Paint Removal Advice

[Hurleyburly]

Need to remove paint layers from the topsides of a GRP yacht which has been painted to a VERY poor standard. Essentially I want to get back to the original gelcoat, make some gelcoat repairs and then repaint her properly.

Can anyone recommend a suitable chemical stripper which is effective, but which won't harm the underlying gelcoat ?

Unfortunately I don't know the manufacturer of the paint.

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[bugs]

MEK worked for me. Nasty stuff though and very volatile so use small amounts on a cloth and rub it into the paint. Or soak it in newspaper and apply to the paint preferable with plastic sheet outside. This approach is useful on a deck but probably difficult on topsides. Acetone is weaker but safer and more accessible.
I also used Dilunette (not sure of spelling) which is available in most chandlers. It is gel based so its easier to apply to topsides.
And the economical way ! caustic soda dissolved in wallpaper paste. Seems to me that this is what the Dilunette stuff is anyway. Paste holds the soda against the paint. A few passes needed with dilunette or wallpaper paste but it should work.
YOU DEFINITELY WANT GLOVES GOGGLES A CALM DAY. The burns are not nice!!!

If you are repainting then a fine sanding to remove the paint should be ok and quicker. When I did it I spent an age (and a fortune) chemically removing the paint only to discover that the previous painter had sanded prior to applying. I was not repainting so i kept at it with progressively finer wet&dry paper and then applied a two part polish.


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[Davy_S]

PLEASE on no account use MEK Methol ethol ketone. This stuff is highly dangerous, if breathed in it makes your brains come down your nose! It was used extensively in the plastic industry, and it causes dermatitus among other skin disorders.
Try using Nitromors grp stripper and a good scraper. A much safer way! Good luck.

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[howardclark]

Have used Dilunett very successfully before -available from Chandlers and doesn't harm Gelcoat

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[PuffTheMagicDragon]

You could try an american product called "Peel Away". You spread it with a brush (consistency like yoghurt) and then you cover the area with a (supplied) sheet of plasticised paper. After several hours you simply peel away the covering and the soft paint comes off with the paper. I used this system for removing years of antifouling from between the bilge keels of my Centaur.
However, since your boat has already been painted and since you intend to repaint, your gelcoat will be abraded so that the paint adheres. This being so, why not use a vibrating sander, the type that takes half a sheet of wet-and-dry abrasive? This is what I did when I removed a layer of badly applied two-pack paint that acetone left unaffected. It IS rather tiring but it gave the ideal finish for the first (spray) application of a filler-primer. Four years later I have no signs of peeling / flaking / chalking. My boat only comes out of the water for two weeks each year for antifouling and servicing of skin fittings.
Fair winds.

<hr width=100% size=1>Wally