Stripping Antifoul

[Daydreamer]

Most of it is coming off with a carbide pull scraper but there are going to be areas where this won't work . Many strippers are caustic but I am not keen on using and leaving sodium hydroxide on a boat in a rather public place.

I see mention from time to time of more ' friendly ' paint strippers but I can't seem to locate any online at the moment, perhaps because they don't actually work
Can anyone suggest any names to look out for?

Its a grp hull. My normal choice of paint stripper would be those containing dichloromethane (Nitromors) but my guess is that it would attack gelcoat. Could anyone confirm this please.

 

[Halo]

As you say dichloromethane is the active ingredient in normal paint stripper. The bulk is a thickening agent to make it stick. I used this on my W25 with no problem but was careful to rinse off and avoid getting it in my eyes or on my skin Pure . Dichloromethane is used commercially as a degreaser for machined parts and sold as Mechthane. If you can find a source it will work well but beware it's habit of eating anything plastic If you have plastic rudder bearings then beware.
Personally I would work some extra hours and pay someone to strip it for you either mechanically or soda blast.
Martin

 

[TSB240]

You might be interested in this thread and the product used?

http://www.myhanse.com/easy-way-of-removing-the-antifouling_topic8141.html

http://kmigreenproducts.com/produkter/industri/paint-glue-remover/

http://kmigreenproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BatNyt_Havnens_bedste_bundmalingsfjerner.pdf

Impressive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ODJVBP8-V0&feature=youtu.be

Impressive results and "Paint and Glue Remover PLUS is an especially effective joint / adhesive and paint remover in gel without compromising on the environment! Specially formulated to remove severe dissolved joint (eg Sikaflex), glue and paint."

Not seen it in Uk so has to be sourced from Kode Green Products
Anders Bolmstedt
+46 705 95 15 29
anders.bolmstedt@telia.com

 

[VicS]

Most of it is coming off with a carbide pull scraper but there are going to be areas where this won't work . Many strippers are caustic but I am not keen on using and leaving sodium hydroxide on a boat in a rather public place.

I see mention from time to time of more ' friendly ' paint strippers but I can't seem to locate any online at the moment, perhaps because they don't actually work
Can anyone suggest any names to look out for?

Its a grp hull. My normal choice of paint stripper would be those containing dichloromethane (Nitromors) but my guess is that it would attack gelcoat. Could anyone confirm this please.

Correct it is harmful to gelcoat but in any case dichloromethane based paint strippers are no longer available to the general public.

Some use my still be allowed by trained "professional" users but otherwise only for use in industrial installations. ie paint stripping plants.

Consider International's "Interstrip" but I have never heard anyone suggest its much good.

Removal 620 is safe but formulated for spray application and AFAIK not available in small (< 1gallon) quantities.

Maybe worth trying the current Nitromors All Purpose Paint and Varnish Remover, which does not contain DCM

 

[smth448]

I have just scraped all the antifouling off my boat using aSandvik scraper. It was hard work but it only took 5 hours. The only bits left are where the hull is concave. Those will come off with coarse wet and dry used very wet. I would steer clear of chemical strippers as they just leave you with a toxic sticky mess to clear up.

 

[Roger52]

Has anybody else tried the KMI stripper. If it's that good it's surprising it isn't available in the UK. We've just had a quote for stripping off the a/f which is high enough to convince me that DIY is the only route.

 

[Boo2]

Removal 620 is safe but formulated for spray application and AFAIK not available in small (< 1gallon) quantities.

I bought this on another forumite's recommendation and found it completely useless. I posted as much and the person who recommended it ditto'd with the remark that they have changed the formulation.

Boo2

 

[Daydreamer]

I gave up looking for antifoul stripper and searched for straightforward paint stripper. Found a 'No Nonsense' stripper at Screwfix. Its a solvent based one and at 3.99 for half a litre it was worth a try. It does work! I removed a hard antifoul boot top line easily and in the timescale suggested in the instructions. It is much much slower on the heavier layers of ancient antifoul but it might just do for the areas which I can't reasonably scrape.

It seems that dichloromethane strippers are easily available from ebay. They just label it 'For Trade Use Only' and deliver it to your door post free. Disgraceful, something ought to be done about it.

 

[Roger52]

I assume the Screwfix product would do no damage to the gelcoat?

 

[Daydreamer]

I assume the Screwfix product would do no damage to the gelcoat?

It doesn't seem to. The solvent is, according to the package, Benzyl Alcohol which seems to be quite a mild solvent. I wiped off the residue with acetone and there was no sign of any solvent damage.