I am not having fun trying to strip this boat

home-boy

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My 21' Starcraft has been in saltwater and is pretty rough on the hull. Most of the paint seems stuck down tightly with the exception of tiny speckles where corrosion has started.

I first tried klean strip spray and it seemed to work great on a tiny area. I then got a gallon of the same stuff that came with a spray bottle. In the areas with better paint to came off in sheets but where the paint is the most damaged it barely took anything off.

I let it soak for about 30 minutes then tried the pressure washer. Disappointing results. I tried a little more today and with scraping I got about 80% with again some spots seemed tough.

A glass bead blaster wanted $400 to do it tomorrow and another said $225 but can't do it until next week.

Any better ideas?
 

zool

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Not in the same league as Aircraft...that's a household stripper, their AS is a professional product....
 

Watermann

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Covering it with plastic and letting it sit longer is about all you can do. The orange label KS is all I've used. Took off 40+ year old paint no problem.
 

MTboatguy

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It is not surprising that the dents and dimples are more difficult to strip, those areas have been compression hardened, happens on airplanes and helicopters all the time, used to drive my guys crazy when they had to strip and repaint our helos. They normally just went ahead and started with commercial grade stripper, to soften, then changed over to bead blasters because the paint had been softened and was blasted off easier.
 

g0nef1sshn

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A 21ft boat blasted for 225$, I would jump on that and wait. Id even consider the 400$ after stripping a 16fter. If your not in a rush, I did mine in sections at a time and eventually got it done. The citrus strip can stay on a long time too, so I would spray it on at night, and get back to it the next day when I could. If you cover it up like mentioned above, It will trap the moisture in and help it work better.
 

UConnMRB

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I tried the Aircraft stripper and the Klean Strip stripper. My boat was repainted at some point and the both products took off the new paint, however the original layer of paint takes forever with either product. I did not notice a different between the Aircraft and the Klean Strip. Both were pretty nasty and would burn if you got any on you. The method I have stuck with is Klean Strip (I like the canned version, but its more expensive) and some Saran Wrap. Put it on, cover it with the Saran (or any brand) and let it sit for 30-minutes to an hour. Most of the time I would have to do that process twice in the same spot.
 

gm280

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I can't think of any stripper be it household usage or commercial usage that strips every bit of paint off with one coat. Strippers work well, but you have to work with them also. Do the first coat and use the wrap to hold the moisture in so the stripper chemicals don't flash off and dry. Once it dries, it is back to original once again. So you have to keep the areas wet with the stripper to actually work to their best. So you have to be patient and allow multiple applications work. And for your patience, you will finally arrive at a clean finish. That doesn't mean there will be no further effort to get to a paintable finish. You still have to work the little areas and work the dents and such out too. It is a total effort to get anything ready to paint. And remember this if nothing else, if you can feel or see any imperfections on the metal, glass, or wood project, it WILL show up in the final finish. Prep is the number one thing anybody can do to make a remarkable final finish...period! So keep working and whatever way you chose, make sure you arrive at a finish that YOU want. There is no magic formula to a nice workable or even a world class finish that doesn't take human elbow grease!
 
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g0nef1sshn

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What temp are you working in? They tend to wrok a lot better in warmer/hotter weather also. If its cold out it wont be as effective.
 
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dozerII

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Putting a real heavy coat on then covering it with plastic to keep it from drying out works very well, just make sure you leave it long enough, even a couple hours.
 

home-boy

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I punted and took it to the media blaster. He is going to use glass dust and said it might be done by Friday.
 

MTboatguy

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Actually for tinny's, I just went ahead and purchased an inexpensive media blaster from HF as I already have a large shop compressor, it was worth the money, I only have to purchase the media when I need to clean aluminum or what ever else.
 

zool

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Actually for tinny's, I just went ahead and purchased an inexpensive media blaster from HF as I already have a large shop compressor, it was worth the money, I only have to purchase the media when I need to clean aluminum or what ever else.

I bought one of those a while back, haven't used it yet, its got the conversion kit for soda also...I got it to remove years of bottom paint., the Aircraft Fiberglass took it off fine, but having to lay underneath it as it falls was not fine! :eek:
 

MTboatguy

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I bought one of those a while back, haven't used it yet, its got the conversion kit for soda also...I got it to remove years of bottom paint., the Aircraft Fiberglass took it off fine, but having to lay underneath it as it falls was not fine! :eek:

Why would you lay underneath it? Anytime I have worked on stripping paint, I always turn the hull over!

:rolleyes:
 

jbcurt00

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Zools working in the yard, under a 28ft Imperial cabin cruiser. Not many can flip that big a boat out in the yard.
 

zool

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Zools working in the yard, under a 28ft Imperial cabin cruiser. Not many can flip that big a boat out in the yard.
LOL, Yea John, it would take a breweries worth of beer to lure enough "friends" to flip the 3 tons ;)

The point should be, solvent based strippers are effective, but caustic, carbon based strippers., from what I hear, are more caustic :D

Regardless, the OP chose his solution...so all is well I guess...
 

home-boy

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It was mostly a time issue for me. I was at a standstill until I got the paint off. Now I can pull the floors and stuff the bottom with the foam I have stacked in the front of my garage. and start building seats. :joyous:
 

64osby

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H-B They good news is you won't be able to see the orange peel paint. Have fun and keep at it.:D
 
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