Removing old clear coat that is now chipping and...

Petar · #1 (**permalink**) 04-26-2011

Hi,

Last year about this time I purchased a sailboat that originally has a blue color hull and it seems that sometime in the past someone has applied some sort of clear coat (not wax) that has over time started breaking up and peeling off mainly on upper edges and along the hull where two red stripes are painted. Where it has started lifting off (about 1% of the area, but very visible) it is easy to remove it with a little gentle scraping, but obviously not the remainder. From my enquiries with last two owners (last 10 to 12 years) i could not find out what was the prooduct used to clear coat the hull and am now in great doubt as to how to go about fixing this. I will obviously not be able to mechanically remove it and only solution may be using some sort of chemical stripper but I have no clue which one to use and not to harm the gelcoat beyond repair. I am inclined to try and use PoliStrip which is the PoliGlow remover. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

tommays · #2 (**permalink**) 04-26-2011

If it is as you think a paint based clear coat its not gonna come off in a friendly way SO tread gently as its a real Pandora's box

Sabreman · #3 (**permalink**) 04-26-2011

Without a photo to see for sure, my guess is that it's PolyGlow (http://www.myboatstore.com/poliglow4.asp). Several people in our marina used it. It's great coating if maintained, but if you don't keep up with the maintenance schedule, peeling and clouding result. I have no idea how to remove it.

hellosailor · #4 (**permalink**) 04-26-2011

Petar, you might try to contact a 3M automotive products dealer, they sell all sorts of special prepsolvents and abrasives to work on fiberglass (car, boat, plane) bodies. Unless you find a miracle chemical that is just right, it is probably going to be a long job with a wheel and compounds to polish it off.

It could be painted and clearcoated, I know someone who bought a boat from a car dealer who actually had repainted his hull that way--and of course, car paint just isn't quite right for a hull. But if you are lucky it is PoliGlow and there's a solvent for that.