Paint Stripper question

[Alexander]

The previous owner of my "Pip Squeak" painted the decks with a color I don't like and used so much paint that he filled in all the factory non-skid areas with paint. He also did a poor job and there are runs and drips. I can sand the smooth areas but I want to strip and re-expose the non-skid. Are there any modern strippers that can be used to strip while afloat without creating a toxic waste zone but actually strip paint. I have no idea what type of paint he used but I'd guess 1 part polyurethane like Easypoxy etc. Thanks in advance , Bob.

[MacGyver]

I dont know what kind of body of water your on but stripping the paint in the water is not a good idea, and is probably against the rules......

If it is a 1 part poly, you might be able to use a soy based remover....... I cant think of the name.......hmmm..

Anyway, it has to be strong enough to eat into the paint, and that soy gel was pretty good for what I used it for, and you can eat the stuff before used according to the rep when I bought it. FRANMAR is who makes it!

Franmar soy gel remover. it wont kill you to be using it.

Check out Franmar.com

Mac

[Alexander]

Thanks for the soy tip. I am only doing nonskid areas of the deck so keeping it out of the water will be easy. I don't have a trailer and hauling is way too expensive. If you happen to know someone who would rent me a CP 16 trailer (I'm in Stuart Fl.) I sure would like to rent one for a few days or a week just to clean the bottom and sides.

[NateD]

My first vote would be soda blasting, but that shouldn't be done in the water either, and if cost is an issue, then it's not an option.

[skip1930]

Baking soda blast media.

Originally designed to de-paint soft surfaces on automobiles, blasting with Church and Dwight blasting media requires the following for those wishing to do-it-yourselfer's. Any and all of this can be rented and purchased.

For a CP-19 you will need about 9 to 12~50 lb bags of media
A diesel 250 scfm Solaire air compressor [standard cubic foot of air at 70 deg. F. weighing 1.087 lb per cubic foot]
A Schmidt pressurized blast pot with hose and ceramic nozzle
A water hose to feed about 1/4 gallon a minute to reduce the dust
Baking soda being a very high pH will tend to kill off vegetation
Blast in a parking lot

The good news is spent blast media will dissolve in water, removed paint can be shoveled up and into the trash

Blasting this way is no faster then using 'Black Beauty', crushed walnuts, sand, and many other usual medias used on steel.
You can expects to remove about 1-1/2 square foot per minute, layer by layer, without profiling [flattening] soft fiberglass materials.

I'm pretty sure the results will be spectacular.  

skip.

[Alexander]

Thanks guys, I'm familiar with blasting but this one has to be done while floating. It's only the deck and cockpit so some good citrus based stripper is going to have to do. I can catch all of it so it won't go in the water. I got some from Lowe's that has great user ratings on the web so we'll try it and see. Thanks again, Bob

[JJ]

Hi Alex!

When I got my 16 ComPac 3 years ago, the non-skid areas and the seats with painted. The paint job was horrible and most of the painted areas had faded.  Some of the areas in the basket weave had the white gel coat showing.   I tried scrubbing with a stiff scrub brush, wire brush, steel wool and even a power washer.......all with no success.  After some research on paint strippers for use on fiberglass, I finally pickup Zinsser-Bulls Eye - Safer Paint and Finish Remover at Lowe's.  It is a soy based product and environmentally safe (?).  I applied it heavily with a brush on the painted areas, and l let it sit over night in my garage.   I reapplied any areas that dried out and needed more stripper.  I power washed the painted areas to remove the paint.  I did have several areas that the paint was heavy and I had to re do.  It worked like a charm  and it did a wonderful job for me.  

***Note: You may not want to use a power washer if your boat is in the water.  Good luck and hope your find a solution that works for you!!!

JJ