Which antifoul paint removers - liquid or just elbow grease?

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peter gibbs

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Hail all tub scrapers,

The advice on using paint removal products to reduce AF paint accumulations is totally confusing - Nitromors or a cheaper product such as from Screwfix?

Does success lie in how it's applied and minimum temperature for it to cut into the old AF? Or are none of the proprietary products really much good.

Your advice would be appreciated,

PWG
 
I had good results from an anti found stripper gel sold in our chandler, probably just rebranded , tweaked paint stripper.. The advice I got was to apply as soon as the boat was lifted out as the antifouling paint would be soft and would come off easier.

Sorry, can't remember the name but it was in a white tub..
 
Either can work. There is a range of strippers varying from dedicated antifoul strippers from the paint companies through products sold in chandlers to general purpose strippers from hardware shops. whether they are successful depends on the type of antifouling and the thickness you are trying to remove.

Scraping can also be effective but is inevitably hard and messy work.

So there is no easy answer - except that the most effective method is neither of these, but blasting. Once you have seen the ease with which it removes all the paint and the quality of surface you get you may well think the price represents a bargain.
 
In the past, I've tried Dilunett, which didn't work as well as I'd expected, and was also filthy stuff to use. Blasting is certainly the best way.

You said you want to reduce the accumulation of antifouling. The easiest way to do this is to use eroding paint and have it thoroughly pressure-washed immediately it comes out of the water - a lot of the residual antifouling will wash off. Any remaining antifoul can be washed off using a Scotchbrite pad and a running hose.
 
I had mine scraped off. It was done professionally and left the hull clean and shiny, ready for coppercoat. I thought about blasting but that damages the gelcoat and as its in good nick I didn't want to do that. Horrible job, I tried myself and only go about 1/3 of it off so I bit the bullet and paid to get it done.
 
ColinR said:
I had mine scraped off. It was done professionally and left the hull clean and shiny, ready for coppercoat. I thought about blasting but that damages the gelcoat and as its in good nick I didn't want to do that. Horrible job, I tried myself and only go about 1/3 of it off so I bit the bullet and paid to get it done.
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I believe soda blasting is much kinder to the GRP.
 
I scraped our 32 ft bilge keeler by hand this winter with one of these: http://www.screwfix.com/p/harris-heavy-duty-tungsten-carbide-wood-scraper-9/45940#
No stripper involved.

Long dirty job that took about 12 hours in 3 hour sessions over many weekends, rmoved around 8 years of self erroding antifoul. Not going to do that again!

Must use proper dusk mask and filter as you are usually scraping towards your head!
 
ColinR said:
I had mine scraped off. It was done professionally and left the hull clean and shiny, ready for coppercoat. I thought about blasting but that damages the gelcoat and as its in good nick I didn't want to do that. Horrible job, I tried myself and only go about 1/3 of it off so I bit the bullet and paid to get it done.
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Blasting will not damage the gel coat if the correct medium is used and the operator knows what they are doing. They have control over pressure, speed and density of blasting medium so can get exactly what finish is required. Antifouling is far softer than gel coat and will be removed by much more gentle application than is required to damage or remove gel coat.
 
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That presupposes the blaster people you hire know what they're doing !

A few years ago a cowboy outfit offered a ' deal too good to refuse ' to people at our club, and 5-6 members went for it; result, poor boats with their gelcoats blasted off, a missed summer's sailing and lots of legal action.

Blasting is probably the best solution, but it's quite expensive and make very sure to use a reputable firm.

Self eroding antifoul still builds up a thick layer over the years, I'm going to use a carbide scraper - with breathing mask and goggles, Screwfix are a good source for these.

I also tried Dilunet in the past and also found it useless.

One tip if you do use paint stripper is to plaster it on with newspaper to hold it on the the overhanging surface - but I have formed little faith in any chemical strippers, even in warm temperatures.

Beware some / most paint strippers are harmful to grp.

I've researched the subject fairly well and have tried belt sanders etc; it really seems to come down to good carbide scrapers or blasting.

Removing old antifoul is the worst job in boat ownership, and I WOULD wish it on my worst enemy !
 
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The easiest way is to get down to screwfix and buy:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/pole-sander-260-x-85mm-85-x-260mm/33586?_requestid=213792

then buy some 60 and 120 grade silicon carbide mesh as a roll. Google is your friend. Total cost so far about £30. You also need a bucket and a hose.

Put a section of grade 60 mesh on the sanding pad. Fill you bucket with water, hose down the area you are starting on. Start working away with the pad, rinsing it regularly in the bucket (the mesh will clog quickly, but rinses easily), and keep using the hose to soak the old antifoul. The mesh will cut through the antifoul amazingly quickly. Depends on how many layers you are dealing with, but 3 layers on my 40 ft AWB are off in around an 90mins -2 hours. No backbreaking since the pole gives plenty of leverage and reach. The only thing that takes time is working around the waterline by hand . Once the mesh starts to blunt , flip it over. A roll will last ages ( still haven't used up my 2 rolls in 7 years). Dont know why this method isn't more widely used or seen. Thanks to whoever it was who posted it here years ago.
Once down to undercoat or base layers it may be worth moving to 120 grade for better control.
 
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They are all uniformly useless on a big build up and very expensive. Very messy and only take off two or three coats at a time so multiple applications are required if you have years of a/f on. If you do try it, apply and then cover with clingfilm (not newspaper) overnight. The idea of this is to keep it moist and thus still active.

No doubt - a carbide scraper IS the best DIY solution.
 
Making me think now, I have twenty years of A/F which is very rough. Suppose I could fix an orbital sander to the end of a spar, facing up, on a swivel of some sort. Then suspend spar just the sander side of the balance point so my end is heaviest. Could I then hang the outfit from the rail and using downward pressure my end run the sander in/out up /down, then move on a berth? Come to that I think it was me posted the pole sander, and that could be extended then hung and balanced similarly. This way you don't have to apply upward pressure under the boat. Maybe shock cord would be better to hang it on.
 
fisherman said:
Making me think now, I have twenty years of A/F which is very rough. Suppose I could fix an orbital sander to the end of a spar, facing up, on a swivel of some sort. Then suspend spar just the sander side of the balance point so my end is heaviest. Could I then hang the outfit from the rail and using downward pressure my end run the sander in/out up /down, then move on a berth? Come to that I think it was me posted the pole sander, and that could be extended then hung and balanced similarly. This way you don't have to apply upward pressure under the boat. Maybe shock cord would be better to hang it on.
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Cracking idea .... but I think it would be easier to turn the boat upside down! .... how many mates have you got? ... tractor? ... couple of baulks for the gunwales? .... :nonchalance:
 
Kingfisher 3 said:
Cracking idea .... but I think it would be easier to turn the boat upside down! .... how many mates have you got? ... tractor? ... couple of baulks for the gunwales? .... :nonchalance:
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....14 tons...
I'm thinking lawn mower handle style. The sander could be in a yoke with a counterweight below to keep it inverted. Good long handle for mechanical advantage. You chaps could hang it from the masthead, then you would reach end to end in one shot, with a few length adjustments.
 
I share the scepticism about the limited effectiveness of Dilunet and it is probably the best of them, and it is VERY dangerous, if it get up your sleeves or on your skin any where it will continue to burn in for days, even with the best protection keep a hose or a big bucket of water handy or be prepared to dash down the slipway.
I like the pole idea above but each time so far have always waited until it was really thick, about 5-7 years and then it flies off dry with a Baco pull scraper.
I perhaps should not advance this but I suspect that modern antifoulings are a lot less hazardous than the caustic strippers, I seem to have survived from the era of TBT with nothing worse than a really bad temprament and confusion.
 
I think it must depend on the a.foul...I got nowhere at all with that method.However a power scapper/chisel was very effective.
 
I scraped a 28 foot bildge keel boat a few winters back. NEVER again; I am getting a firm in to blast the stuff off next time.
 
Hand scraped my 31 footer a few years ago. I was disastrous with pull scraper, taking chunks of gelcoat out. 3/4" chisel worked well. Squared off tip so it chipped rather than cut. Never again, hence Coppercoat application. Shoulders have still not recovered.
 
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