Removing bottom paint off entire hull

J

jhortonvt

New Member
May 23, 2007
48
Northern Lake Champlain, VT
I've got a buddy who is shopping for a boat and the one he has his eye on now has bottom paint. We're freshwater boaters, and he'll likely have it in a lift, so he would like to remove it.
Can you bring back the gelcoat to looks as though it was never bottom painted? Especially on the sides where the bottom paint comes up the freeboard a few inches.

In my searches on this forum, somone recommended Peel Away Marine Safety Strip

http://www.dumondchemicals.com/html/pamarine.htm

What do you think?
 
Would probably be easier to touch up the bottom paint and be done.

Even if you remove the paint, was the hull epoxy barrier coated? Also, think about how the bottom coat goes on in the first place. First thing you do is scuff up the finish.
 
My neighbor bought at '97 SR 210 that was bottom painted and wet stored. He got under that thing for a couple weeks with a rotory buffer/sander with very fine paper and got it all off. He then went over it with a some compound/polish and got the thing to look nearly perfect. The sides above the water line he polished out and waxed so you can't even tell. He didn't bother working that hard on the bottom but for all intents and purposes you can't hardly tell at all on the trailer. I was amazed. Looked like an entirely different boat.

BUT messy!
 
this is just a guess but I bet he had 16 to 20 hours in it on 21 ft bowrider. He thinks its th best improvement he ever did for a trailer boat. I can't disagree. He loves working on the boat anyway. Bottom line it can be done with good results if you put the time and effort in.
 
Why is it important? Just for looks or does the bottom paint run slower?
 
I don't like the look of bottom paint if the boat isn't going to sit in the water (if it's at a wet slip, then who cares - you won't see it).

Another reason to buy a boat with an unpainted hull is that there is less deterioration while sitting in the water for extended periods of time..

When I bought my boat, I ruled out any boat that was bottom painted (so I wouldn't have to remove it and so hopefully it was in better condition). But I always wondered what it would take to remove the paint.
 
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He can get it soda-blasted - I also tried for a couple of weeks to scrap and sand, scrap and sand, scrap and sand - forget about it. Had it soda blasted and indeed looked like a new boat - since I am in the water, need to barrier coat and bottom paint again - but 13 yrs of bottom paint adds up
 
It would take a lot of work. The hull is prepped for bottom paint by first abrading it with a course grit sandpaper.

I also bought a bought with bottom paint and as you can see it is stored in a lift so I really do not need bottom paint. I thought about removing it at first since my other boat does not have it but now I am used to the look. In the water it is barely seen. I did touch up the bottom paint so that it looked crisp.

John
 
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