Which antifouling remover?

[ColinR]

I've got about 20 years build up to remove. In some places it flakes off but if I try and scrape it mostly its well stuck on. Can anyone recommend a paint stripper that will work?

Thanks

Colin

 

[homer]

I have just been experimenting with caustic soda (250g in a litre of water + some wallpaper paste to thicken it). Nasty stuff (you need good protection) but it softens the anti-foul so that it scrapes off easily. Seems to work best if left on for 24 hours covered with clingfilm (or pallet wrap) to stop it drying out. That said, my antifoul is not that thick.

 

[pvb]

I've used Dilunett (a caustic soda gel) - it works, but it's filthy stuff and you need lots of personal protection when using it. I brush-applied it and pressure-washed it off. I only used it on a relatively small patch of hull (maybe 4 or 5 sq metres) where the adhesion had broken down under old layers. If I had to strip an entire hull, I think I'd now definitely pay someone to slurry-blast it (or some similar process).

 

[earlybird]

Have you tried a scraper with a carbide blade, cost say £15 and very effective. but use carefully. You could do a 30ft. hull in a day with perseverance.My experience with chemical strippers (international AF stripper ) is that it works ,given time to act, but is expensive and you finish up with lots of gooey paint strips on the floor, sticking to boots, overalls and anything else. Might be useful on the awkward. curvey bits. I also once tried a product called Dilunette (?) which was pretty well useless. Don't know if these products are still available.

 

[macd]

It's a job I've done several times. Scraper is best, as posted. B&Q sell them for around a tenner with a spare blade. This ought to get most of the old a/foul off. For any remaining stubborn bits, soften with the caustic/wallpaper paste mix. It's a hard, mucky job but it works.
When mixing caustic, always add the crystals to the water, not the other way round.

 

[exfinnsailor]

What about sand blasting .. You could then use CopperCoat and save yourself the trouble for the next 10 years. The way things are going you will not be able to scrape the old stuff off if your near the water in future .. Think of the time saving and extra sailing .. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[exfinnsailor]

What about sand blasting .. You could then use CopperCoat and save yourself the trouble for the next 10 years. The way things are going you will not be able to scrape the old stuff off if your near the water in future .. Think of the time saving and extra sailing ..

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[William_H]

Caustic soda is perhaps the cheapest solvent for the A/F. But as identified it is extemely dangerous on skin eyes etc. You realise this if you use a horse hair brush. The hairs just disolve. You will find also that it needs to be applied many times to work its way down through the layers. So scraping is perhaps the best method. Don't try dry sanding as the dust is a real problem (health wise) wet sanding is Ok for final clean up. Yes it may be worth getting a proffessional to do it. Good luck olewill

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
What about sand blasting

[/ QUOTE ] Soda blasting (q.v.)would be better as it is non abrasive. It uses sodium bicarbonate.

 

[TheBoatman]

We've a guy that's blasted a number of boats at our YC, in fact I'm going to get him to blast the 20 years of a/f off our club boats this year but he uses a slurry blast ~ sand mixed with water and it's very efffective.
He can blast as little or as much as you want right down to the gel coat without hurting the gel coat.
I think he charges £300/day + the sand (another £100) and he should be able to do all 3 boats in that time.

Peter.