Multi tool to remove anti fouling

superheat6k

superheat6k

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Some areas of my hull have a build up of old antifoul that has become badly pitted and I would like to scrape these areas back to smooth hull.

Has anyone used a multi tool for this job ?

What blade did you use ?

I have a wood cutter blade with worn teeth that I was considering grinding to form a scraper tool.

I don't want to gouge the gel coat.

Thanks
 
tried my Fein with an old saw blade for exactly that job. In places where the AF was flakey, it was fine (geddit ?) but where the paint was adhering strongly to the basecoat, it was useless.

I did learn, however, that one should round the corners of the blade to prevent it digging in. Wooden boat; ouch.


For good and solid AF, I think you need an abrasive action or pressure process.
 
This type of scraper has been found to be good ( Bahco, Sandvik etc)


BAH665.jpg


I know someone who completely stripped a 18 foot hull with an old pane iron ..... Kept sharp, but it's a tedious job by hand.


This type of electric scrapper is also reported to be good although the Bosch one has been discontinued

31Q6W8489XL._SX300_.jpg
 
I have an electric scraper, which cost very little from either Lidl or Aldi, but it wasn't a patch on the guy with the slurry blaster.:rolleyes:
 
VicS said:
This type of scraper has been found to be good ( Bahco, Sandvik etc)


BAH665.jpg


I know someone who completely stripped a 18 foot hull with an old pane iron ..... Kept sharp, but it's a tedious job by hand.


This type of electric scrapper is also reported to be good although the Bosch one has been discontinued

31Q6W8489XL._SX300_.jpg
Click to expand...

Those are the two tools I used. The power scraper was excellent on the thick dry flaky areas and the manual one where it was well stuck. Only light sanding need afterwards. Next time it needs doing, if I'm still alive I will pay someone else to do it!!!!
 
GrahamM376 said:
Those are the two tools I used. The power scraper was excellent on the thick dry flaky areas and the manual one where it was well stuck. Only light sanding need afterwards. Next time it needs doing, if I'm still alive I will pay someone else to do it!!!!
Click to expand...

+1 for the hand tool. Worked well (with corners rounded)

+100 for "the next time"
 
GrahamM376 said:
Those are the two tools I used. The power scraper was excellent on the thick dry flaky areas and the manual one where it was well stuck. Only light sanding need afterwards. Next time it needs doing, if I'm still alive I will pay someone else to do it!!!!
Click to expand...

I've had one of these for about 15 years or more and it's been used several times on my own boats or on loan to others. Always been great on my own boat but sometimes failed on other boats. I've always used Cruiser UNO type antifoul and that seems to flake off easily, other harder or more elastic types weren't easy to shift.

I did the keel on my 42' boat in a morning earlier this year and yard guys were amazed. No dust on my face mask, just a pile on the ground and a clean keel. They wanted to get their boss to buy a few as they used a hand scraper.

I noticed that there was a reference to a cheaper equivalent on sale for about £22 under the Amazon link above. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-Electric-Scraper-Attachments/dp/B004WN52M2

It looks very similar to the Bosch tool I've used and is only £2 more than the manual scraper in the original link.
 
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For the first boat I did, a Prout catamaran, I used the Bosch power scraper and an orbital sander to clean the hull. Plus face mask and organic filters. Hard and uncomfortable work that left a dead patch in the grass where the boat had been for a few years afterwards.
My next boat needed the same treatment before epoxy and coppercoat but as it was in a yard in Plymouth I paid to have it cleaned by sodablasting. Money well spent.
 
When I stripped the antifouling on my Westerly Fulmar last winter, I bought a Fein multitool to use. I actually found it not to be that fast and ended up using an old wood chisel that I kept sharp. It took 2 days to remove it all. The sanding of the hull to get a good clean key for the epoxy took 4 days and I started getting vibration sensitive hands.
 
superheat6k said:
Some areas of my hull have a build up of old antifoul that has become badly pitted and I would like to scrape these areas back to smooth hull.
...
Click to expand...
I used an electric chisel from Lidl. It's doable but get a quote for soda blasting. Unless you have a lot of spare time it's good value.

Don't forget when costing the job that you'll also need to apply two coats of primer. And half as much AF again if you're applying to a bare hull. Also, if you have an iron keel you'll probably want to de-rust it and apply an epoxy primer. All time and money.

I probably spent an extra £300 on paint when I did our 31'. So by scraping by hand your only saving part of the cost. And it's a nightmare! The grouting on our shower at home is still blue in places!
 
Ruffles said:
I used an electric chisel from Lidl. It's doable but get a quote for soda blasting. Unless you have a lot of spare time it's good value.

Don't forget when costing the job that you'll also need to apply two coats of primer. And half as much AF again if you're applying to a bare hull. Also, if you have an iron keel you'll probably want to de-rust it and apply an epoxy primer. All time and money.

I probably spent an extra £300 on paint when I did our 31'. So by scraping by hand your only saving part of the cost. And it's a nightmare! The grouting on our shower at home is still blue in places!
Click to expand...

If taking it right back to gel by blasting and the hull is dry enough, may be worth spending a bit extra to apply 6 coats of epoxy when temperatures improve.
 
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