soda or sand blaster

[spanishmak]

hey everybody.Can anybody tell me how much a sosa or sand blaster costs and also i have one of those pancake compressors will it work or not to take bottom paint off a 21 ft v 20,also will a sandblaster work also

[step up here]

get it soda blasted . your pancake compressor is only for small jobs very small . eg nail gun, filling a tire etc.
if you are going to paint the bottom with anti fouling paint look into a barrier coat first then use a high dollar multi season paint. outstanding results. you wont have to paint the bottom every year!:sun:

[Destroyer]

Spanishmak, I agree with everything that Step up here said.. Please allow me to add a few things.

First, if you're going to trailer the boat there is no reason to paint the bottom. Bottom paint is only for when you leave your boat in the water in a slip. It prevents marine growth due to it's leaching action. An unpainted hull is very smooth. The smoother the hull, the less resistance in the water, the faster and more economical your engine runs. (Plus, personally, I think that unpainted hulls just look better...but that's just me)

Second, NEVER sand blast your hull.. the sand will eat through your gellcoat and fiberglass like a fat woman with a chocolate cake.. It will be gone before you blink.

Soda blasting works differently than sand blasting.. when the Bicarbonate of Soda hits the surface of whatever it's being propelled at the grains of soda actually shatter from the force of the contact.... the force of that shattering propels the remains of the grain sideways, and in the process they scrape away the paint off the hull. Soda is an extremely friable material that micro fragments on impact. It literally explodes away the surface material without damage to what's underneath. Multiply that effect by thousands of grains per second and you see how soda blasting works. You need a big nozzle, a really large compressor, etc etc. It's not a job for the home handyman.. call in a professional. They normally charge about $9 a linear foot .. so a 20 foot boat will be about $180 plus travel, set up and clean up.. Under $300 total.

Also, be aware of the fact that you may have blisters in the fiberglass hidden under your paint, depending on the age of the boat, maintenance, etc. If that's the case you'll have to recoat the bottom, but if you're going to trailer the boat you don't want to recoat with a soft anti-fouling paint.
Instead go for one of the plastic based hard shell paints. It will last longer and will not mark up your trailer the way that a soft paint would.

Hope this helps a little :beer:

[willy]

Destroyer, you have got to add a zero to the job for soda blasting. Even then 90 a foot is a very good price. Most are 120 a foot. The prices I wa quoted for my V20 were about 1100 so keep that in mind. Otherwise what you said is right on and would be the preferred method.
The other viable home based method would be the chemical stripper which would be the most economical but the work is tough and long. But I have seen it done on two boats and it actually comes out the best I believe depending on what you are going to finish your boat with afterward.
If you are going to paint your hull with and epoxy based paint then the soda blast is the best because it actually preps your hull while stripping it for a paint type finish saving you hours of sanding etc.

[garagenc]

Also check into blasting the hull with pecan or walnut shells. It does a very nice job. Just ask the company you are thinking of using to blast the hull if they can do it.

[Destroyer]

Also check into blasting the hull with pecan or walnut shells. It does a very nice job. Just ask the company you are thinking of using to blast the hull if they can do it.

Not sure I agree with you there Garage.. I've heard (no direct experience) that both of them do the same thing as sand.. I know they are softer materials, etc. but they still hit the hull harder than the soda..

Willy, you're absolutely correct.. when I looked up the prices it was $90 a foot, and I typoed 9 instead.. then componded the error by multplying 9 x 20 .. I hate getting old and having these brain farts.. of course as I get older I'll forget I had them.. so I guess it's all good in the end...lol

[spanishmak]

yeah i just wanna get it off my boat,i hate the way it looks and i trailer my boat(only 5 minuta drive to boat ramp) in hudson beach fl.I do like the way a boat looks with regular paint all the way through instead of bottom paint if u dont need it and i dont.I really appreciate the replies.How do you do this chemically instead of blasting.Time and work is not an issue I love working on boats and learning about working on them

[willy]

There are several diffrent brands, Home Depot sells one in gallon cans that many recommended but I dont have the name in front of me, I will get it if you need it.
It is a stripper with a thick consistency that you spread on and let sit for a few minutes and then use like a plastic or metal putty type knife of varying sizes and shapes to scrape off the paint which it softens.
If you have multiple heavy coats of bottom paint it can take some time becuase of re-applications to get thru it. It works real well on one or two thinner properly applied coats.
afterward you use a cleanser to clean off everything and lightly sand and fair any bad divits etc. if needed and paint your epoxy paint of choice.

[garagenc]

Hey D
That's why I said for him to ask his blast guy if he has any exp with it. They can blast at a lower psi and it wont hurt the gel coat. I've had 2 experiences with blasting that way and they both came out ok on private boats. The shells can be be fine or coarse depending on what the surface is behind what you are trying to remove. When the shells are fine they work like soda. I became aware of it about 20 years ago when we used it at a Navy Yard on steel hulls, then we started working with a company that refined it so we could do fiberglass hulls for the "Admirals Barge" and all the fiberglass hull launches.

Just make sure your guy has experience with using the shells.:beer:

[spanishmak]

definitely willy if you could get me the name brand i would really appreciate it I really wanna get this bottom paint off but with this economy the way it is I just cannot afford to get this boat soda blasted,but i will spend the time to do it myself this way(it is alot easier for me to get the job done myself little by little than to come up with money for this sandblasting in one shot you know!)any help would be GREATLY appreciated

[Destroyer]

Hey D
That's why I said for him to ask his blast guy if he has any exp with it. They can blast at a lower psi and it wont hurt the gel coat. I've had 2 experiences with blasting that way and they both came out ok on private boats. The shells can be be fine or coarse depending on what the surface is behind what you are trying to remove. When the shells are fine they work like soda. I became aware of it about 20 years ago when we used it at a Navy Yard on steel hulls, then we started working with a company that refined it so we could do fiberglass hulls for the "Admirals Barge" and all the fiberglass hull launches.



Garage, that's great to know.. THANK YOU!!!!!! :beer: (I've actually used walnut shells when I redid my rowboats trailer... I didn't have a concrete or mecadam area available to me at the time, so I used my lawn.. I figured that any grains that the lawn vac didn't pick up would eventually decompose. They worked great, but it took more media to do the same job that sand would have done)

[spanishmak]

where'd you get that smiley with that beer mug!COOOOLLL!!!!

[step up here]

has anyone mentioned that if you strip it you should take the boat off the trailer!
also you will have one hell of a mess going on with the stripper . i never have seen a boat with any age or more than two coats of anti fouling paint after stripper ready for wax . you will see sand scratches, gouges ,chips that will still hold some of the old paint. then you should take lacquer thinner and some scotch brite to remove and clean up bottom after stripper.then you may even have to sand the bottom again to get a smooth surface . this is one job that you may never be satisfied with . answer would be to save up some money ;work a deal but i would never strip a boat over 16 feet but then again am 63years old .
good luck and be careful:head:
i

[Destroyer]

has anyone mentioned that if you strip it you should take the boat off the trailer!
also you will have one hell of a mess going on with the stripper . i never have seen a boat with any age or more than two coats of anti fouling paint after stripper ready for wax . you will see sand scratches, gouges ,chips that will still hold some of the old paint. then you should take lacquer thinner and some scotch brite to remove and clean up bottom after stripper.then you may even have to sand the bottom again to get a smooth surface . this is one job that you may never be satisfied with . answer would be to save up some money ;work a deal but i would never strip a boat over 16 feet but then again am 63years old .
good luck and be careful:head:
i

LOL I'm 66 and I wouldn't do it either. I completely agree with you. The last boat I stripped was in 1978 in Tom's River, NJ.. I learned a lot with that job... namely that it's a lot easier to have someone else do it... Someone with all the right tools, experience, etc... to me it's cheap money. My time is worth more than that. :beer:

[Destroyer]

where'd you get that smiley with that beer mug!COOOOLLL!!!!

Right here.. Look to the right of your screen at the smilies ...scroll down to the one you like, or hit more for even a batter selection. The beer toast is in amoung them somewhere. :beer:

[spanishmak]

:beer::beer: here's to you dude,thanks,hey man this sight is not only helpful but fun too!!Im startin to feel like part of the forum,cheers to all

[macojoe]

The stuff at home depot is called Bix i believe, there is a couple of different bix, make sure you get the one safe for fiberglass

[nymack66]

Just so you know you, in your driveway soda blasting here in Orlando is 60 to 100 per hour with an estimate given up front. I was quoted a price one year ago of 250 if I remember correctly for the bottom of my V. Please note I did not blast it after all after I discovered it was the original gel I then decided to scuff it and re-shoot it with Gel. Here is a photo..before and after ...

[spanishmak]

you guys wont believe this but easy off oven cleaner takes the bottom paint right off I will post some pics later:love:

[nymack66]

Nice work and tip, now you mentioned it I went searching and found no issues at all using this on fiberglass ..Nice tip ...I am anxious to see some pictures ...

[Destroyer]

you guys wont believe this but easy off oven cleaner takes the bottom paint right off I will post some pics later:love:

Now THAT is interesting.. Good to know.. thanks for the tip.!!!!

Spanish, if you hang around here long enough you'll find that almost everyone here treats everyone else like family.. and I guess that's the magic of this place.. we ARE a family of boaters with a love for a particular type of hull. All opinions are respected, all advise is freely given, ...it's just a great place to hang. :clap:

(Special thanks to RWilson2526 for inviting me here in the first place. I owe you a lot Rob!)

[spanishmak]

destroyer i completely agree with you this is one hell of a sight and im really starting to feel really comfortable in here i have learned alot from this forum and anything i can give back to it i will do it very gladly,Icouldnt wait to post these pics,realize that this is only the beginning of this project and i will be posting pics all the way through until I am finished.OK here are the pics(I AM NOWHERE NEAR FINISHED).Even where the bottom paint that is off i am still going to go over it again to get as much off as i possibly can(easy off).

[spanishmak]

:love:

[spanishmak]

Welp finally got bottom paint of hull stripped(easy off and sanding)and done.Now gettin ready to work on fish boxes and coolers.I will never buy a boat with bottom paint again!!!!

[peiserma]

looks nice!

May I ask approximately how many hours this took you, and how many cans of oven-cleaner were required?

[EDIT] and did you neutralize the oven cleaner with anything (like baking soda for example), or just wash it off with water?

[Destroyer]

Looking good Spanish... Well done!!!!:clap:

[spanishmak]

It took about 10 cans of easy off but it did not take off the last layer of bottom paint I had to sand that off,but the easy off did save me alot of sanding.Did nothing but wash it off,it does not harm gelcoat:beer:

[spanishmak]

sorry about 15 hours

[lumberslinger178]

heres when they soda blasted the bottom of my boat in 2007 and it cost me 500.00

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03409.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03410.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03417.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03418.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03380.jpg

Then came the barrier paint and the micron

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03488.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03495.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03461.jpg

new drain plug while I was at it.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03527.jpg

new swim platform too.

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03548.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03509.jpg

new rub rail .with 5/8 rope

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03566.jpg

new boot stripe and graphics

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03637.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03682.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03683.jpg

oh the engine 07

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03684.jpg

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03685.jpg

new girl

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n285/lumberslinger178/DSC03891.jpg

thats all I have to say about that!!!!!