Sanding a aluminum 14' boat

[deltabbean]

Hello again fellow boaters. I'm looking for the best way or method to sand flaky paint off of an aluminum boat. I will be painting it camouflage colors. Any ideas?

 

[jonboatboy]

Aircraft stripper will cut alot of time of sanding out. The heavier and thicker you put it on the better. Then I'd sand it with 320 on a D/A to smooth it out. I've done body work for 8 years and painted a jon boat like a hotrod before. May need to lay some primer down before you spray it camo. Just depends on what kinda paint you use. I think some of the rustoleum paint will stick to bare metal.

 

[lovedr79]

2nd on the aircraft remover! works like a charm.

 

[acabtp]

get it soda or walnut blasted

pros:
-doesn't remove nearly as much of your boat's aluminum as sanding
-does a better job than sanding or chemical stripping
-gets you down to an etched surface ready for primer
-no burning chemicals to get on your arms
-no sanding to wear your arms out
-done in an hour or two of watching vs several days of HARD labor

con:
-costs just slightly more than using aircraft remover

it's the only way to go. i will never sand or strip a tin again.

 

[MmmFishing]

When using aircraft stripper, does it work more or less based on the duration it is on the surface, or should it be a quick wipe on and sand off? I was going to opt for soda blasting on my 12ft mirro-craft but it was gonna be $200-$500, way too expensive for me.

 

[tonynoriega]

acabtp » Today, 09:20[/url]"]get it soda or walnut blasted

con:
-costs just slightly more than using aircraft remover

Aircraft remover? What are you David Copperfield?

:mrgreen:

You could do like ol' inexperienced me and get a wire brush attachment for your power drill and spend months brushing it down.

Seriously, I wish I would have spent the money on having it blasted.

Lesson learned.

 

[SumDumGuy]

the stripper is done when she tells you (c what i did there)....

it will bubble up and whatnot. As long as it doesn't dry you can leave it on as long as you want (1 hr or so).

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

SumDumGuy » Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:25 pm[/url]"]the stripper is done when she tells you (c what i did there)....

it will bubble up and whatnot. As long as it doesn't dry you can leave it on as long as you want (1 hr or so).

Cover the stripper with plastic wrap that way it won't dry out.

 

[acabtp]

tonynoriega » Today, 15:48[/url]"]Aircraft remover? What are you David Copperfield?

:mrgreen:

that's what the stuff is called :LOL2:

but yeah, get it blasted

 

[deltabbean]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I would love to get it blasted, but at a $100 an hour, which could take 2 to 5 hours I can't afford that. So looks like I'll be using aircraft stripper. Thanks again everyone.

 

[acabtp]

deltabbean » Today, 00:09[/url]"]Thanks for all the help everyone. I would love to get it blasted, but at a $100 an hour, which could take 2 to 5 hours I can't afford that. So looks like I'll be using aircraft stripper. Thanks again everyone.

aircraft stripper really isn't much cheaper. it's over $40 a can and you'll need 4 bare minimum. i think i used 5 or 6 cans on the last 14' starcraft i did the hard way. and that doesn't even factor in the hours and hours it'll take to strip it that way.

 

[SumDumGuy]

aircraft stripper...... pfffftt...

I tried it on my last repaint job. It stripped the chalky nasty paint off but it didn't touch the paint below that.


bad batch maybe?

 

[MrSimon]

There are tons of hard ways to do it .... all of them will work to varying degrees.

And then there is the golden goose, the holy grail ..... the MEDIA BLASTER!

Call around. You can likely find someone who will blast your tin for a couple hundred bucks tops, while you wait. Don't forget to haggle. It works.

Stripping and sanding will cost maybe $150 and you'll spend hours and hours working too hard and making a huge mess.

Its your money, but the extra $50 is well worth it in my opinion.

 

[ccm]

Aircraft Stripper. It works well but it will take more than one coat. For my old 14ft v hull it took 1.5 gallons of the stuff ( bought 2 cans ). Buy a metal paint pan & some cheap brushes. You can reuse the brushes coat after coat as long as you rinse them out. The stuff works great. You will also need a good pair of chemical proof gloves. A pressure washer will make things easier but you can get by with a metal scraper. Total cost involved around $100 to strip the boat. I took my time with it & in the end there still was a little sanding/scraping to do around the rivets/other hard to reach areas but nothing that couldn't be knocked out in a weekend. I highly recommend it if soda blasting is to expensive or there isn't a place around that does it.

 

[Southern Appal]

It's hard to accept that aircraft stripper makes paint removal easier when the job requires such large amounts of stripper. I had lots of problems trying to keep the stripper on vertical or sloped surfaces long enough for it to work. The bottom of my boat had a different kind of paint than the inside had. Bottom was pretty easy just to sand off and feather the edges of the paint. The metal does not have to be completely bare, just smooth. The inside of the boat had lots of drips and runs going down the sides. These were not at all easy to sand out, nor did the stripper work well because of the slope of the sides. That's when I opted for sand blasting. Even that did not remove all the pain from the inside, but at least I could smooth it out easily with sanding sponges. There is a kind of zen in sanding. I enjoy it up to a point.

Bottom line: It really helped me when I understood that the paint doesn't all have to come off. It just needs the edges smoothed. Self-etching primer over that and you're ready to paint.

Find the money. Save up. Blast it.

 

[riverbud55]

If it were me painting it camo Id spend a 1/2 hour on it with a brass wire brush on a drill motor knock the loose paint off and be done with it,,,, put some self etching primer down,, paint and be done in 2 hrs,,,, tell ya you will never know that you didn't spend all the time and money,,,,,,JMO

 

[joseph101088]

the last thing i would use would be any kind of wire. it could cause galvanic corrosion under your newly laid paint and cause chipping. i paint jets for a living and my favorite part is to put headphones in resperator on and go to town with a da. if you dont use 120 or below you shouldnt take any metal off. unless you spend to much time sanding one area. a quick scuff to knock out hard lines and create a good bonding surface should be good enough. it works well enough for fighters that can fly above the speed of sound.

 

[MrSimon]

riverbud55 » Yesterday, 13:49[/url]"]If it were me painting it camo Id spend a 1/2 hour on it with a brass wire brush on a drill motor knock the loose paint off and be done with it,,,, put some self etching primer down,, paint and be done in 2 hrs,,,, tell ya you will never know that you didn't spend all the time and money,,,,,,JMO

I think I've bought some of your boats in the past .... I was cursing your name three ways from Tuesday as I sanded off multiple layers of old chipping paint and was left with a corroded and pitted hull.

Although you do have a point .... sometimes the quick and easy method is plenty good enough. It all depends on what you want out of the project.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

On an aluminum hull you want to use a stainless steel wire wheel.

 

[TexasLoneStar56]

I'm a "nobody", but find this forum very informative. I am restoring a '56 LS. I was given some great advice on the sanding from some really nice guys on here.

Start with 180 grit on a palm sander, and go up from there. I did use a brass brush on a drill for some hard to reach places, but was very careful. I am wet sanding now, by hand, with 400 grit (on the outside).

The inside is a different story. I read several posts about Easy-Off oven cleaner, the old kind that stinks to high heaven. I tried it and it works! :shock: I left it on overnight, and left the boat in the hot Texas sun for two days. The paint just pealed and flaked off. Of course, I tried it in a small 12"x12" space, so I could see what it would do. Much easier than sanding and less messy than Klean Stripper.

We are not in a hurry to paint our boat, so I want the aluminum shiny. Yes, it is HOT! And, it takes a LOT of sanding. I'm sure you wouldn't have to sand as much as I am if you are going to repaint soon. Sounds like Joseph is giving you good solid advice.

Post Pics! We all like to see the progress!