Removing fouling on anti foul, by hand, best tool ?

simonfraser said:
Recently watched a boatyard use a 10" plastic taping knife on a pole, that's what it looked like.

I have always used a stiff brush, but that clogs up.

Dry wall sander recently mentioned on another thread.

What do you guys use ?
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Cruising antifoul? Heavy duty scrubbing pads and water to keep the hull wet. Don't do it in the water as you'll have no anti-foul left pretty soon.
 
simonfraser said:
Recently watched a boatyard use a 10" plastic taping knife on a pole, that's what it looked like.

I have always used a stiff brush, but that clogs up.

Dry wall sander recently mentioned on another thread.
What do you guys use ?
Click to expand...



Hi Simon

I use a £10 Palm sander from Aldi (lasted three years up to now) with 40 grit sanding paper, then go over it again with 120 grit paper, then thinners then wash off and leave to dry .

BUT, dress for the occation good google (not glasses), resperator and overalls etc.

Mike
 
For scraping off shell and weed a Dutch hoe (with the corners rounded off a bit) is useful

Heavy duty "Scotch brite" type pads, ex floor scrubber pads cut in to several pieces, are excellent once all the heavy fouling is scraped off.


But the yard is planning on a engine driven HP pump and a mobile water tank.......
 
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Caer Urfa said:
Hi Simon

I use a £10 Palm sander from Aldi (lasted three years up to now) with 40 grit sanding paper, then go over it again with 120 grit paper, then thinners then wash off and leave to dry .

BUT, dress for the occation good google (not glasses), resperator and overalls etc.

Mike
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Don't do anything so stupid near my boat!
 
Caer Urfa said:
Hi Simon

I use a £10 Palm sander from Aldi (lasted three years up to now) with 40 grit sanding paper, then go over it again with 120 grit paper, then thinners then wash off and leave to dry .

BUT, dress for the occation good google (not glasses), resperator and overalls etc.

Mike
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You'll electrocute yourself using an ordinary palm sander wet!
 
Caer Urfa said:
Hi Simon

I use a £10 Palm sander from Aldi (lasted three years up to now) with 40 grit sanding paper, then go over it again with 120 grit paper, then thinners then wash off and leave to dry .

BUT, dress for the occation good google (not glasses), resperator and overalls etc.

Mike
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A compressor, a compressed air palm sander, a hosepipe and 60 grit. No respirator required, just some really old oilees with tight wrist seals, wellies, a sow-wester and a strong arm! :)

Never do it dry with any abrasive!
 
nigelmercier said:
Could I point out that the OP is asking about removing fouling, not antifoul.
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Hi Nigel, yes agree a scraper is good but I find it can be too good for just removing barnacles without taking too much antifoul with it.

Getting off the OP's thread a bit but it does seem that some are ignorant of the safety concerns of dry sanding antifoul.

I try and take off as much of my hard, cruising antifoul as I'm about to put on each season, trying to avoid a thick build up.

I usually go round cleaning off any loose bits and softening edges of areas that have flaked free with a wet abrasive and hosepipe before touching in those areas with a light coating of antifoul.

Then one coat of antifoul a day or so before she goes in.

I've asked people in my yard to stop if they are sanding dry..... "not near me, my boat or my car thank-you"
 
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Hi Simon
I use an expired credit card to scrape off the barnies, and those foam backed scotch pads from 'Iceland'@ £1 a pack to remove the 'green'.Use with a bit of Fairy liquid.I have found fresh water to be easier than seawater.Go aground somewhere and do it wet,if you let it dry out it's much more difficult.This method has been quite kind to my ply/epoxy 'hulls' with the boat being afloat all year.
Three sets of waterlines are one of the few disadvantages of a Tri.I really should do a boot top.
Cheers
 
Scotty_Tradewind said:
I've asked people in my yard to stop if they are sanding dry..... "not near me, my boat or my car thank-you"
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+++ 1 I am amazed when folk arrive at a boat next to me - all togged up to protect themselves - and set about dry sanding antifoul.........mostly blissfully (or wilfully?!) ignorant of the horrendous dust heading for their neighbours and nearby boats. :mad:
 
8 inch wide stainless steel scraper is the best tool to use to remove weed coral and barnacles. I use it on an eight foot pole in the water so I can scrape all the boat without diving.

I have tried a variety of scrapers to remove barnacle feet and a stiff 3 inch wallpaper scraper seems as good as anything although a machete works well too.

Out here people use a machete for almost everything!
 
a wallet with £60 in it to get the yard to jet hose off the fouling. takes off only loose antifouling also

or an old used metal scraper with blunt corners if you really can't find a jet hose
 
bikedaft said:
a wallet with £60 in it to get the yard to jet hose off the fouling. takes off only loose antifouling also

or an old used metal scraper with blunt corners if you really can't find a jet hose
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This is fine providing you expect to apply new AF paint before putting the boat back in. Where I sail the rate of growth can be prodigious and having a hull cleaned in the water is a norm. Lifting to pressure wash will not shift most barnacles but it will shift a lot of ablative antifouling AKA LIQUID GOLD.
 
Scotty_Tradewind said:
A compressor, a compressed air palm sander, a hosepipe and 60 grit. No respirator required, just some really old oilees with tight wrist seals, wellies, a sow-wester and a strong arm! :)

Never do it dry with any abrasive!
Click to expand...

Will soon be doing removal of antifoul for the first time (seven years' worth to remove). Do I read this correctly that if using the palm sander and sandpaper method mentioned above, I should wet the hull while sanding? I am sure that I have seen boatyards using dry sanding disks to get the hull down to the an "eggshell" finish referred to in another pst.

Just seems to me that grit disks for a palm sander will go soggy if wet.....
 
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