Prepping for Paint

[KansasJon]

I have a jon boat that I am going to fix-up a little bit. I am thinking it needs a fresh coat of paint. I have searched the forum and am even more confused than when I started. To prep this boat for paint should I

1) Use an orbital sander (What grit? 120?)
2) Use an aircraft paint stripper paired with a power washer
3) Use a wire wheel with my grinder

I also have a hi speed buffer that could be used.

I was thinking that the sander might be best to even out the paint but I think the boat has three coats of paint. The original and two hand rolled coats so it is really thick.

Any opinions would really help out. Plus I need a cover that wont blow off in a blizzard

 

[KansasJon]

Here is a shot of bottom.

 

[hoosier78]

With three coats of paint on it I don't think an orbital sander is the way to go. I have extremely limited experience with aircraft stripper, but there is a lot of people here that has had good sucess with it. A wire wheel on a grinder will for sure eat it off, BUT, you have to be careful not to damage the integrity of the hull. I believe I would go with the stripper if I were you. Slow and tedious but effective. Good luck!

 

[Iverson_4x4]

I am also about to start this process. Luckily I don't have any paint to remove, but I am going to have to prep the aluminum for the self etching primer.

I have been eyeballing a scotch bright wheel that you attach to your drill. I am not sure if anyone on here has tried to use one to prep their hull, but it seems that it would be a little more aluminum friendly than a wire wheel.

I am no professional by no means, and have only painted one boat in the past... On yours I wouldn't try and remove all of the paint, just any where that it is flaking off sand it until you get back into the paint that is adhering good. Feather that paint into the bare aluminum so that you can't see the different layers. Then scuff up the rest of the good paint so that the primer will stick to it. Wipe the entire boat down with Acetone to clean it up. Next i would prime the bare aluminum that you have sanded/wire-wheeled/scotch-Bright to with self etching primer. On the paint that was left and scuffed up go over it with regular auto primer. Once you have the primer on you will be able to see any imperfections, such as if the paint that was left on was not feathered properly. At this time is when you want to go ahead and fix it and re-prime. If you can see it through the primer you will be able to see it through the base coat.

If you are set on getting all of it down to bare aluminum, I would definitely use some type of chemical stripper.

Here is the Scotch Wheel I was talking about... Maybe someone who has used one can chime in if they are any count. I doubt they will get through all of you paint, but like I said I have never used them... You can get them at Wal-Mart for around $7.

 

[wingsnhammers]

The boat I am "restoring" now had 5 coats of paint on it when I got it. Chemical strippers took off 2 to 3 layers at a time, but was a pain to remove without a pressure washer. I ended up using 4 or 5 DeWalt wire wheels on a 4.5" grinder. I used the fine bristle wire wheel, not the knotted heavy duty version. The fine wire doesn't hurt the aluminum at all. The heavy knotted wire cup is much more aggressive. They cost $13 a piece at Lowes, but they sure did work well. Just be careful with these things. Wear heavy pants, and at least 2 shirts if or when you use them. They are great until those little bristles start coming off the wheel. Always wear eye protection and a mask when you use these! A sander will gum up sanding pads very quickly on this kind of project. If you look for my build in this forum, "somethingorother v build...aka Enigma" you can see what those wire wheels did. Hope this helps you out a little bit. I doubt I will try to wire wheel another boat. It's worth it to me to either get it media blasted or try the chemical stripper and pressure washer idea. The wire wheel bit works fine, but it is time consuming and dirty.