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I want to get the paint removed from my boat as it is now lift kept. Doesn't look like it was sanded where the paint has warn off. Think soda blasting or some other type would only get off the paint and leave the gel coat unharmed so I don't need to paint it again at all?
sODA BLASTING IS THE WAY TO GO i DID THIS TO MY BOAT AND WE WERE ABLE TO BUFF OUT THE BOTTOM AND GET THE ORIGIONAL GEL COAT BACK TO LIFE AFTER BEING BOTTOM PAINTED FOR 9 YEARS, YOU NEED A GOOD SODA BLASTER WITH LOTS OF EXPIRENCE OR HE CAN SCREW IT UP. SORRY FOR THE CAPS
sODA BLASTING IS THE WAY TO GO i DID THIS TO MY BOAT AND WE WERE ABLE TO BUFF OUT THE BOTTOM AND GET THE ORIGIONAL GEL COAT BACK TO LIFE AFTER BEING BOTTOM PAINTED FOR 9 YEARS, YOU NEED A GOOD SODA BLASTER WITH LOTS OF EXPIRENCE OR HE CAN SCREW IT UP. SORRY FOR THE CAPS
The machines are adjustable for either speed=fast removal of many layers. or very fine work but it waste a lot of media material and time. That is what the difference is in removing bottom paint but not gelcoat. I had the use of one for a couple weeks and made it do things that the mexican crew at the marina said it would not. It just takes a little effort
sODA BLASTING IS THE WAY TO GO i DID THIS TO MY BOAT AND WE WERE ABLE TO BUFF OUT THE BOTTOM AND GET THE ORIGIONAL GEL COAT BACK TO LIFE AFTER BEING BOTTOM PAINTED FOR 9 YEARS, YOU NEED A GOOD SODA BLASTER WITH LOTS OF EXPIRENCE OR HE CAN SCREW IT UP. SORRY FOR THE CAPS
Dry Ice blasting is even better. It doesn't leave any blasting media to be cleaned up
__________________ Assault Squadron NINE
River Assault Division NINETY-ONE-1966
Dry Ice blasting is even better. It doesn't leave any blasting media to be cleaned up
Dry ice is a good media to use when blasting, but you still have to take precautions and contain the bottom coat that comes off. The EPA requires that you contain all run-off and paint that's removed and dispose of it properly. Dry ice makes the clean-up, containment, and disposal easier, but it's still necessary.
I wonder if you can use conventional soda-blasting equipment with dry ice as the media? I am sure someone will chime in and provide an answer...
There's another blasting method called the Farrow system. It still uses a blast media but at low pressure with a water vapor mist to reduce dust. You still need a skilled operator but a bottom I saw looked like it just was popped out of the mold after a light washing.
Here's the short version: I went to BBM Marine, Inc. at Billfish Marina in Fort Lauderdale to have the work done. They demo'd the process by doing a small area on my Jupiter 31 with no tarping or blast suit. It came out great. They quoted me $3500 for the job and I paid them. They then tarped the boat and the guy went underneath in a blast suit and respirator. Since he could not see well in all the dust, he was basically blasting in a fog, I wound up with many areas of gel coat removed down to bare fiberglass. Most of the remaining gelcoat had a finish that was somewhere between a cantaloupe and 30 grit sandpaper. They then offered to repair the damage for only $17,000 by filling the holes with epoxy and then Awlgriping the bottom. My final cost to have the bottom paint removed and the gelcoat fixed properly elsewhere was over $20,000.
Soda blasting is not something I'd approach without being very confident in the operation and the operator. The yard and operator I used was a well respected operation and certainly seemed capable of doing a the job that was shown to me in the sample areas they did, but they were completely unwilling to take any responsibility for the damage they did.
Removing bottom paint from the bottom of a boat is an interesting process. It comes down to two areas.
1) Do you intend to paint the bottom again?
2) Or do you wish to remove the paint and restore the bottom to original gelcoat?
Lets tackle # 1.
Depending on how you wish to remove the paint, there are basically 3 ways, sand it off, remove it with chemicals, or blast it off. Each of them have their pros and cons.
Sanding: Labor instensive, messy and you better be good with the sander or you will create more damage. (You will need adiquate protection and the proper equpment, IE: good sander with vacum.)
Chemical removal: Labor intensive, very messy and detrimental to your health, as is sanding.
Media Blasting: Needs to be done professionally, doesn't usually equate to expensive as to the other methods. But, it can leave holes in the gelcoat (made by blowing the voids between the layup and gelcoat) and it most likely will leave pits or a flat finish.
All of this depends on how the bottom paint was prepped and applied in the first place. If the original bottom was properly prepped, IE: Dewaxed, sanded, this could be tedius. If the paint was applied over a factory bottom, no prepping, it might come right off. In any event, after media blasting, you should fill the voids with expoxy fillers, then apply the recommended mils of and expoxy sealer, something like the Interlux Interprotect Brand, then bottom paints.
#2 Keeping the gelcoat.
Depending on the length of time the bottom paint has been on, whether it was originally prepped correctly or has an expoxy sealer on the bottom, this can be REALLY expensive or just downright not cost effective to achieve. Lets say it hasn't been on for too long and wasn't prepped properly. The best way is to chemically remove the old paint, then either sand or wet sand the bottom, (depending on how good you or your workers are) then buff and wax the bottom.
Almost, all the time the bottom gelcoat is stained, from either being in the water before painting or because of the paint. Getting a bottom back to original gelcoat is an expensive proposition.
In my opinion, media (soda) blasting is the way to go. Once again, it depends on size, a small boat 18' or less it may be cost effective to remove yourself above that I would media blast. I have used Miami Soda Blasters. Vic know's his trade, he comes, bags the boat, cleans up and takes ALL of his mess away. Nothing needs to be taken off the hull, but thu hulls need to be closed and if you don't want it blasted you either need to remove it or protect it d---- well. IE, trim tabs, transducers, light lenses, etc.
As far as cost? A 27' should be somwhere's in the $1300-$1500 range, what the yard charges you is between you and them.
__________________ 1972 20' SeaCraft CC, Being (re) built.
1974 40' Eagle Trawler
Engine Sales and Service
Complete Boat Repair and Restoration www.parkeryacht.com
Here's the short version: I went to BBM Marine, Inc. at Billfish Marina in Fort Lauderdale to have the work done. They demo'd the process by doing a small area on my Jupiter 31 with no tarping or blast suit. It came out great. They quoted me $3500 for the job and I paid them. They then tarped the boat and the guy went underneath in a blast suit and respirator. Since he could not see well in all the dust, he was basically blasting in a fog, I wound up with many areas of gel coat removed down to bare fiberglass. Most of the remaining gelcoat had a finish that was somewhere between a cantaloupe and 30 grit sandpaper. They then offered to repair the damage for only $17,000 by filling the holes with epoxy and then Awlgriping the bottom. My final cost to have the bottom paint removed and the gelcoat fixed properly elsewhere was over $20,000.
Soda blasting is not something I'd approach without being very confident in the operation and the operator. The yard and operator I used was a well respected operation and certainly seemed capable of doing a the job that was shown to me in the sample areas they did, but they were completely unwilling to take any responsibility for the damage they did.
So their $3500 paint removal job resulted in $17,000 in damage in which you had to pay for?
Jesus I almost want to hear the long version of the story.
What you just described is like me taking my truck in for a transmission repair. Then the mechanic takes it for a test ride and crashes the truck and says "no problem, we can fix the truck and it will only cost you $17 grand"
When I stripped my hull bare I used a Festool vacuum sander.
It would have been possible to polish it to keep it bare, except for the factory defects and the factory shaft tube installation w/o integrated gell coat.
In my case I applied 4 to 5 layers of barrier coat and bottom paint. That has held up great over the years.
As a long time soda blaster in the Annapolis area (equipment sales/service), I have seen it all. The story above with the Jupiter is too weird to comprehend. The quote to blast it was way out of line (like outer space) and and the rest of the story just didn't sound right. I'm a skeptic on that one!
From a business standpoint, dry ice is not a practical method (too expensive and too slow) and I've seen it damage several different substrates to unacceptable levels. Ferrow is a wet sandblasting system (you want to sandblast your bottom?) and again, I've seen it and too slow and potentially destructive for my bottom line.
I've been doing soda for many years with great results and it's a combination of good equipment, good media and a good operator and as in anything else, there are huge differences in all of them. Our combined companies soda blast 100+ boats per year in the mid-Chesapeake Bay region and see no signs of a slow down in this economy.
There are a lot of "loose cannons" out there that received no real hands-on training with their equipment and that's one of the tenants of our company philosophy when we sell equipment to a new operator - TRAINING!
sODA BLASTING IS THE WAY TO GO i DID THIS TO MY BOAT AND WE WERE ABLE TO BUFF OUT THE BOTTOM AND GET THE ORIGIONAL GEL COAT BACK TO LIFE AFTER BEING BOTTOM PAINTED FOR 9 YEARS, YOU NEED A GOOD SODA BLASTER WITH LOTS OF EXPIRENCE OR HE CAN SCREW IT UP. SORRY FOR THE CAPS
Hey can you give me the info on the company that did your boat would like to do this to my boat...thanks alot
Soda blasting 
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