Soda Blasting Wooden Hulls

[Pencester]

This does the rounds, but generally concerns antifoul removal from GRP hulls. Presumably this method can be used to remove same from wooden hulls, but does anyone have any experience of soda blasting the inside of a clinker boat? I don't relish spending months scraping off all the varnish but I don't want to damage the planking either. As the boat is to be refastened the interior will be stripped out and engine removed.

 

[G12]

Sounds like it might work. Best to ask a company that actually does the job though?

 

[oldsaltoz]

I can see any soft timber blasting away leaving you with a heavy grain finish.

Good luck.

 

[Seanick]

Unless its teak or Iroko, DON'T.

Any pine, larch or mahoganies will be trashed, whatever the vendors may say.

A selection of sharp scrapers of every size and type, a hot air gun, sandpaper, patience and nerves of stell are all you require!

 

[Romeo]

A selection of sharp scrapers of every size and type, a hot air gun, sandpaper, patience and nerves of stell are all you require!

I find having a small friend willing to get into all the awkward places in the hull to do the knckle scraping work is also a boon.

 

[ccscott49]

wouldnt chemical stripper then pressure washer (on low pressure) be a better way of removing it all? OK, you still have to sand etc, but a fein multimaster sanding attachment is a great tool for that.

 

[Seanick]

'A second with a scraper is worth minutes with a noisey dusty sander'

You still have to scrape to get back to a good colour. The P washer will just rip the soft grain out of the wood and ruin the finish.

Try it first on you most valuable antique dresser...

 

[Keith 66]

A Gentleman on the Classic racing dinghy forum swears blind that for wooden boat restoration blasting with crushed walnut shell media is the best solution. I havent tried it but will be doing so!

 

[Bobobolinsky]

Got to go with the walnut shells, there are also some nylon media which are good for delicate surfaces

 

[DanTribe]

I would be very concerned with the effect of blasting the dust & grit into the lands between the planks and affecting the seal when the planks swell. It may be OK, but supposing it isn't? What will you be able to do to repair?
Scraping is all part of the fun of owning a Stella!

 

[Seanick]

Look, its a Stella. What ever you do it will always leak!

 

[DanTribe]

Look, its a Stella. What ever you do it will always leak!

They're supposed to, aren't they?

 

[Even Chance]

Not if you Sikaflex the edges!!

Im doing this at the moment on a wee dinghy, and its just great!!

My old mans Stella will be getting the same treatment when the time comes.

 

[Bobobolinsky]

One thing I didn't mention is that you can use a big pressure washer and attachment for soda blasting, which is less abrasive.

 

[Pencester]

Looks as though soda blasting is on hold while I look into other blast mediums - or indeed end up sharpening all my old chisels and get scraping. I've run out of small friends, I'm afraid!
I have a Fein multimaster sander, but even at this size it is a bit too large to be of great use and it is also all too easy to sand off the roves if you are not careful. Great on other stuff though.
The Sikaflex debate rears its ugly head again. All Stellas leak, although few are really bad. Sikaflex is an expedient short term fix, but no more, there being no substitute for hardening up or full refastening on a clinker hull. Long term this stuff is liable to put extra strain on already weakened fastenings, as I have discovered to my cost, and I have also yet to meet a boatbuilder who recommends the stuff. SlickSeam OK though, as it doesn't set and gets squeezed out as the hull takes up.

 

[Even Chance]

Thanks for the heads-up there RE Sikaflex! Its appreciated.

 

[Watson47]

100Stella ...... It would be great if you can post your findings on other blast media. I am also looking for a solution for removing paint from mahagony decks and gunwales (to be re-painted - not varnished) and had considered soda blasting. Walnut shells are not in great supply in Northern Ireland .. !

 

[Keith 66]

Heres a link for you, Blasting media, all sorts, http://www.guyson.co.uk/consumables/media.html