Removing epoxy coating from wood?

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bluedragon

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Anyone know if using a heat gun would soften an epoxy coating on wood and reduce the bond strength sufficiently to strip it? A hatch has suffered water ingress at the front and rear edges and this has spread under the epoxy coating, lifting it in some areas. This is easy to get off in strips using a scraper, but in the dry areas it's stuck like you know what! I could power sand it off or leave it on and feather the edges before recoating, but a far neater job would result if I could remove the coating cleany from the wood. Solvents, strippers, etc, won't touch cured epoxy, so I can only think of heat. I wondered if anybody has tried this?
 
Given your situation I would sand the whole thing and re coat the whole thing, this will give you the good finish without feathered edges.

2 things you need keep an eye on. Make sure ALL the flaking or loose material is removed, also make sure the timber is totally DRY before coating.

Avagoodweekend......
 
Good luck with sanding, I had the same problem on the bathing platform ended up using a belt sander and a very course belt, don't forget to wear a mask
 
I have found heat softens epoxy so that it is reasonably easy to remove by scraping. This includes epoxy and glass cloth. I do not like to sand if I can avoid it because of the dust. Heat can produce vapour, so the area should be well ventilated.

While we are on about heating, I did my last heat and scrape in strong sunlight in the open using a gas flame. The flame was invisible in the direct sunlight. It wasn't long before I let the flame wander over my fingers - ouch!!

My solution was to run a gas burner and I heated 3 mm steel plates about 6 inches square, which I laid on the paint for a few seconds. The paint was soon softened. I found this was very useful when I wanted to strip deck next to a vertical surface to be left intact. Unlike with the flame, the surface close to the plates doesn't get heated much at all.

cheers
 
Thanks Bob...good idea about the plate. I've also burnt myself on a gas flame in exactly the same circumstances...thought it was only me! I actually tried a hairdrier today and that softened the epoxy sufficiently to remove it in continuous wide strips with a small triangular blade. So it's off for a heat gun tomorrow (wife wants the styler back).
 
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