Steelboat question: Rust in the bilge.

Rogershaw said:
I have a steel boat that I completed for a hull and superstructure and launched in 2009.

Mine was grit blasted before fitting out and painted with many coats of epoxy inside and out. Below the water line I used epoxy tar and this has no damage or rusting.

The are some cracks in the deck paintwork that has allowed rust to get under and lifted the paint in small areas.

I tackle this by chipping the loose rust away then use a stiff cup wire brush in a angle grinder to remove the loose rust and any surrounding paint to show bare bright steel. This is important as ALL the rust must go else it will come back

Following the wire brushing I use Hydrochloric acid to remove the rust into all the crevices. Once I am back to clean "grey" steel I wash with lots of fresh water dry then use phosphoric acid to remove any flash rusting from the very clean metal. I allow the phosphoric acid to dry this gives a protective coating to prevent any further flash rusting so I can paint wit high build epoxy primer then finish as needed.

In the bilge I tend to use ceramic filled epoxy so to give a nice white easy clean surface so its easy to clean and keep water free. White also allows you to see and rust coming through very easy for subsequent repair.
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Brilliant. Sums up what I need to do a lot of, perfectly!
 
I bought a needle scaler, which my hookah compressor runs . Doesn't take much cfm's or pressure. Sharpening each needle helps a lot.
Also bought an air chisel for $10.
The second stage of a scuba regulator can be used for tiny blasting jobs, but empties a tank quickly. No cleaner surface for painting!
 
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Brent Swain said:
A friend said he saw a small blaster ran thru a plastic elbow, hooked up to a shop vac. The sand bounced once, and was instantly sucked up by the shop vac. There was zero dust. Princes Auto sold the rig as "Vacu Blast." Good for small touch up jobs, especially inside.
I bought a needle scaler, which my hookah compressor runs . Doesn't take much cfm's or pressure. Sharpening each needle helps a lot.
Also bought an air chisel for $10.
The second stage of a scuba regulator can be used for tiny blasting jobs, but empties a tank quickly. No cleaner surface for painting!
Click to expand...

I will definitely look into it.

However, I've got quite a bit of boat to keep on top of ... So might need the bigger versions of these....!
 
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