Removing old epoxy

[sailingmum]

Ceiling light fixture that was attached with epoxy has fallen and taken some of the gelcoat with it, so the fiberglass is showing. It's also left behind the old epoxy.
I want to patch/cover the bare fiberglass and scrap off/remove the old epoxy so i can reafix with double edged tape.
I tried both a plastic and a metal type putty knife - next to useless.
I'd like to try to avoid a chemical stripper....
any simple solutions or if not that, a solution that works ???
thanks,
Suky

[tommays]

Dremel duct tape and caution

[oomfh]

Yepper, epoxy is pretty tenacious! Do you own any power tools you attach sandpaper to - and allows controlled sanding in a small area?

[sailingmum]

I would be first time user of Dremel. That sounds like it might be the small controlled sandpaper route ... what number sandpaper ?
Any other tips.
Like the simplicity of duct tape.
Thanks for your patience and help.
I'm sailer who's becoming handy out of necessity.

[Capnblu]

How about a sharp chisel, drawing across the surface of the epoxy shaving it off, not gouging into it. With light pressure, you can shave off quite a bit accurately.

[oomfh]

If they make 36 grit for the Dremel - that would make short work of it. If you are using a Dremel Multi-Max, the MM920 blade would work really well.

Sailing and handy go hand-in-hand to a pretty large degree!

Good luck!

[hellosailor]

Double-sided tape to secure a fixgture onto an overhead? VERY BAD IDEA.

The adhesive will soften and let go after repeatedly being heated up by the sun-baked fiberglass it is attached to. At which point...BONK! Lighting fixture falls on your head.

Even premium brands like 3M are subject to failing in those conditions. They sell industrial "velcro" type fasteners, for holding car toll transponders onto windshields, and they have no product that will withstand long-term use in places like Florida, where the heat bakes it all day.

Epoxy really is the correct way to go, or some other permanent adhesive like urethane glue.

Bear in mind, the epoxy that was there before DID NOT FAIL. What failed was the bond between the gelcoat (or paint, since gelcoat is normally used only on the exterior of a hull) and the fiberglass.

By all means, roughen up the fiberglass (wearing a dust mask & eye protection because of the nasty fiberglass fragments) before you stick anything to it, but "tapes" and "sticky" things pretty much always fail under loads in hot boats.

[sailingdog]

The fixture should really be installed properly.

You could use weld-mount 8-32 studs to secure it if you don't want to drill holes.