posted 05-04-2008 07:44 PM ET (US)        

My original plan was to use Easy Off oven cleaner. I think it was too cold, too windy and too many layers of paint to be effective although it did well with the top layers. I also used a razor blade scraper which worked well when it could get a bite and lift the paint. Most of the paint had a very tenacious grip on the hull. Just as I thought I had another hard week ahead of me, a local soda blaster stopped by. I had spoken to him a few months ago but he wanted more than I was willing to pay. He had a new dry ice unit that he was trying out and wanted to try it on my hull. The dry ice was too aggressive and blew small pin holes in the gel coat on a small patch he tried. Since that didn’t work, he used soda for the rest of the hull which took about an hour. The soda, as applied, was still a little too aggressive. I think one less pass would have been better. I spent yesterday and today wet sanding the hull and just started with the Porter-Cable. I think it will look great when finished. I do have to use Spectrum patch to fill in various scrapes from 19 years of use and the pin holes from the dry ice.

Here is my suggestion for anyone planning on hiring a company using some type of mechanical means to remove the bottom paint. Be very clear in what your expectations are. Blasting gel coat is not the same as removing paint to bare wood or metal. If you want to restore the bottom to an unpainted state, show the operator what the finish should look like after he is done. You may want to find a small gel coated panel or area of your boat that you could sand down with 220, 320 or higher sandpaper. Be sure he understands that the blasting should not be any worse than that when finished.

http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff80/meridian28/Bottom%20Job/

I should be ready to go in two weeks…