Cured Resin cleanup problem.

[FriendsonFire]

I have just purchased a 33 foot Ranger and the previous owner had some hack try to install a rigid dogger. The perosn clearly had no idea what he was doing and failed the installation but not before he dripped Resinn all over the hatch and cabin top. The gentleman in question should be tied to a couple of anchors and dropped into the nearest channel.

Does anyone have a way to remove the resin without damaging the gelcoat underneath?

I can supply a picture if needed but brace yourself it is ugly.

[66luders]

I wonder if the previous owner visits sailnet.

I think your only hope is to chip it off if it is not stuck well or else sand it off.

[sailingdog]

If the resin is on smooth gelcoat, I would recommend doing the following:

Take a single edge razor and use a piece of emery cloth to round the corners. This is to prevent the corners from digging in and scratching or gouging the gelcoat.

Keep the razor blade nearly flat or parallel to the surface and use the razor to "cut" the resin from the fiberglass. Often, unless the gelcoat was prepped, the resin will not stick well to it, and will simple "pop" off when you use the razor.

You could also use a very fine grit disc on a random orbital sander, if you're good with one, to remove the resin, but it takes a very fine touch to do that.

Hope this helps.

BTW, the anchors and the channel are only recommended if the said channel either has very strong currents to wash the debris away or is very, very deep... Don't want him sticking up out of the water at low-tide, do you??

[FriendsonFire]

Thanks so much Sailingdog.

We are lucky enough to be sailing in the puget sound so the channel is deep and the crabs should make short work of him.

Take a look at the attached picture and you can understand why this guy should be shot!!!

I will let you know how the cleanup goes.

[Giulietta]

Who the hell did that job???

LArry the Cable Guy??????

You need acetone a chiesel and a hammer, and lots of patience.

Good news, the resin seems pretty old and brittle will come of with some effort.

[US25]

Now that's Redneck!

[sailaway21]

Having seen the pictures, I would forego, for just now, Dog's use of the razor blade. Take a putty knife and put a good sharp edge on it. A belt sander works well for this. If necessary buy a new putty knife, but either way, keep a good sharp edge on it. The sharpness is what is going to keep you from digging in to gel-coat. You can round the edges of the blade ever so gently, but the overall face must remain square.

Take the putty knife and use it as Dog described for the razor blade. And as Giu said, like a chisel, you can use your rubber mallet to rap the handle and with as parallel to the surface as you can get, you should be able to pop sections of this stuff loose. Hopefully, it's epoxy resin and the UV light has already been at work on it, loosening it.

Wait for final clean-up to break out the acetone as it will soften up, temporarily, the gel-coat as well as the resin. It will probably soften the gel-coat faster than it will the resin, too!

Don't be afraid to give the putty knife a good rap with the mallet-it's gonna take some force. I would use about a 2" blade, or less, on the putty knife. You're going to gouge some gel-coat, it'll be darn near impossible to do so on a project this size. Pick up a small can of finishing gelcoat at westmarine and you can repair as you go.

The stuff that has entered the pores of that old gelcoat, you are not going to get out. You can try bleaching it out. Might have some long term success along with the sun's UV rays. You can try the acetone or MEK at this point. Otherwise, it's sand it smooth and paint it. The rest of the gelcoat looks pretty porous too, so painting was probably in your future ultimately, anyways.

I'd say, "have fun", but that would be cruel. It ain't gonna be.

[NoDoubt]

Whoa, that's really bad. You might consider heat. As a teen I worked in boat yard doing fiberglass repair, (I mostly ran the grinder) but once I stepped in some resin and tracked it on the deck of really nice boat. It was only a few dime sized spots and my boss used a razor blade and a soldering iron to heat it up and scrap it off. I'd say your mess is way beyond that, but you might try a good heat gun and see if it softens it a little while you scrape. Watch for fumes; bad stuff to breath.

[sailaway21]

I'd be real carefull if you try heat, you'll soften the gelcoat as well as the resin. do not ask how I know this.

[sailingdog]

Umm... didn't realize it was quite that extensive... after seeing the photos, I too would recommend using a putty knife or wood chisel, and rounding the corners as I originally described earlier.