Has anyone used PeterG's antifoul stripper?
It comes from a WA company
www.petergs.com.au/products/marine/stripper-anti-fouling/
I was hoping to use soda blast to remove antifoul back to the gelcoat but the hardstand Marina I use won't allow it's use, so I'm looking at alternatives to remove antifoul.
Not keen on sanding or scraping the antifoul off.
I haven't used it but used to sell it.
I know it works very well but i also know it's VERY harsh stuff. Had a guy who wore short gloves and and overalls and he got burnt between his gloves and sleeves.
If you were to go that way I would get very good protection and tape yourself up to buggery!!!
The burns would be due to the product being 25% Sodium Hydroxide ( caustic soda )
The manufacturer said it won't affect the gelcoat.
My research indicates epoxy resin has a good resistance to sodium hydroxide up to 50% of the solution. So the gelcoat should be safe at 25%
I have removed antifoul paint off an aluminium hull with paint stripper. Very unpleasant couple of days work! I would use a two handed pull scraper instead, round off the corners.
My previous boat had a fair bit of anti foul build up on it where as on the current one (actually older than the previous one) i can just about pressure clean it back to a white hull as the previous owner (deceased) son told me at the time of survey that his father used to sand it right back each time he slipped it
The photo below was taken when it was slipped for the survey and after a pressure clean there was a lot of white showing and not a lot of fouling considering it has been in the water for 18 months
When i did it in April i only put one coat on and i intend to slip it in December and see how much growth is on it and give it a pressure clean off
One of the local boat builders here says one coat is enough in the cool Tassie waters so it will be interesting to see how it looks
It is nice to have a smooth hull surface to work with when slipping it but time will tell whether i am doing the right thing
Regards Don
