Bottom paint stripper

[CharlieCobra]

What's a good stripper for bottom paint that won't affect fiberglass?

[sailingdog]

Sodablasting.

[wesramm]

I asked a similar question last week, and got a few responses that soda blasting seems to be the way to go, IF;
1. you have several hundred dollars to burn AND
2. you are either near a place that does it, or can get your hull there.

Neither option fit my project, so I am stuck with more crude DIY methods. I HAVE found that PEEL AWAY actually does 'just what it says on the tin'. It really does remove the paint! I have now tried both the PEEL AWAY I and PEEL AWAY II, and find that the one with the red-label (I think it is PEEL AWAY I) seems a little more tenacious. However, I just removed the cover from some PEEL AWAY II that has been sitting on some ROCK HARD non-skid for 4 days, and that stuff scraped away like warm butter.

I am going to go back to PEEL AWAY I, however, ONLY for the removal of the anti-fouling paint, as I have also had good results using a sander and 80 grit paper. I am going to try a 60 grit this weekend to get through the 5 layers of paint on the hull. Lat weekend I spent only about an hour and goto down to virgin gel coat on the transom and about 5% of the hull on one side.

So, my method: PEEL AWAY I on the tough stuff, then sand, sand sand. Just make sure you get a GOOD respirator, not the flimsy rubber-band dust mask kind..

Good luck, if you are interested in how I get on with the 60 grit, send me a private message.

Wes

[Sailormon6]

I have used Klean Strip on two different boats (a 25 footer and a 35 footer), and liked it, but chemically stripping a big boat is hard, nasty work. The company's website is at "kleanstrip.com" They appear to have changed their labels since I last used it, and I'm not sure which is the correct variety, so I'd ask them which product is recommended for fiberglass with gelcoat. The first time I used it, I got it from an auto body repair supply specialist. It was recommended for stripping paint from a fiberglass bodied car. It was much less expensive than other stripper products.