[phatmanmike]

my wife and i are gonna repaint our 14 jon, but the paint that is on there from prior owner is ugly, thick, and peeling.. and under that paint is a (looks like)profesionally done paint job. nice and shiney. we plan to remove ALL paint to bare aluminum and seal it with gluv-it, around all the grommets and such, and then primer it and paint it. we bought all the needed materials, paint, primer, sealer and marine tex( for a few small holes and such).. my question is this, WHAT THE HECK IS THE EASIEST/FASTEST WAY TO STRIP OLD PAINT? i have been using heavy duty stripper/ cleaner for cement, metal , and marine finishes from my local hardware store and using a 12000 rpm angle grinder with paint stripping wheel. just wanna know if i am already doing this the best way or if any of the super guru's out there have any secrets?thanks in advance

[snapperbait]

I'd tend to stay away from the chemical strippers, issues with leftover stripper residue causing paint adhesion prob's later on.. Gotta make sure the surface is super clean before re-painting..I'd say your on the right track with the grinder/stripping wheel.. A wire wheel might do a little better on it, especially around the rivets, but if the wheel your using is working for ya, go with it...

[jimpittman]

phatmanmike,Yep the 4" angle grinder with a stiff wire wheel will do just fine. I just did my boat down to the bare shiny aluminum and repainted it with Duralux, aluminum boat green. I did prime the bottom first with zinc chromate but that was not necessary. Good luck.jimpittman

[Zoomer]

Let me preface this by saying I'm new here, and by no means an expert. A few years ago I stripped a 14 ft. Crestliner to re-paint for duck hunting. It had at least 3 if not 4 coats of paint on it. There is a big difference between chemical paint strippers. I tried the hardware store stuff and it didn't work very well at all! I went to an automotive paint supply house and got something called aircraft stripper. It works 10X better than the hardware store stuff. One trick to using it is to slather it on, and cover the area with plastic wrap like Saran Wrap. Let it sit a while, and then scrap it off with a putty knife and use steel wool around the rivets. If you don't cover it, it seems to dry too fast and doesn't disolve the old paint as well. I was worried about the riveted seams, but no leaks here. I made sure I washed it off well before painting. If you do use aircraft stripper, make sure you follow the directions, it's really nasty stuff! It may only be available to paint professionals now, I'm not sure, but it really worked good for me. Like I said, I'm new here and there may be other reasons I'm not aware of for not using the chemical stripper, but it sure worked good for me. Good Luck!

[Taperunner4]

Yes I have to agree with the different strippers giving different results. The Aircraft stripper is somthing we use in the motorcycle industry to strip wheel paint which is ridiculously thick. Some strippers are also harmful to aluminum so make sure to read the warnings on other types. On occasion i have also used Oven cleaner to pull off powder coats and other hard paint but there are warnings on the oven cleaner cans about aluminum so be careful if you choose to use it. Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.

[tmcalavy]

No. 1: media blasting
No. 2: plain old-fashioned spray on oven cleaner, read and follow all label directions.
A wire wheel on a grinder/drill will do the job, but you'll go through several wheels and you'll have little sharp bits of the wire everywhere...wear protection and do this in a safe place for easy cleanup.

[Bob_VT]

Considering this post is over 5 years old....... I think the problem may have been solved...... let this drift slowly back into the archives and I will close it.