Removing flaking deck paint

[Crinan12]

Just power washing my boat. Unfortunately the paint job i gave the decks last year was a waste of time because all the paint i put on, along with the several layers underneath it is washing off.

Obviously I'll need to get it all off before painting again. Any tips? It would take ages to powerwash it off but I've tried scraping it and that doesn't work very well.

Maybe a heavy duty power washer? Mine is just a wee thing.

Honestly what a pain in the arse! Spent ages painting it last year.

Thanks

 

[Minerva]

Could you hire an industrial pressure washer to lift the paint? You're likely to get one far more powerful from somewhere like HSS than a wee pressure washer from B&Q

 

[Crinan12]

Yeah think you're right. Thanks.

 

[Minerva]

If it's any consolation - I had the same thing once. I think I must have painted too early in spring so it was too cold / dew fell before the paint cured. I feel your pain!

 

[Crinan12]

I painted during the summer
It's the layers underneath the one i put on that are flaking

 

[Poignard]

I had to do this and I stripped the old paint off with paint-stripper.

Not difficult but very tedious.

 

[VicS]

I painted during the summer
It's the layers underneath the one i put on that are flaking

It maybe worth trying a caustic soda based paint stripper such as Owatrol Marine Strip.

 

[lustyd]

If it's any consolation - I had the same thing once. I think I must have painted too early in spring so it was too cold / dew fell before the paint cured. I feel your pain!

Given that this happens to most painted decks I suspect the real answer is that painting decks is a bad idea regardless of weather. Someone will be along shortly to show photos of their just painted deck to “prove” it can work, just you wait!

 

[Minerva]

Given that this happens to most painted decks I suspect the real answer is that painting decks is a bad idea regardless of weather. Someone will be along shortly to show photos of their just painted deck to “prove” it can work, just you wait!

it’s just like running down a steep hill - once you’ve started, you can’t stop…

In my defence, I bought the boat with painted decks so I had to continue.

 

[penfold]

Once the gelcoat grip is worn or the finish giving up there aren't many choices other than paint?

 

[lustyd]

In my defence, I bought the boat with painted decks so I had to continue.

Yes my old boat was the same, and I cursed the previous owner until the day I sold it!

Once the gelcoat grip is worn or the finish giving up there aren't many choices other than paint?

Personally I'd rather live with slightly tatty gelcoat than constant maintenance and cleaning bits of paint out of the saloon. My deck shoes work on the smooth bits so worn grip doesn't bother me

 

[Crinan12]

Mine appears to have been painted 5 times - blue, grey (twice) beige and white.

 

[dunkelly]

I have the same problem every 2/3 years I sand it and key it again . Still flakes eventually though !

 

[waynes world]

My last boat i painted i did the whole boat and there has been no flaking at all, some five years ago and the gunnels get some hammering with the foot wear as its an inland boat. I prepped it properly by removing all loose paint and more and Jotun Vinyguard primer with Pioneer top coat.

Either sanding it back or soda blasting it. Most is in the prep and then a good paint.

 

[Thistle]

Given that this happens to most painted decks I suspect the real answer is that painting decks is a bad idea regardless of weather. Someone will be along shortly to show photos of their just painted deck to “prove” it can work, just you wait!

... and it only took 8 posts! See #14.

 

[GunfleetSand]

What type of paint is it that you’re trying to remove?

 

[Daydream believer]

You think you have bother . There was a boat that changed hands several times over the years in our club. It sailed very well for a small boat & there were some excellent stories of its exploits. The last but one owner bought it, but never sailed it, so sold it to the next club owner. Complete with newly antifouled hull & matching - yes matching blue decks.
The owner was shocked, after his first sail, to find his kids, in their brand new sailing gear , were bright blue. The previous idiot had painted the decks in erodable antifould paint, left over from the hull.
It took the owner a whole season to get it off .In the end he only sailed it the once & it left the club never to be seen again. He gave up the idea of sailing.

 

[Iliade]

Just overpaint the decks and never lift the pressure washer above the waterline again...
(It risks breaching the sealant on fittings, windows, etc.)

P.S. After years of expensive deck paint, I moved to B&Q water-based exterior house paint to surprisingly good effect. Easy to clean off overspill, brushes, hair, teeth, etc., and no less good than pukka enamel, which always seemed to flake off from somewhere after a year or so.

 

[fredrussell]

Yes my old boat was the same, and I cursed the previous owner until the day I sold it!

Never a truer word spoken than that. I’m in the same position as OP. Never paint your decks folks.

 

[dankilb]

I hear the 'curse the painted deck' cries load and clear. But...

@waynes world got 5 years and counting from using decent quality single component paints (presumably with proper prep).

I can't imagine that 2 component (say epoxy primer and pu top coat) would flake/peel, if done properly. Are we either seeing the effects of exterior house paint (some swear by it) or improper prep here? (I remember a neighbouring boat a few years ago struggling with an Interdeck job - the prep was next to non-existent and it was raining! - "but it's deck paint" and "it cost a fortune" were the complaints!).

Our 1980s AWG gelcoat is properly knackered. It looks like small bubbles in the polyester mix have 'blown' open (I also wonder whether it might be guano 'corrosion' from past long-term storage/neglect). There are patches evenly distributed across the whole boat where you can see through to the GRP. We had a local grp/gel expert on board a while back (I was hoping for some gelcoat matching tips!) but he immediately declared 'just paint it'! (They use Jotun Hardtop and swear by it)