Trojan Boat Forum

Capt. I understand what you're say about the dust, and storing inside I can see it being an issue . When I do mine I use a DA sander with 36 grit 3m screen disk and hook a 5 gallon shop vac to it. Can't have all that dust flying around. EPA and DEQ really hate it. And very little dust flies off.

The marina I haul out at requires that you use a sander that is hook up to a vacuum .They have them they let you use as long as you buy the paper from them .

Don't forget to check the hull with a moisture meter before painting.

Hey guys, sorry to chime in on this so late, but here's the blasting system I used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm-EucRPQL8 . It took 22 years of paints off and left the gelcoat in perfect condition. Cost me 4 hours and 600.00. He did the running gear too. I didn't even have to pull out a piece of sand paper.

Frickin incredible. Worth every penny.

Molly you need to tell us in your hood where to get this done.

Chip Watters at 757-426-0663 (HO) or 757-943-0565 (M). He travels all of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. I'll bet he'd go further if the job could be combined with another one already on the road trip. You might also call Farrow at 888-327-7698 and find out who in your area they have sold the equipment to.

Thanks Mel.

You can purchase a 15lb soda blasting device from Harbor freight, they also carry the soda. I have one but have not used it yet.

I have another cleaning device which goes onto my pressure washer. It is a water/sand blasting tool. It is very simple and was recommend as another good method to remove paint and not gel coat. Again Harbor Freight has them and they are cheap.

I have not tried it as yet so you are on your own. I am going to try it on my backhoe which needs paint and see how it works. Obviously it is much harder under the paint then fiberglass.

I prefer Diet Pepsi

Ron

Warm enough to work in MN finally so we Soda blasted today. I'm VERY happy with the results. Took about 3 hrs. Cost $525 but I twould have taken me 6 weekends and just about as much in sand-paper + I'd have to breath all that nasty stuff. less than 5% of the surface has gelcoat exposed. It looks like someone rolled on a barrier coat of epoxy at some point in the old girl's life. The blasting took it down to that layer.

I have some scratches and cracks to fill, but I did not find a single blister. BTW, the cracks are in the surfaces of where repairs have been made before. It looks like somone used a non-epoxy based filler in a few spots. I'm going to grind all of that out and do it right.

Here are some before and after shots. (BTW, the before shots took 3 8hr days of work with a pressure washer to get it to this point):

click this link to see video:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_XwtY ... 160038.jpg

lamdvf36, Have you had a moisture meter on it since your hard work? I have asked this of others and find a lot of guy's do not check before barrier coating. Save yourself a lot of grief. Check moisture levels. Just saying jimbo36

Molly Too wrote:Hey guys, sorry to chime in on this so late, but here's the blasting system I used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm-EucRPQL8 . It took 22 years of paints off and left the gelcoat in perfect condition. Cost me 4 hours and 600.00. He did the running gear too. I didn't even have to pull out a piece of sand paper.

Very nice system - the dry ice looks like a good alternative as well.

Thinking of removing all my bottom paint and putting the boat on a sling (like a lift). No bottom paint needed. Worth 3-4 knots, and never need cleaning again!