gelcoat when sanding later.
I have used this system for many years.
nimbusgb
Well-Known Member
Will it remove contact adhesive? You may have found an answer to the age old headlining challenge!
oldsaltoz
Well-Known Member
I would love to answer yes.
But.
Having not tried it on anything like that I cannot say, when I find the supplier I might be able to get more information on it's applications.
But.
Having not tried it on anything like that I cannot say, when I find the supplier I might be able to get more information on it's applications.
Keith 66
Well-Known Member
Forget sanders, The best tool for stripping old anti foul is a Bosch power scraper, it comes with a 2" wide blade. To stop it digging in with the standard sharp edge grind the tip of the blade square & put a tiny radius on the corners. It makes light work of the job.
Goggles & mask are essential.
Goggles & mask are essential.
stav
Well-Known Member
Must say it annoys the hell out of me seeing people dry sanding antifoul: they are all kitted up and their dust blowing all over passers-by and others boats.
Having said that I have sanded the antifoul on mine. I used a professional bosch 125mm sander with about 50 fairly course disks from ebay 60 and 80 grit I seem to recall. This was connected to a wet and dry vacuum with a small amount of water in it. I then fully kitted up with suit, goggles, cartridge mask and gloves. It worked pretty well and the dust that collected in the vacuum cleaner I mixed with PVA glue and put in the industrial waste at the marina.
Once upon a time when I was a teenager I scrapped my GRP 1/4 tonner over a weekend, I seem to recall I used sharpened polycarbonate. Being a typical youth I used no PPE and made myself quite ill. Then when the memory of the pain subsided 15 yrs later stripped the hull of a 9t hillyard started with a sandvik carbide scrapper but it just did not have the edge to get under the antifoul, but it might work better on GRP. I actually ended up using two wickes green scrappers with a multi edge steel blade and I kept putting an edge back on with a file so it had the prickle to cut under the antifoul and not glide over the surface.
Good luck with and really just a case of thinking nice things and setting a target fora cetain area; don't think about the whole job!
Having said that I have sanded the antifoul on mine. I used a professional bosch 125mm sander with about 50 fairly course disks from ebay 60 and 80 grit I seem to recall. This was connected to a wet and dry vacuum with a small amount of water in it. I then fully kitted up with suit, goggles, cartridge mask and gloves. It worked pretty well and the dust that collected in the vacuum cleaner I mixed with PVA glue and put in the industrial waste at the marina.
Once upon a time when I was a teenager I scrapped my GRP 1/4 tonner over a weekend, I seem to recall I used sharpened polycarbonate. Being a typical youth I used no PPE and made myself quite ill. Then when the memory of the pain subsided 15 yrs later stripped the hull of a 9t hillyard started with a sandvik carbide scrapper but it just did not have the edge to get under the antifoul, but it might work better on GRP. I actually ended up using two wickes green scrappers with a multi edge steel blade and I kept putting an edge back on with a file so it had the prickle to cut under the antifoul and not glide over the surface.
Good luck with and really just a case of thinking nice things and setting a target fora cetain area; don't think about the whole job!
samwise
Well-Known Member
You could try chemical removers. I have used Removall from Cirrus Systems with a high degree of success. Downside is that the stuff is expensive but it is environmentally friendly and much kinder to the scraping muscles. You can apply with brush or spray ( there are two specific types of material) and leave it for 12 hours or more. It softens the A/F and you can scrape it off pretty easily. Much less aggressive than other strippers and no harm to gelcoat. With really thick A/F it may need a couple of applications, but I found it excellent. Cirrus have a website that explains all
Elessar
Well-Known Member
The dust toxicity cautions here are wise.
Also beware the chemical strippers, take care not to sit on the scrapings. We know of severe injury caused by doing so.
We get a number of boats in to strip that have been 1/3 done by the owners, whether by chemical or mechanical means. Make of that what you will.
BobnLesley
Well-Known Member
The wife, I didn't get married to sand/scrape my own hull; indeed I'm sure the vows included something along the lines of 'to love, honour and anti-foul.'
lydiamight
Well-Known Member
Another vote for the Bosch power scraper. Took years of accumulated A/F off my boat very easily, minimal pressure needed and no clouds of toxic A/F dust blowing around, still worth wearing a mask though.
Oyvind
Member
+1 for the power scraper. I got a cheapie no-name power scraper, but it has worked very well.
The best thing is probably to leave your boat on the hard over the winter, and then attack it in early spring. The antifouling has then dried up and is nice and brittle, which really helps with the scraping.
Don't even consider a Fein Multimaster, or the equivalent Bosch, for scraping antifouling. They're great tools, and I love my Multimaster, but with a scraper they're best at elastic stuff like glue. They absolutely do not work well on brittle paint, for that you need a hammering action like the electric scraper.
Mind you, the Multimaster, with the right accessories, is very good for sanding the tight inside turn between the keel and the hull.
The scraper leaves the hull a little rough, so i'd smooth it with an orbital sander afterwards. I used a Bosch GEX 150 Turbo - the turbo function is really nice for fast removal of material, but it's a heavy beast. I wet sand with my machine, and this has never been a problem. The amount of water you use is not that great, and it usually stays on the pad and does not enter the machine proper. And anyways, the professional machines can take a bit of water. Just today, I used power tools outside in pouring rain, which I've done countless times before, and it has never been a problem. You'll know when you've gone too far when you start to get a tingling sensation in your trigger finger
Life is too short for bad tools and cheap wine
The best thing is probably to leave your boat on the hard over the winter, and then attack it in early spring. The antifouling has then dried up and is nice and brittle, which really helps with the scraping.
Don't even consider a Fein Multimaster, or the equivalent Bosch, for scraping antifouling. They're great tools, and I love my Multimaster, but with a scraper they're best at elastic stuff like glue. They absolutely do not work well on brittle paint, for that you need a hammering action like the electric scraper.
Mind you, the Multimaster, with the right accessories, is very good for sanding the tight inside turn between the keel and the hull.
The scraper leaves the hull a little rough, so i'd smooth it with an orbital sander afterwards. I used a Bosch GEX 150 Turbo - the turbo function is really nice for fast removal of material, but it's a heavy beast. I wet sand with my machine, and this has never been a problem. The amount of water you use is not that great, and it usually stays on the pad and does not enter the machine proper. And anyways, the professional machines can take a bit of water. Just today, I used power tools outside in pouring rain, which I've done countless times before, and it has never been a problem. You'll know when you've gone too far when you start to get a tingling sensation in your trigger finger
Life is too short for bad tools and cheap wine
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dehlerman
New Member
Chaps in my club swear by the Draper 75377 Paint Scraper, cost €10/£7 approx+pp from websites. We discovered this late but tried one on a patch, amazing how quickly the stuff comes off. It is designed for ease of use and comfort. We'll buy 2 for next season and reckon we'll have the hull scraped in the morning and fine power-sanded in the afternoon, primed and a/f within 48hrs later. Goodbye sanding, is this happiness or what? Buy spare blades and round the corners to avoid digging-in. By all means go upmarket for the electric jobbie, I doubt if it will be any faster but you'll have a lighter pocket. See http://www.tools-draper.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=17293
gjgm
Well-Known Member
I think it depends on what type of a/f. I tried lots of tips on here on hard a/f, all but one of which was a waste of time in my case.
£7 wallpaper scraper and some spare blades worked a treat. After I had done most of the boat, I remembered I had one of those power scrapers somewhere. Same technique, just alot less work. I d try the LIDL one.
£7 wallpaper scraper and some spare blades worked a treat. After I had done most of the boat, I remembered I had one of those power scrapers somewhere. Same technique, just alot less work. I d try the LIDL one.
