Stripping paint?

[bboykin]

Hello to All. I am new to this forum and also to owning a wooden boat. My boat was built on the Chesapeake Bay in 1949 and in very good shape with one exception, at least to my eye. There seems to be a ton of paint on her. I have read about chemical strip agents and using heat. My question--has anyone ever used a a Gel Plane power tool for stripping paint? This tool is designed for fiberglass/gelcoat work, but given that it can be set 0 - 1.8 mm, seems an ideal solution. The boat is strip planked, pine over oak.

Gel Plane info - http://www.gelplane.com/gelplane/product.asp

[Dave Carnell]

For removing lots of paint I have found a heat gun softening the paint and closely followed by a wide chisel is most effective.

[C. Ross]

Welcome bboykin

I've never used that tool, but it was designed to remove gelcoat and not paint. Big differences -- millimeters thick versus microns, different hardness of materials, different substrates. I absolutely wouldn't risk it, especially on a softwood like pine.

Heat and chemical strippers each have their uses and adherents. If there is lots of paint buildup, heat is the ticket. A good heatgun and sharp scrapers are fast. A wide chisel or putty knife will work OK, but I am a believer in sharp draw scrapers -- you get fewer gouges, at least in my clumsy hands.

Good luck. If you post pictures of your boat, you'll get more and better advice.

[Bill Lowe]

We use a gel plane to remove gelcoat and it works well. We have tried to remove just paint snd it really doesnt work for that the leading guide will follow the profile of the paint and the blades will follow. The work boat crews use a 50,000 BTU torch and 2 men and get it done quickly. We use a heat gun for the work that we do. Bottom paint we use paint stripper and a vacume assist sander. Soda blasting hasent worked for us.

[bboykin]

thanks to each of you for the responses/education. Sounds like heat will be my ticket. That being said, a question about heat guns. I am aware of the standard electric guns and of course propane. While the electric may be slower, it seems safer than a torch. Am I missing something?

[Richard Smith]

There is a learning curve involved. When I first started using my heat gun it seemed like it would take forever, and seemed very inefficient. Sometimes I would burn the wood. I am glad I "learned" about that using a heat gun rather than a flame. You also have to think about where you are going to point the device when it is not on the surface, and how to use the area that has already been indirectly heated while you were working on another spot - efficient use of the heat.

Once I got the heating technique down I was able move right along. I have also used the Peal Away products, but prefer the heat gun when I can.

[C. Ross]

A decent heat gun is plenty -- it generates all the heat you need to melt paint, and indeed it will scorch wood.

Torches may be the bees knees in expert hands, but I think one would be overkill for all but the most demanding jobs and they are harsh to work with.

[Lew Barrett]

Torches around here are only used on the heaviest construction, and even then I'll see that there is an occasional "scorch." Heat guns can be hard to make work outdoors on a windy day, but if the heat gun is working for you, it's a great solution. I'll use any combination of products, heat, chemicals and dry scrapping, that seems to get the job done. For some reason, it seems like everything I strip is a little bit different. I'm much more careful stripping these days as a gouge in the surface can take a lot of effort to sort out.

[StevenBauer]

I just made a homebuilt version of one of those 'Silent Paint Stripper' thingies. The real SPS costs over $400 mine cost less than a hundred. It uses a ceramic infrared element and seems to work well in the limited testing I've done so far. After I get back from the Small Reach Regatta I'll give a more thorough report. In theory it should be faster and safer than using a heat gun or torch.


SPS - http://www.silentpaintremover.com/


SpeedheaterIR paint remover - http://www.eco-strip.com/

Build your own - http://www.oceanmanorhouse.com/?page=paintremover



Steven