West Marine Safety Strip

[Jason K]

I saved the worst for last in terms of paint prep - the toerails. I was having an awful time getting them sanded because of the awkward shape and because it's very hard to keep the paint out of the water (yes, this is a floating restoration - I have a deep resentment for those of you pampered creatures that luxuriate in custom boat barns... oops, off track, sorry).

While browsing through West Marine, I saw they had their private lable brand stripper on sale. I decided to give it a shot. It is the most useless product I've ever bought - and that's really saying something. It is a godawful mess that removes some paint in some places and creates a gooey, sloppy mess in most others that barely scrapes and doesn't sand.

If you find yourself standing in West Marine contemplating this junk, my recommendation is to go back to your boat, drink a bottle of rum, and cover your whole boat and yourself with silly putty. It will be equally effective and much more fun.

[windrose]

AAARRRGH! More RUM please!

[Tommy Bahama]

Jason,

I'm trying to remove my old mass of bottom paint. I'm using the West Marine stripper...but not the "Safety Strip". I think it is similar except for the plastic this is included.

...yer right, I'm working my butt off brcause the stripper never quite gets there. I can get it to the gooey stage then strip most of with a razor scraper. It is very frusterating. I tried sanding at first with my orbital sander and grinder. The grinder is a little too agressive and the orbital not agressive enough. It looks like I'll end up doing a combination of both.

I guess my "bargin boat" wasn't so much of a bargin after all! Anyways, I'll stick with it and try to get the bottom in good shape for painting.

Good luck and if you find something that works well, give us a shout. I know there are some other that have had some sort of success with other products...I just don't have the experience to know if this is as easy as it gets or not.

Tom

[Jason K]

I used the safety stripper because the more powerful ones say not to use on fiberglass.

I have tried scraping and sanding, but it instantly gums up the sandpaper and scraping does little more than move the junk around. I am planning on pressure washing the decks tomorrow in an effort to remove the product (it is biodegradable). After that, I'll have to meticulously remove every last bit of paint. I had nearly reached a point of good enough before I used this product. I am concerned now that this stuff was just powerful enough to compromise the substrate in the spots where I was unable to get all of the old paint off - I have a feeling this'll come back to haunt me.

By the way - a bargain boat is an elusive creature to be sure. But most boats are worth every cent and every drop of sweat. When I started this project, I completely underestimated the scope, both in terms of cost and time. Yet, I have no regrets whatsoever.

[radicalcy]

What I've learned in the short time that I have been messing about with boats, is that good paint stripper is more expensive than the new paint. Cheap strippers are cheap, because they don't work as well as expensive strippers, and there is no easy way to remove paint from a boat. Patience, and much elbow grease is the only way to go.
(If you neutralize the stripper, it shouldn't cause you any problems later on. If it didn't melt the paint, then it probably didn't melt the substrate either.

[Tim]

My own experience with strippers is that the best ones, of course, are dangerous to use (methylene cholride). You cannot use this on fiberglass, as it will eat into the gelcoat and ultimately the laminate. I did use some once on an Ensign's boottop, and even leaving it on long enough to bubble the paint (which it did admirably) caused it to begin to attack the gelcoat beneath.

This is why I'm a "grind/chip/sand" to strip, rather than a chemical guy, at least as pertains to boats. It's quicker and easier this way for me. Of course, local conditions (such as being in the water) would complicate this approach. Being in a shop or my backyard means that I can use mechanical means without concern about neighbors. I understand that sometimes the means of approaching the job must match the local environment, so you cannot always go crazy with a grinder.

Safe strippers are "safe" because they contain mild chemicals that are not aggressive at paint removal. They require time, maintaining a wet layer of stripper, and more time. And still they don't work as well in the end.

It would be nice if puppy breath and tea leaves would work to strip paint or do some of the other nasty things we must deal with, but sadly, it doesn't work that way. In the boating world, sometimes you need nasty stuff to get the job done. Unfortunately, I don't know of an aggressive stripper that is also safe for use on fiberglass. Don't say Peel Away...whether it works or not, it's a safer, slow, non-aggressive stripper.

[Summersdawn]

My neighbour stripped the bottom paint off of his Thunderbird with one of these "safe" strippers. He absolutely hated it at first, until someone suggested brushing the gel on, covering it with saran wrap, and walking away for 45 minutes. Then he was happy with it.

He says it needs to be in contact with the paint for a long time before it works, and with it uncovered, he theorized the "good" part of the stripper evaporated, leaving behind the viscous gel that is supposed to keep it in contact with the paint.

[Jason K]

I used Saran Wrap as well - it was critical to keep the stripper adequately covering the toerails. It still didn't work and I maintain that the stuff is garbage.

Maybe some other brands are more effective. I will be using the DA sander on my bottom, though.

[JetStream]

"I will be using the DA sander on my bottom, though."

Ouch!!

[Jason K]

Ouch

A few friends and I just took a house down to the studs - including removing the floor - in one day. I'll annihilate that bottom.

[Ric in Richmond]

You couldn't use it on an entire boat.

But I redid some fiberglass R/C sailboat hulls and was trying to find some FG friendly stripper.

I used brake fluid.

You could do small stuff or a little area though.

Ric

[tikvah59]

I used Star Ten (http://www.starten.com/) on my interior. It didn't take everything off, but that's because I tried to use it at near-freezing temperatures (while luxuriating in my boat shed ;-)> ). Use it over 60 degrees and let it sit, and it will make a mess but will take off lots of old paint.