Epoxy varnish removal

[MIKE_MCKIE]

After diligently acquiring every paint manufacturers little handbook about the application of their various offerings, I am none the wiser about the best way of removing epoxy varnish before recoating. I have done most of the exterior of the boat with abrasive wheels (about a dozen so far at about £8.50 a whack!) but am now faced with large expanses of hardwood faced ply & hardwood in the cabino. Not keen (nor rich enough) to repeat the abrasive wheel effort inside & all the various paint/varnish strippers have proved pretty much useless so far. The only thing that has been of limited success is an electric heat gun & scarsten type scraper, although "labour intensive" & "long term project" have taken on a whole new meaning!
SWMBO isn't keen on the boat anyway & it's present somewhat scabby internal appearance sure ain't helping none! Any bright ideas from the forum please??
Cheers
Mike

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[Johnnygil]

what about Nitro-mors have u used that

John

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[tillergirl]

Do you really need to remove it? If the surface is sound (which it sounds like since it is obviously tough) I would have thought that you could freshen up the surface by a light abrade and a recoat. Are you sure it's an epoxy finish inside, seemsan expensive choice. If you go down the removal route (and I only know hard abrasion as a choice for that) be very careful on the plywood as the hardwood veneer will be very thin and very easy to grind away for ever leaving a disaster.

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[MIKE_MCKIE]

was advised by a door stripping firm that Yellow NitroMors was about the best, regrettably not best enough.

Mike

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[MIKE_MCKIE]

The existing finish is rather old & has stains in the wood surface, under the varnish, some bits of the varnish have started cracking off & it really all needs to go. Thanks for the reminder about the thickness (not) of the veneers, that is the main reason for not wanting to use abrasive wheels, all to easy to hiccup my way to a hole in the top layer!
Looks like it will be the heat gun & lots of elbow grease!
Cheers
Mike

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[mhouse]

Like you I have tried every type of stripper I could lay my hands on . The best scraper I found was a good quality carving knife!

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[ccscott49]

1) No such animal as epoxy varnish, epoxy is not UV resistant and needs coating with UV rersistant varnish.
2) Probaly polyurethane, one or two pack,.
3) Which can and is best removed with a heat gun and sandvik scraper, (the best)
4) the veneers on modern plys is very thin, 0.6mm so be careful you dont go through it.
5) Use a random orbital sander, to get all the last traces of varnish off, and sand by hand, to remove all the little curved stratches left by the sander.
6) Varnish as it says on the tin, I would avoid two pack varnishes, as they are a swine to get of, (as you are finding out)
7) IMHO

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[Avocet]

Some people swear by a freshly broken piece of glass as a scraper Apparently it's one of the sharpest surfaces you can get - although a bit tricky to hold! I've never tried it myself but apparently, a sharp edge is the key to successful scraping. Having just done two small cockpit locker lids and a small grating wit ha Sandvik scraper, you have my heartfelt sympathy - removing old varnish is the devil's own job but it's worth it in the end!

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[MIKE_MCKIE]

I used to use broken glass in days of yore as a deck apprentice at sea, & it was the best, no doubt about it. However I stupidly thought that in the intervening 45 years things might have progressed somewhat. Ho Hum, back to the heat gun & scraper. One thing is for sure, it won't be 2 pack "poxy" varnish that goes back on, but either some decent oil or woodpreserver/sealer & uv top coat.
Thanks for all the input, much appreciated.
Mike

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[aitchw]

Watch out for the heat on plywood. If it is marine or other the glue layer between the ply wil be soften and you could cause blistering of the layers.

It occurs to me that if the worst stained material is on, say, table/work tops you may well be better of just replacing them. Alternatively, if you are sure that it is epoxy you could give it a right good sanding and put a new layer of veneer on top.

Howard

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