Final cleanup of bottom paint?

kevincoe · Apr 16, 2008

Hey guys, just finished stripping 30 year old bottom paint from my old Grady. Used two products , Intelux Interstrip 299E, but found Ace hardware super stripper to work much better...The Interlux was a better thicker consistency, it gripped the brush and boat better, but with the Aces, though not as thick and maybe a little more sloppy, removed the paint much better... I would slop it on, leave a few minutes, then take it off and reapply...I know you are supposed to leave it longer, but i think this sped up the time it would have taken. I tried leaving it longer(overnight) and seemed that there were always spots that didn,t have enough chemical. That being said...I think this method worked well for me....BUT NOW MY QUESTION? The final washdown if you will... the remaining loose paint... What is the best way to get it off the boat???? Do you use a bunch of paper towels and some paint thinner??? Just keep scraping ?? thou there is nothing to scrape, its all loose?? Any ideas? Thanks, also, what would you suggest I use for small chips,and dings that I will be filling before painting with epoxy. Or should I seal first, fill dings and then reapply epoxy? Lots of questions... appreciate the help!

oops! · Apr 17, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

grind out all dings.....fill with marine tex...sand ...paint...done....

as for the paint thing......ive never used stripper to get paint off a boat.....id just grind/sand

kevincoe · Apr 17, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Thanks Oops, I trailer the boat, so I was thinking of using Intelux offshore. Does this sound like a good choice? I started sanding and it worked fine, but there were so many thick layers that i just couldn't imagine how many sheets of 4x4 sandpaper I would need. Now I need to get it too look like it was sanded...maybe I will just wipe as dry as I can, then put sander back on? What grit do you suggest ? Thanks

Chris1956 · Apr 17, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

kevin, I recommend minimal sanding, using a fine grit. Try and get most of the residual paint off with a putty knife and a heat gun, power washer....

Some newer hulls have a more water-resistent Vinylester gel coat. You do not want to sand this off. As for the paint, if you are going to trailer the boat, you do not need any antifouling paint. If you want paint for appearance, you can use any of the one or two part polyurethane paints. You could also use a two part epoxy primer under the paint for further waterproofing of the gel coat. They also look good enough (semi-gloss grey) for a finish coat.

kevincoe · Apr 17, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Thanks Chris.

lmannyr · Apr 17, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

kevin,

Can you post pics of before and after bottom paint removal. I used Interlux Interstrip. It didn't work very well. I bought a pint and it was gone within 4 feet of my starboard side from the bow. I tried leaving it over night and found it in the AM dry. I had it on really thick too. Don't get me wrong, some of the paint did come off but there was plenty left over.

I'd like to see your results with the ace hardware stripper. Bottom paint needs to come completely off in order for the new primer/paint to stick.

Thanks!!!

wewefirex2x · Apr 17, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

I used ready strip marine on my transom to remove antifouling. It is a thick green consistensy and worked very well. If you apply it when the tempeture is hot and humid it will not work properly.

After I stripped my transom I just sprayed roll off on the transom and scrubbed the rest off. Worked out good for me.

kevincoe · Apr 18, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Wewefire, could you explain what you did in a little more detail...i didn't understand what worked out well for you?? "sprayed roll off"??? and what did you use to scrub...sponge, brush? Thanks Kev

kevincoe · Apr 18, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Imannyr, I will get some pictures up. your right about the interlux being dry in the morning...not worth the big money at all!! It really was so much easier with the Ace product...i probably would have thrown in the towel and had it professionally done if i didn't find it....like i said, put it on, work your way to the back , then start taking it off the front, and just keep going...hole boat pretty much clean (still have some tough spots)in 5-6 hrs...not bad...

lmannyr · Apr 18, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

kevincoe said:
Imannyr, I will get some pictures up. your right about the interlux being dry in the morning...not worth the big money at all!! It really was so much easier with the Ace product...i probably would have thrown in the towel and had it professionally done if i didn't find it....like i said, put it on, work your way to the back , then start taking it off the front, and just keep going...hole boat pretty much clean (still have some tough spots)in 5-6 hrs...not bad...

I headed for Ace Hardware right after work today. I bought 2 large cans. Later, after dinner, I couldn't resist to test it out on the transom even though it was 8pm. After applying a coat and waiting an hour (Watched HOUSE on TiVO), the paint came right off. There is some residual which I'll hit again in the AM. 10 times better than Interlux Interstrip!!!! I was very Happy it cost me only 42 bucks for 1 gallon of this stuff - interstrip was I think 40 bucks for a pint, it didn't work, and it's supposed to be for marine applications. What a disappointment!

I bought from ACE with the ACE Hardware name on the can, Paint Striper Extra Strength.

THANKS For the TiP!!!!

kevincoe · Apr 19, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Glad I could help but forty two bucks??? I only paid twenty eight...maybe you don't pay Jersey taxes...but you pay somewhere else... I bought some of those 3M pads at walmart to get rid of the risidual, the kind that sticks onto a handle and are colored blueish-green... they work pretty good but not sure if it the easiest way...still lookin for the easy way!

lmannyr · Apr 19, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Some of the ace hardware stores are independently owned so prices may vary. I think it's a half gallon for 19.99. I'll be stripping all day today. I'll post pics.

lmannyr · Apr 19, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

I checked today and I had 2 gallons. So it was 19.99 per gallon. Had family in from out of town so I'll try to hit tomorrow.

lmannyr · Apr 20, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Well, some advise for everyone. Don't let this stuff sit too long unless you want some gel coat to come with it. See photos below.

This is after 2 coats of Ace Hardware Stripper. It works well but when your left with a thin residual coat as seen in the pictures, it becomes more difficult to remove. Acetone removes a lot of the residual but again, it's a PIA! I would rather sodablast this sucker. Not sure what that would cost though.

Anyone have some ideas?

kevincoe · Apr 20, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

On my boat I had some small pimples in one area, and a couple spots that look similiar to yours...don't know if you could avoid that tho no matter what you use...I think they had to come out.. just gonna dig them out and fill with marine tex like others have told me.. think I am just going to light sand the residual and then use the 3m pads and some acetone...it is a b---h,but we asked for it.

lmannyr · Apr 20, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

So I gave it another shot and my results were MUCH better.

This time around I did 3 feet sections at a time. First, I brushed on the stripper to the proposed area. After 20 minutes of sitting, I used a plastic scraper to remove the stripper along with the paint. Next, the following 3 feet was coated with stripper. While this coat was doing it's job, I wiped the previous section with acetone to remove the residual paint. If there were large areas that did not completely strip off, then it got a touch up (sort of). By this time, it was time to scrape off the 2 section. This process was repeated from bow to stern without any gel coat bubbling up.

After the scraping the paint off, it looked like the pictures in my previous post, with lots of residual paint. The residual paint was easily removed with acetone while revealing areas still needing work. Below is my current status. The keel section is the where I left the stripper on overnight (big mistake), I'll redo it sometime this week. Since the stripper dried (mistake #2), the paint was NOT coming off.

kevincoe · Apr 21, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Thats starting to look real good...couldn't get my pictures up...was working all weekend...but will soon....this stuff works fast so you like you said..twenty minutes and off....and thats with heavy paint, the thinner the layer the faster you have to remove. Kev

wewefirex2x · Apr 21, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Kevin,

The ready strip marine I used was a brush on product. After the ready strip had dryed I used a plastic putty knife to remove. Once I could see the gelcoat color pretty good I used Rol-Off. It's a spray cleaner/degreaser, used a scotch brite pad and water to remove the rest of Ready Strip and Bottom Paint

kevincoe · Apr 21, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

Haven't seen Roll-off. will have to look for it. Alls I need is some free time!!!to finish this hull. can't wait. Thanks for the reply. Kev

lmannyr · Apr 21, 2008

Re: Final cleanup of bottom paint?

The acetone works well but dries quickly and requires a good amount of elbow grease. Mineral spirits doesn't do anything to the residual bottom paint. I'll probably dry the automotive degressor found in the 1 gallon black gallon tonight. Going to work now. Can't wait to see your before and after pics.

Final cleanup of bottom paint?

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