Gelcoat removal

[GibseaRob]

Has anyone tried to remove gelcoat using a power planer? What were the results? So far I have tried stripping the hull on my Hurley 22 using a wire brush on a grinder (slow but relatively smooth, although can gouge a rut if concentration lapses) and an abrasive paint removal disc which is fast but wears quickly and leaves the hull quite lumpy (thick laminate but lots of filling and fairing!). I got a quote for a professional peel but this was about half the cost of the boat!

Thanks.

 

[rubbishman]

I have, ear defenders a must and won't do concave stuff(of course).Results? not bad and quite fast.

 

[Iliade]

+1 for ear defenders, with in-ear defenders too!

Also strongly recommend buying or hiring a remotely fed helmet/respirator arrangement.
Use disposable overalls, masking tape collar cuff etc as the hideous stuff goes everywhere.

Buy lots of top quality planer blades before you start as they blunt fast on the grp.
Try to rig a wet & dry vac on the planers outlet.

Took me about a morning to do a 25'er when I was young enough to hold a power plane upside down for that long!

 

[Avocet]

You might wish to try a router. I bought a big-ish one (SIP) and a 32mm cutter. You can set the depth pretty accurately and then just push it backwards and forwards along the hull. I replaced the gelcoat on Avocet's topsides with epoxy and microballoons using this method. Doesn't work brilliantly on sharp curves though and, being topsides, there were no internal curves, only external.

If you're brave, you can use an angle grinder with a concrete grinding disc like this:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-double-grinding-cup-105-x-22-23mm/58310

That will take it off pretty damned quick! Oldsaltoz, of this parish, refers to a "starfish"-shaped concrete disc, but I've not found one in the UK. I found it too aggressive for what I was doing and my level of skill. I needed to keep the lines of the hull as they were. I might be tempted to be a bit more cavalier if I was doing an underwater surface though. It's worth leaving the odd "island" of original gelcoat here and there to help give you your "line", and then taking them out and filling them afterwards.