Reprinting a hull after anti fouling marine paint.

[Antoine]

I was going to wait till winter but since it gets so cold, I am thinking about repainting now. I hate the blue marine paint the former own had on the hull. It's in bad shape so I was going to apply aircraft paint remover, let it soak then wash it off.
What is the best method for sanding? I have using a 4 inch angle grinder with sanding pads but it can be aggressive. Any auto body guys out there?

 

[FerrisBueller]

You could go a step down from the angle grinding sanders to a palm or orbital sander. Both are less aggressive than an angle grinder and work well.

 

[PSG-1]

If you use the aircraft coating remover, you shouldn't have to do very much sanding. Since most anti-fouling paints are ablative in nature (meaning, as they wear down, they expose new chemical to keep the fouling away) you could probably use a pressure washer with a turbo tip to loosen up any remaining stubborn paint.

Then use a DA sander to get anything left. If your boat is riveted, you should avoid sanding or wire wheeling too aggressively around rivets, as this can cause them to start leaking.

When you repaint, be sure to use the paint that's formulated for aluminum, as the type for fiberglass boats will quickly dissolve aluminum in salt water.