[Jasonfishing]

They make a wire brush for it.thats what I'd try.
Just testing to get some user reviews.

thanks

 

[colemj]

What do you mean by "bottom job"?

Mark

 

[Jasonfishing]

Removing the anti fowel paint and blisters on a very bad bottom that's deteriorated. like %80 of the boats out there on the dry.😂

 

[colemj]

Removing the anti fowel paint and blisters on a very bad bottom that's deteriorated. like %80 of the boats out there on the dry.😂

I understand now. The concern I'd have about that tool is controlling its surfacing. For general removing of antifoul, DA sanders are used so they don't groove and hill/valley. I can't tell how wide the rollers are on it, but you want a largish surface area and not a 2-3" one. Blisters need to be ground out, and this looks like it could probably do that, but might not have as much control as a simple grinder.

If it is that bad, have you considered media blasting it? Costs more up front, but it sounds like you have a lot of back end work to do, so the time savings may make up for the cost.

Mark

 

[Jasonfishing]

I'm just investigating.i have no work currently. but ive done bottoms before.nothing clogs a pad up faster. i guage constroll depth visually by the material removed.got a good sense how to feet the pressure adjustment out by hand.being 8 lbs you better be strong.😂
Looks fast and affordable option verses a couple of hundred of sanding pads. then $20 worth of sanding pads to clean it up and do any feathering.
I actually wanted to try that out the first moment I saw the tool.after doing several bottoms the old sand paper way. which if your bottom looks pretty caked with years worth of bottom paint really sucks.

 

[boatpoker]

No apparent means to connect a vacuum. Some yards won't like that

 

[SanderO]

I am not doing radical sanding of the bottom. I basically do a wet sand and apply a single coat of paint (thinned). I tried all sorts of approaches with the same result. Usually there are no barnacles on the bottom... some on the prop...
prop sanded and bottom painted...

unpainted prop

sanded prop, painted bottom



Painted prop:

 

[Jasonfishing]

Fob it to do that! LOL just like I love my homemade forced air 1 way respirators.with lots of blue pool hose.and a squirrel cage fan.3m full face mask and JB weld.😁

 

[garymalmgren]

I love my homemade forced air 1 way respirators

Homemade respirator, way to go.
Save lots of money?

 

[Jasonfishing]

It works.but I made it work out of necessity.working on boats in hot florida.it blows cool air and clean air.paper mask just don't hold up working hard and don't work right with those situations.nor trying to breath with your lungs on a filtered mask.you overheat and it won't stay in place under the gun with sweat making your face slick.plus they clog very quick.
But you need to mod the mask I use and I leave that to each there own to figure out.works splendid tho.

 

[OntarioTheLake]

I did it. Worst job I ever did. I was blue for weeks, despite tyvek coveralls and goggles. They make stick on chemical peelers, start there.

 

[Jasonfishing]

Yeah that can turn into a nasty job for shure. i learned quick.and adapted quick as I could figure things out.

 

[pdqaltair]

You really need a vacuum sander. For you, for the work area, and for anyone or any boats withing 100 yards.

 

[Jasonfishing]

My take on it is after the first minute hitting the worst erea first the wire brushes no matter how tuff they are will stop cutting so boldly and start that dulling efficiency that the drag of removing most bottom paints will incur no matter what you're using.
And at that point what I would be willing to bet on is that when you did successfully cut through the bottom paint it would just start gliding over the gel coat without digging into it.youd have to hold it on a spot for a prolonged period for that to happen.
At 8 pounds on a hot day it will punish you either way after 10 minutes but just about anything will.

 

[OntarioTheLake]

I believe most marinas and professionals use media blasting now. If controlled, it removes the paint without harming the gel coat too much.

When one uses a sander, as did I, it's impossible not to take off the gel coat. Which means that the boat also has to be barrier coated, which is also what I did. The Interlux barrier coat did work fabulously.

But it was a horrible job sanding off that paint. Not only because the stuff got everywhere, but because of the intolerable positions into which the human body must contort. It took three days to do the sanding, and weeks to recover.

Just after I finished, another boat used those lay-on chemical strips, which removed 90% of the bottom paint with almost zero effort, and a lot less agony. I've read some say these don't work, but I have since seen a few done this way, and ALL of them were less work than what I did.

I would not use a sander or wire brush. Paint removal strips or media blasting.

 

[SHNOOL]

This thread is no fun without torturous pictures of the job.
I say if you can control it, anything is better than how I did it.

I used paint scrapers (kept sharpening the blades), wore a respirator, head, glasses suit, it was just miserable. Thank God my last few boats already had the bottom paint that I wanted, cause I'd pay someone else if I had to do this again. I hear soda blasting or walnut shell blasting is a great alternative. Popping blisters airing them out fairing them then doing a new barrier coat was a lot of work. It turned out great in the end (yes I templated the keel too). My work was all very amateurish, but I also wasn't racing the nationals.

 

[Jasonfishing]

I don't think i can afford the media blaster grift.if so I'd move to la and buy a boat.😂😳and do the bottom...😂😂

 

[AndyL]

Tools like that seem geared to metal refinishing. Not sure what type of wire brush they take but I can't imagine one that wouldn't damage the surface.

 

[MastUndSchotbruch]

You really need a vacuum sander. For you, for the work area, and for anyone or any boats withing 100 yards.

Yes, blasting large amounts of highly toxic chemicals into the air that people breathe, and on the ground where it will poison everything living, is irresponsible. PLEASE do not do it!

If they caught you doing this on the grounds of the marina where I am at, you would be kicked out immediately. And I fully approve of that policy!

 

[Sabreman]

I wouldn't use the rotating brush. Besides a lack of collection ability, I'm not sure how abrasive it really is. A long time ago, I tried to wire wheel bottom paint and all it really did was just burnish it. I think there are easier, more effective DIY options.

It isn't sexy but my brother in law and I removed 20 years of bottom paint using two ¾" wood chisels over about 8 hours. After exploring a lot of DIY alternatives (including sanding it off) a friend recommended the technique he used as a liveaboard. I bought two chisels, rounded the edges to prevent gouging and sharpened with a handheld diamond sharpener every 30 minutes or so. It was pretty easy to set the chisel at a shallow angle and "peel" the paint. After a short time it was easy to get pretty quick at it with 9" or 12" "peels". When we were done, most of the paint was gone and I sanded the bottom with a 6" random orbit grinder (much more surface area than 5") with 60 grit, connected to a shop vac. Took about 6 hours. Went back and did it again with 150 grit (4 hours) and painted. Total time investment: 8+8+6+4 = 26 man hours. Not bad. Since then I only use ablative paints and don't necessarily paint every season to prevent buildup. I do an all over sanding with 150 grit using the random orbit sander attached to the shop vac (4 hours) prior to painting. It's not a racing finish but pretty fair and we have won or placed well in some competitive races.


Starboard side half peeled.

Port side ready for sanding.

Rough sanded, ready for 2nd sanding & paint