My v20 already has bottom paint on it that starting to fade and peel. I would like to simply remove it and go without paint as it will be trailered. How hard is bottom paint to remove? What steps do you need ot take? I have heard of folks sandblasting it with baking soda, but what does that do to the underlying gel coat?

Interlux brand have an ablative called Performance epoxy which was made for fiberglass hulled racers that stay in the water, and they have a non-ablative called VC performance epoxy which does not have any anti fouling qualities but is a great paint for trailered boats. Pettit also makes a product called VIVID which i hear is good paint also. All these paints mentioned come in many colors.

I painted the ALBEMARLE with brightside by Interlux on the sides it has held up well which leads me to the point while doing my research on brightside, interlux said you can paint your bottom with it but your boat truelly limited on how long it can stay in the water, I dont trust it. Its seem to soft to paint bottom side with.

[QUOTE=Zarkohl;186917]My v20 already has bottom paint on it that starting to fade and peel. I would like to simply remove it and go without paint as it will be trailered. How hard is bottom paint to remove? What steps do you need ot take? I have heard of folks sandblasting it with baking soda, but what does that do to the underlying gel coat?[/QUOT

sandblasting is very abrasive, but soda blasting on the other hand is only abrasive enough to remove the soft bottom paint and not harm the gelcoat.

Soda blasting is the only way to remove bottom paint safely. Keep in mind that after it's gone (the paint) you will still need to reseal the bottom.

Any type of a true albative will wear off easily, that is what it is designed to do. Not the best for a trailer'd boat.

I painted my bottom with pettit vivid white, its a hybrid paint.

It could use some touch-ups now, but still looks great a couple seasons later...

ok, I think this pic is from a year or two ago...

http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...ngcole/v20.jpg

rkc

RKC that is on sweet looking rig you have there. That VIVID looks really good on there. Doesnt that VIVID paint kind of wear off like a bar of soap? constantly keeping fresh paint on the surface?

If youre going to paint the bottom Why not use automotive paint?
4 years ago I removed everything on my transom, filled, patched the holes sanded it down and had it painted with automotive paint.
We have brackish water here so we get a yellow water stain. when I come home I just break out the water hose and rinse the yellow water stain off.
It still looks new no scratches or fading or chipping

When I decide to paint the entire hull I'll do it in automotive paint.
My 2 cents worth.

When I saw you'd weighed in on this post w/your background I figured we were gonna get some special deep dark secret sauce to finish our Vs with...and danged if I wasn't right...car paint...who'd have figured....:head:

There's a couple spots where it could us a touch up now, but it holds up pretty good. It does not rub off like an ablative.

It looks good from that angle...

rkc

Has anyone tried using the Kleen-Strip fiberglass paint stripper on there V20? I bought a gallon and I'm just about to try it to use it this coming weekend to start stripping my bottom due to the paint being old and nasty looking. I read in some other forums about some people having success with it and others saying that it was garbage. I would rather "cheat" a little if the stripper works than to spend hours sanding.

West Marine sells it for 28.99 a gallon.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...&ci_sku=265651