Fiberglass paint stripping?

[KristiferColumbus]

I'm sure this has been done a dozen times but I just looked back several threads before my patience ran out......

Can anyone tell me a simple way to remove paint from an old dinghy?
Has to be simple cheap (of course) & effective.
My guess is that Nitromors paint stripper (however you spell it) also softens the gel coat so maybe a cheaper & therefore weaker proprietary brand from say Wilkinsons would be more suitable or the pound store?
Anyone got any tips?

Regards KC.

 

[VicS]

Avoid paint strippers containing methylene dichloride , aka dichloromethane.

 

[KristiferColumbus]

Avoid paint strippers containing methylene dichloride , aka dichloromethane.

Thanks Vic I have made a note of that.

 

[Ubergeekian]

Avoid paint strippers containing methylene dichloride , aka dichloromethane.

The only conventional paintstripper I have found which says it can be used on GRP is Rustin's Stripit. Since it is also a dichloromethane product - like Nitromors - I suspect that Rustin's have bolder lawyers, not better chemists.

I have used dichloromethane on GRP: it works OK but you have to be very fast and avoid leaving it on the GRP as much as possible. Maybe not too much problem on an old dinghy.

However ... a far, far, far better option is RemovAll from Cirrus Systems. It's a gloopy gel - you paint it on and leave it for at least a day, or even two days in cooler weather. At the end of that time the paint looks almost unchanged - but it's now a paste and you can just scoop it off with a scraper or even a spatula.

I've done three major bits of GRP paint stripping with it: the bonnet of a Daimler Dart, the roof of a Reliant Rebel and the entire hull of a Hunter 490. It worked like a charm in each case. I think I used RemovAll 220, though they now recommend 620 for GRP.

Just to complete the praise, it's non-toxic, non-caustic and biodegradable. I'm just a happy customer, but having discovered this stuff I wouldn't think about using dichloromethane paintstripper on anything.

 

[VicS]

Dilunett is another suitable one.

caustic soda based so great care needed to avoid contact with the skin and especially eyes.

The cheapskates make a substitute by thickening caustic soda solutions with wallpaper paste

 

[KristiferColumbus]

The only conventional paintstripper I have found which says it can be used on GRP is Rustin's Stripit. Since it is also a dichloromethane product - like Nitromors - I suspect that Rustin's have bolder lawyers, not better chemists.

I have used dichloromethane on GRP: it works OK but you have to be very fast and avoid leaving it on the GRP as much as possible. Maybe not too much problem on an old dinghy.

However ... a far, far, far better option is RemovAll from Cirrus Systems. It's a gloopy gel - you paint it on and leave it for at least a day, or even two days in cooler weather. At the end of that time the paint looks almost unchanged - but it's now a paste and you can just scoop it off with a scraper or even a spatula.

I've done three major bits of GRP paint stripping with it: the bonnet of a Daimler Dart, the roof of a Reliant Rebel and the entire hull of a Hunter 490. It worked like a charm in each case. I think I used RemovAll 220, though they now recommend 620 for GRP.

Just to complete the praise, it's non-toxic, non-caustic and biodegradable. I'm just a happy customer, but having discovered this stuff I wouldn't think about using dichloromethane paintstripper on anything.

Sounds good but 28 quid for four litres is more than I want.

 

[KristiferColumbus]

Dilunett is another suitable one.

caustic soda based so great care needed to avoid contact with the skin and especially eyes.

The cheapskates make a substitute by thickening caustic soda solutions with wallpaper paste

I'm starting to think that besides being a cheapskate I should also be environmentally friendly so that seems to boil down to a blowlamp

 

[Ubergeekian]

Sounds good but 28 quid for four litres is more than I want.

It lasts for ages. The three jobs I listed were all done with a 4 litre tub and there's still about 1/2 litre left.

 

[KristiferColumbus]

It lasts for ages. The three jobs I listed were all done with a 4 litre tub and there's still about 1/2 litre left.

You are obviously an affluent fellow with a Daimler a Reliant AND A Hunter boat while I am of more modest means.Live in a Council flat & own an old boat besides the dinghy that I am trying to renovate.
If I were to invest £28 in a product I would either have to start up a paint removal company with the leftovers or move out of my Council house because there is limited space to store the stuff,any chance that you can make a good curry of it?

 

[Ubergeekian]

You are obviously an affluent fellow with a Daimler a Reliant AND A Hunter boat while I am of more modest means.Live in a Council flat & own an old boat besides the dinghy that I am trying to renovate.

Daimler ... belongs to a friend. Reliant Rebel ... not exactly a Bugatti. Hunter ... given to me.

If I were to invest £28 in a product I would either have to start up a paint removal company with the leftovers or move out of my Council house because there is limited space to store the stuff,any chance that you can make a good curry of it?

I believe it's edible, and the stuff I bought was bright orange, so pretty close to a masala.

On a serious note, why not post a wanted ad for some? What I have left wouldn't do a dinghy and is hundreds of miles from you, but there may well be someone closer at hand with a spare litre ...

 

[electrosys]

Wickes paint-stripper contains methylene chloride, but I'd say it's safe to use on anything - 'cause it's cr ap.

Just bought 2.5L of the damned stuff on recommendation, only to find that it just about softens one layer of paint at a time. As I needed to finish the job this lifetime, I resorted to using an angle-grinder and wire brush.
Just used the so-called 'paint-stripper' on varnish (again, lifts just one coat at a time) and the areas I couldn't get the brush into.

Even got some splashes on the back of my hands - expected it to burn or blister (like Nitromors does) - but nothing, not a damned thing. Health and Safety concentrations no doubt ....

 

[VicS]

Wickes paint-stripper contains methylene chloride, but I'd say it's safe to use on anything - 'cause it's cr ap.

Just bought 2.5L of the damned stuff on recommendation, only to find that it just about softens one layer of paint at a time. As I needed to finish the job this lifetime, I resorted to using an angle-grinder and wire brush.
Just used the so-called 'paint-stripper' on varnish (again, lifts just one coat at a time) and the areas I couldn't get the brush into.

Even got some splashes on the back of my hands - expected it to burn or blister (like Nitromors does) - but nothing, not a damned thing. Health and Safety concentrations no doubt ....

Very odd according to the safety data sheets Wickes paint and varnish stripper is 90% methylene chloride.
Nitromors All Purpose Paint and Varnish Stripper is 80 -90%.

 

[electrosys]

Very odd according to the safety data sheets Wickes paint and varnish stripper is 90% methylene chloride.
Nitromors All Purpose Paint and Varnish Stripper is 80 -90%.

Well - that's one of the reasons I bought it.

It's also not a non-drip gel as advertised - just a viscous liquid - useless on vertical surfaces.

Mind you, I did notice that the top wasn't screwed on very tight ...


Later ...

Just had a thought - an assumption is being made (not unreasonably) that Wickes actually sell what they say they sell.

But - two years ago I had a sheet of their WBP (Water & Boil Proof) Ply left over from a job, and stored it in an unused polytunnel. Not bone dry, but then not damp enough for mold. I checked on it last week, and it's started to de-laminate. Mmmm - not good.
It's still got their label on, for all to see. Think I'll take a photo and post it on't net.

 

[higler]

Wickes paint-stripper contains methylene chloride, but I'd say it's safe to use on anything - 'cause it's cr ap.

Just bought 2.5L of the damned stuff on recommendation, only to find that it just about softens one layer of paint at a time. As I needed to finish the job this lifetime, I resorted to using an angle-grinder and wire brush.
Just used the so-called 'paint-stripper' on varnish (again, lifts just one coat at a time) and the areas I couldn't get the brush into.

Even got some splashes on the back of my hands - expected it to burn or blister (like Nitromors does) - but nothing, not a damned thing. Health and Safety concentrations no doubt ....

I actually used some of that on my old dinghy, it did as you said just one coat at a time. I got a bit fed up with it so used a good wire brush on a drill and finished it off that way, then a good hose down and didnt look half bad in the end. Norman

 

[Slow_boat]

I used Nitromores on deck paint and it didn't damage the fiberglass. I only left it on for 15-20 min, washed with a wet sponge afterwards and painted deck paint over. A smooth glossy finish wasn't required but on the other hand I haven't fallen through a weakened deck yet.

I'll be needing to strip my iron keels in the winter. I thought of Nitromores and wrap clingfilm around them. Will that help the process?

 

[KristiferColumbus]

I used Nitromores on deck paint and it didn't damage the fiberglass. I only left it on for 15-20 min, washed with a wet sponge afterwards and painted deck paint over. A smooth glossy finish wasn't required but on the other hand I haven't fallen through a weakened deck yet.

I'll be needing to strip my iron keels in the winter. I thought of Nitromores and wrap clingfilm around them. Will that help the process?

Sounds like a cunning plan but I would have thought that just a conventional blowlamp & scraper would do a better job.All the best KC.
PS;I have resorted to Wilkinsons paint stripper at £4.50p a Litre & I can't say that the results from that are startling but at least it's cheap(& you can complain about it & get your money back if not completely satisfied).

 

[Slow_boat]

Blow lamp

Sounds like a cunning plan but I would have thought that just a conventional blowlamp & scraper would do a better job.All the best KC.

Sounds the obvious solution!

Thanks

 

[Ubergeekian]

Sounds the obvious solution!

On plastic?