stripping paint on grp - any recommendations?

Birdseye

Birdseye

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My new (second hand) boat had the old antifoul removed by sand blasting before I bought it. The hull was then coated with jotun vinylguard primer and antifoul. I want to remove these coatings so that I can epoxy, but since the gel has already suffered a sandblasting I dont want to use a sander if possible. Trial scraping didnt work at all well - the antifoul came off tbut the primer seemed to smear.
 
Hmm. Just noticed the similar post a few lines further down. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Nevertheless, would appreciate any feedback on what seem to be the alternatives: dilunet / international / strippit / home made caustic soda and wallpaper paste.
 
I've used Dilunett, followed by a pressure washer to remove the softened paint. Seemed to work OK, but it's filthy stuff to use. I'd imagine many other products are similarly nasty. Next time I need to do it, I'll probably try RemovAll 610, which sounds like a safer product.
 
Thanks for that. Whats so filthy about dilunet? My boat is parked no more than 5 ft from another on each side - is this likely to be a problem. Dont want to strip theirs as well!
 
I stripped my boat with Dilunett once and foolishly washed it off with a jet-washer on a windy day. The next-door boat sides got covered in blue spray which obviously I cleaned off, but I didn't realise until later it was all over his deck, sprayhood, cockpit, ropes.......he was not happy, and rightly so. I'm sure it was diluted enough to be harmless, but it took a lot of cleaning off. I had to give him a crate of beer to calm him down.
 
The International Interstrip Paint Remover is water based you can actually put your fingers in it with no reaction, so nice and safe to use ( not that I advocate this practice at all just an observation!). No need to jetwash of, just a gentle scrape using a decorating scraper will do the job so no risk to the surrounding boats!! The secret is to cover the area you have applied the stripper to with a barrier I.E clingflim to stop the product from drying out, then leave it for as long as possible to allow the stuff to do it's magic. Dilunet is good, but given the quantities required it would work out expensive, the International is more cost effective, for larger areas. Imho of course!!

Julian
 
Had simular problem a few years ago
If you are going to the expense of re-coating then best way unfortunatly is to re sand blast hull.
The sand blaster can have the knozzle pressure adjusted and possibly use a differant grade of sand just skim off what you want without damage to hull.
Make sure you tell them exactly what you want,more cost I know but worth it to do job properly.
 
Dilunett...

Dilunett is a thick gel product whose active ingredient is caustic soda, I think (don't have a can handy to check the label). It is applied by brush or spatula, and it's difficult to get an even coat. You also need to wear gloves, goggles and protective clothing. That's why I thought RemovAll 610 might be a safer product to use.
 
Re: Dilunett...

I used Dilunett last year - and will be doing so on GL this year... Yes it is Caustic soda based and nasty if you get it on you. The "instructions" recommend the power wash technique. Being within a couple of feet of neighbours, I didn't fancy that idea, so I put it on with a foam brush one afternoon, and removed it the next day with a wallpaper scraper, followed by a hose off.

Removall is recommended to be sprayed on, so you are almost bound to get drift to adjacent boats. It is also very pricy,as is Interstrip. I have thought about Polycell and Caustic Soda, and may go that route instead.
 
Re: Dilunett...

Might be worth considering the Farrow System, which is very gentle and would therefore not cause any damage. I don't know how to link you to other threads, but the following was a recent thread on the classic forum after I made the same suggestion to another forumite!
Hull Sand Blasting: The Sequel
#853211 - 19/10/2005 07:20 Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
Many thanks to all who responded to my previous post & especially to those who recommended the Farrow System. The hull was blasted using this system last week with excellent results and no adverse effect on the limpetite. Job took about 8 hours on a 35 foot long keeled Hillyard double ender, including clean up so saved this septuagenariun many back breaking hours. I can strongly recommend Tephratec (Tel: 0845 370 1990) for those in need of bottom stripping without back aching.
 
Re: Dilunett...

used it on our yacht last year We also covered the next but one yacht with pink and had to wash it down (Well at least Er indoors did as I went to work for 2 weeks). There must be some one around with a soda blasting system Less mess than shot blasting and lest labour intensive.
 
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