Thread:

What is the best way to strip paint off my fiberglass hull?

I had a paint job go bad and am now wondering the best way to strip the paint off the fiberglass without digging into the hull much?

Any ideas???

The only way to be safe is to completely start over. DA it down to a clean substrate. Re-prime and move on. Its sickening to sit and look at all that money in the form of dust on the floor, but it happens.

It depends on how many coats of paint you're talking about.

Ill look around , but there is a peroxide based stripper that we use at work(aviation) thats harmless to any composites,,,Works fantastic, and will not burn your skin,,,,

Originally Posted by Wet

It depends on how many coats of paint you're talking about.

DA?

Originally Posted by pilot940

DA?

Dual Action Sander. It spins and shimmies side to side and/or up and down.

Try oven off

Nice, thanks, I knew it was something obvious...

light it on fire. lol just make sure any stripper you use is gelcoat safe

Soda blast, it's the shit.

Key words here are "Paint job went bad" the paint im betting is not that old, so a light stripper will do just fine, so need to bust out the mud buster or aircraft heavy duty im thinkin, just run to the depot and grab some jabsco/jasco however you spell it, remember that water neutralizes it, so I would recommend keeping a bucket of water near by with a rag or something, do 2-3 Sq Ft areas at a time, and youll be fine, a light sand for primer and youre off.....again!
if the paint has been on for a while, go with the Aircraft stripper, I dont think a media or soda blast is needed, that could be a bit excessive, not to mention the mess, same with the sanding technique, both are useful, but more work than anything, at least using the stripper, you can still hold a beer in one hand!
learned a trick from another painter around here, keep the (Stripped) paintjob in a cardboard box, keeps the mess contained and to show the customer what the old paintjob looks like, puts into perspective how much $ goes into such little product!
These are just my thoughts, theres more than one way to skin that kitty, some use razors and lazers, others use wax!

One thing to add...
If you're going to use the stripper method, stock up on the plastic grocery bags. When you apply the stripper, put the bags over the stripper and give it a little pat down. Leave the bags on the stripper. This helps to keep the working vapors on the paint. It will not eat thru the bags and can reuse them.