Sanding antifouling...

[Neil_Y]

These might be useful
https://www.coatings.org.uk/antifouling.aspx
https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge-advice/environmental-advice/Pages/antifouling.aspx

In some areas you have to collect the dust/flakes of paint removed and also any water contaminated with paint or antifoul, so it may be worth checking with local environment agencies.

It is a horrible messy job that will leave everything stained blue, we usually get a group of friends and with 4 or 5 it's sill a days job.

 

[Laysula]

Pay someone.

 

[Graham376]

Excuse the slight drift, but how dangerous are particles of old antifoul? I thought the way eroding antifoul worked was for the killing chemicals to leach out over a long period, leaving you presumably with a pretty inert base layer. If the paint has given up killing barnacles etc by the end of the year, then why are we scared of sanding the residue?

Time for a knowledgable chemist.

Not just the remaining toxic chemicals which are dangerous. Don't need to be a chemist to Google effects on lungs of fine dust particles, even woodworking has risks which were not considered in the past, as was blowing asbestos dust out of brake drums with an airline which was normal practice years ago.

Try the torch test after dark in a home workshop after machining or sanding wood (or even worse MDF) for a while. Switch the lights off and shine a torch, you'll be amazed at the millions of fine particles floating around ready to be breathed in.

 

[pcatterall]

If I wanted to remove all the antifoul then I would consider a scraper rather than sanding, when I have scraped in the past I have found it quite fast ( with a good sharp blade).
Currently when antifouling we just scrape off loose bits, there may be some rough bits which benefit from a bit of hand wet and dry.

 

[Marine Reflections]

Not just the remaining toxic chemicals which are dangerous. Don't need to be a chemist to Google effects on lungs of fine dust particles, even woodworking has risks which were not considered in the past, as was blowing asbestos dust out of brake drums with an airline which was normal practice years ago.

Try the torch test after dark in a home workshop after machining or sanding wood (or even worse MDF) for a while. Switch the lights off and shine a torch, you'll be amazed at the millions of fine particles floating around ready to be breathed in.

Spot-on.

A funny thing.. I was chatting about this with a couple of old schoolers who built the Bates Star Crafts on the Thames..

We were chatting about a current issue we have with Festool extraction sanders and the difference between the L, M and H class. They were finding this highly amusing as the only precaution for dealing with glass fibres etc was a ration of a pint of milk!!!
"What.... Milk, thats it???

"How are you old gits still alive?" I gasped..

 

[duncan99210]

I stripped back my old boat by hand. NEVER EVER again...

+1! Mine is a Hurley 18, so not very big. Horrid job and will not be repeated.

 

[Rhylsailer99]

Well after reading all these comments im still going to do mine by hand as not much else to do during lockdown in Wales. Will be able to wear the crazy masks I bought around February ex army GSR should keep the particles out.

 

[dankilb]

Fair enough! Grim job... but remember, it's less about protecting you and more about others (boats and lungs).

Not doubting that you, or anyone else, would be considerate and take precautions etc... But you can still fall foul of NIMBY (not in my boat yard!) complaints. I know Rhyl and it's happened before. The complaint to the authorities from the caravan park was something to do with antisocial activities taking place in 'the boat scrapyard'. ?

I'm the least personally inclined to cite laws and rules unnecessarily - and I don't profess to know which/what specifically apply to this - but expect to be able to show that you are either using the right 'class' of dust extraction or you're wet sanding. And if wet, used air tools and don't risk it with mains (I've read 'because builders use power tools in the rain' cited on here as a reason why wet mains sanding is safe and it ain't). Then... if using air, you need a bloody big compressor - think £100 a day commercial hire jobs.

Might find the scraper looks more appealing once you've priced up the hire kit, unless you're into this sort of stuff commercially yourself.

Or I can recommend an excellent local blasting contractor who'll have it back to whatever spec of substrate you wish and - while not cheap - might be less than the combined cost of sanding consumables, kit and PPE.

 

[dankilb]

...sorry just read 'by hand'! But do you really mean sanding antifoul by hand?! I guess while the gyms are closed, that might just be the quickest route to Mr Universe! ?

 

[Rhylsailer99]

...sorry just read 'by hand'! But do you really mean sanding antifoul by hand?! I guess while the gyms are closed, that might just be the quickest route to Mr Universe! ?

Ha ha not exactly a lot.of the anti foul.is flaking off im hoping to be able to scrape most of it off then maybe sand what remains

 

[dankilb]

There’s a two handed scraper (with a hoover attachment, even, I think) that some swear by. Perhaps more Popeye than Schwarzenegger with a good scraper! ?

 

[Rhylsailer99]

Cheers thats the one I'm going to get from Amazon.

 

[Rhylsailer99]

Fair enough! Grim job... but remember, it's less about protecting you and more about others (boats and lungs).

Not doubting that you, or anyone else, would be considerate and take precautions etc... But you can still fall foul of NIMBY (not in my boat yard!) complaints. I know Rhyl and it's happened before. The complaint to the authorities from the caravan park was something to do with antisocial activities taking place in 'the boat scrapyard'. ?

I'm the least personally inclined to cite laws and rules unnecessarily - and I don't profess to know which/what specifically apply to this - but expect to be able to show that you are either using the right 'class' of dust extraction or you're wet sanding. And if wet, used air tools and don't risk it with mains (I've read 'because builders use power tools in the rain' cited on here as a reason why wet mains sanding is safe and it ain't). Then... if using air, you need a bloody big compressor - think £100 a day commercial hire jobs.

Might find the scraper looks more appealing once you've priced up the hire kit, unless you're into this sort of stuff commercially yourself.

Or I can recommend an excellent local blasting contractor who'll have it back to whatever spec of substrate you wish and - while not cheap - might be less than the combined cost of sanding consumables, kit and PPE.

Rhyl is a ghost town at the moment all the caravan parks are closed , ill just have a go at it and if it starts to look like a nightmare I might then just get it blasted