[brianct12]

Willy,
I second what wise-guy has told you. I have done my boat this summer exactly as wiseguy has described. You can find the Bix "Extra-Strength" stripper at Home Depot in a squirt bottle - dont get the one labeled "Premium" as that is not safe for fiberglass. Spray it on thick - let it sit for 20 minutes, and you will be able to scrape the paint off with a putty knife (plastic so you dont gouge your gelcoat). However, the stripper wont work very well below 55-60 deg F - it needs to be 65 or more for best results.

Problem is - that gelcoat is gonna be "stained" from the paint ... and there is no way to remove the stain except for sanding. Also, some people sand the boat bottom to roughen and promote adhesion of the bottom paint. My boat had this ... so there were deep swirl scratches in the gelcoat that needed sanding out. I dont believe there is any way for you to avoid sanding - there just aint no way to remove bottom paint ... and expose pristine gelcoat. Its alot of work - sanding a boat bottom "on your back" thru successive grits of paper .. till you get the shine you want.

I will be painting my boat bottom with Interlux VC Performance - a 2 part epoxy commonly use for boats that are trailered. Only comes in white color.

You wont need to "seal" your exposed boat bottom. That is only done when people leave the boat in the water all the time ... and they want to prevent water from penetrating into the gelcoat and causing blistering.

Good luck - as everyone says - its a ton of work.