Stripping bottom paint?

[Steve K]

Hi all,
Has anyone tried "Citrustrip" to remove bottom paint? Was the result good?

I've done three boats now and have usually used "Kleen-Strip Marine" for fiberglass. However, my only source for it was a paint and body supply close to where I used to work (40 mile trip....finally retired.....don't want to drive that mess, just for this), not to mention it is a real smelly mess to use.
And, even though it is supposed to be safe for gel coat, if left on a little too long, it will attack it. One can't really use it a second time, if all the paint didn't come off after the first coat. (it WILL then damage any areas that are bare gel coat).

So, anyway........ I got a little bottle of the Citrustrip to try. I was reading on the Corvette (fiberglass car) forum that some of those guys had good results with it, with no damage to the fiberglass. However, the web site for it says not to use it on fiberglass doors (example: home entry doors). Of course, a fiberglass door is really nothing like a fiberglass boat.

I have the Citrustrip sitting on a test piece (cutout from when I installed CD/mp3 player), as I write, to see if it will damage the gel coat. So far, so good. I just wondered if anyone had used it and if it will actually take off the paint. It just doesn't seem like something with a pretty orange smell would do what that nasty smelling old stripper would do.

Anyway, I'll answer my own question soon and will report the results. If this stuff does work, I can already see great benefit in using it, as it will be much more pleasant to work with.

Let me know what ya know

Best Breezes,
Steve K.
M-26D

[Steve K]

Didn't get any interest on this, I guess, but in case anyone wants to know..........

Citrustrip did not work. In fact, the Kleenstrip for fiberglass didn't work very well on my D boat. I've used it before with good results. I had to do a lot of scraping and sanding with the DA to get all the bottom paint off. This was the toughest old bottom paint yet (and I've stripped the bottom of a 1977 Catalina 22, so I guess age of the paint isn't the reason )

Underneath the paint, I found paper thin gel coat and some boat pox.

I did some temporary gel coat repairs and wet sanded to #600. I then sealed it with "Sea Slide", so it will be less likely to suck up dirt and slime.
So......... the boat is sitting in the back yard on it's side, waiting to be heeled to it's other side to strip the other half of it's bottom. Wonder what I'll find under all that bottom paint on that half? (more of the same, I suspect)

The wind and rain came up, so I got the day off today. (I was worn out anyway)

I will use the D boat this season as it is. At least the bottom will be smooth and free of several layers (and partial layers) of flaky, lumpy bottom paint. It looks good from a few feet away and should be a little faster, overall.

Next year I'll refinish the hull from the rub rail, to the keel (done this before too) using Duratec vinyl ester primer and a new gel coat finish. She'll never blister again and look shiny new . Then, I'll really put a race finish on the old girl's bottom.

Best Breezes,
Steve K.
Mac 26D "Three Sheets"

[Catigale]

Thanks for sharing the results on citrustrip Steve

I'm firmly in the blisters are cosmetic school but I know you race and want that fine "edge"

[Steve K]

Catigale,

Just like to see if I can get the best out of the boat. Don't know for sure, but this seems to improve performance, particularly in light airs.

It does make them look a lot prettier on the trailer though And I've always got a kick out of making something old and crappy looking, look brand new again

Best Breezes,
Steve K.

[vizwhiz]

Steve, sorry, but I had missed this. I have an S boat, similar to yer D...and I have a couple questions.

First - how did you put the boat on the ground in the backyard, just slide it off the trailer? I've been thinking about doing that so I could work on the trailer and also so I could work on the bottom of the boat, but I didn't want to get in a situation where I couldn't get the boat back on the trailer or end up damaging something... Got any pics you can share? (I've been pretty confident that I could do it, but the admiral will kill me if I try to do this without showing her that someone else has already done it.)

Second, my boat bottom has what appears to be a black ablative paint on the bottom (because it's peeling off), and what's underneath that appears to be...just ugly...but not really paint. Have you had good results before stripping anything like an ablative type paint (as opposed to a quality bottom paint job, which this is not)?

[Steve K]

Viswhiz,

Here's a few shots of my hoist and my 26X, when I did it.
http://www.box.com/s/24e664a9c5574914851c
Let me know if the link works okay for you.

I'll be putting my D boat back on the trailer tomorrow (weather permitting). I'll take some pics, as I'm going.

If you full screen the pic of the hoist, you can see the two come-a-longs (one on each end of the hoist). I put a nylon load (10,000lb.) binder under the boat and hook each end to each one of the come-a-longs. These are 4 ton lift each, btw. Then I hoist away, first one side and then the other, until the boat is high enough. I usually have a couple cement blocks sitting nearby, to set on the bow, to balance the boat, because I tend to get the strap too far forward most of the time.

The D boat only weighs about 1600lbs if everything is removed from it. The X boat is around 2300 and you may notice, when I did it, I left the outboard on and used my fresh water tank (up front under v berth) to balance things out. I lifted the X by the chain plates, but they are way too far forward on the D boat.

You need about four old tires (off the rims), and some old carpet. The tires will cushion the boat fore and aft and the mid section of the hull will sit on the carpet. Put some of the old carpet on the tires too and you won't have to clean skid marks off the hull later.

Now, if you don't have a hoist, or don't want to build one from timbers, you can build a stand that will slip under the rear of the boat. Then using a couple of floor jacks, work the trailer out from under the boat. Lower the trailer jack as far as possible and build the stand to fit in under the, now much higher, stern. Raise the trailer jack and your boat will be sitting on the stand and the very front V of the trailer. Now use well padded floor jacks alternately, to raise the front of the boat so you can move the trailer out.

I like to use a hoist, however, because it is easier to get the boat down on the ground and back up. I am going to upgrade this soon by adding a real electric hoist to it. I've had the electric hoist for a couple of years now, just need to weld some mounting points to the top of the structure so I can bolt it up there.

To careen the boat over, you can run a good line (I use an old halyard) from a good attachment point on one side of the boat (I use the stanchion mount, close to the sheet winch) over the cabin. Then with your tow vehicle, tie the line to the trailer hitch and pull from the opposite side. Use plenty of padding on the hull amidships. You can get the keel almost waist high, which makes it easy to work on the bottom. I'll do one half of the hull then flip her the other way to do the other half. I used to put the mast up and pull them over by tying one end of the mainsheet to the halyards and the other end to a fence post, truck, or any good anchor point. Getting too old to heave one over by hand though.
I turned my Catalina 22 completely upside-down, but this took a little more engineering and a wooden rack built over the cabin top. (I'll add a pic of this to the boxnet link, just so you can see it) It was really sweet to work on the bottom this way.

Anyway, feel free to ask any questions. I'll help you any way I can.

Best Breezes,
Steve K.

[Steve K]

Three Sheets is back on the trailer, resting comfortable in the back yard.
I took a few pictures while I was hoisting her back up to get the trailer under her.
Here's a link.
http://www.box.com/s/1570f72f9af4c1a1fbbb

You can view the pics full screen and zoom in and out. And yes, the white stuff that the boat is sitting on is styrofoam.
Give me a holler, if you need to know more.
I'm taking the rest of the day off

Best Breezes,
Steve K.

[vizwhiz]

Thanks for all the advice and the pics Steve! (Hey, can i borrow yer hoist?)

Looks like what I thought - just get it off the trailer and she'll be okay on the ground - I like the idea of the tires for support. I would love to be able to work on the trailer without the boat on it, and might even undertake getting the yucky black stuff off so it can have that pretty and smooth bottom again...(I'm not going to have the boat in the water for long periods, at least at first, so I'm not too concerned about having bottom paint on it.)

This is going to take some planning - I don't have an A-frame hoist to do this with, so I'll probably do it with the supports as you mentioned.

[Steve K]

Vis,

I saw this @ Harbor freight. $650
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-tele ... 41188.html
Not sure if it's wide enough (94inches)......... same width as the boat @ it's widest point.

If you were close, you could come over and use mine.

If you do decide to strip the bottom, I suggest the Kleenstrip for fiberglass. You'll still need a DA sander & compressor to get all the paint off. Let the stripper sit for three of four hours before scrapping it off.
If you find the gel coat is in good shape................
You can use #80 grit, CAREFULLY' with the DA, just to get everything white, but I'd start with #220 if you can.
Then wet sand from there starting with #400, then #600, then #1200....... machine polish and wax with Aurora VS721.
http://www.auroramarine.com/aurora/cata ... html?cat=1

Only suggesting here, but have had great results doing this to several boats....... better boat speed and will stay very clean below the waterline. Perfect for boats that are normally stored on the trailer.

If the gel coat is bad, as is my D boat, then refinishing is in order. I'll, likely do this next year. I like to use gel coat for this. You may notice the couple pics of the up-side-down C22 in the link I posted. It's has the old blue bottom paint and blue waterline stripe and trim in one pic and is all white, with black trim in another. I did this boat in about 1995 or 6 maybe. Funny........... I just noticed her for sale on one of the web sites, a couple weeks ago and she still looks brand new. The reason I know it's my old boat is it's in Texas (guy from there came all the way to CA to buy it from me) and it's the only C22 that was the colors of a Mac

Anyway, If you get to that point and need help or suggestions about products and/or technique, holler at me.
Anyone else reading is welcome to, of course.

Best Breezes,
Steve K

[vizwhiz]

Thanks - I probably will ask more.

I'm assuming a DA (dual action) sander is like an orbital - so is that so important? And from what this sounds like, it means "stripping" the bottom doesn't really strip the old paint off, or not completely...is that correct?

See! I already asked more...

[Steve K]

I'm assuming a DA (dual action) sander is like an orbital - so is that so important? And from what this sounds like, it means "stripping" the bottom doesn't really strip the old paint off, or not completely...is that correct?

A DA is an orbital.......... a super duty orbital. Takes a third the time.

I've never gotten all the paint off with stripper alone. The main reason for using it is to get the ablative layer off. No toxic dust that way. Also, the ablative paint really clogs up the sandpaper anyway.

So yes, there is sanding involved. There is usually and epoxy primer under the anti-fouling paint. The stripper will take it eventually, but will also start softening any areas of exposed gel coat. I'm usually trying to save the gel-coat layer.

Best Breezes,
Steve K.

[vizwhiz]

Eh...sounds like a big job. I think I'll wait and sail a little first...