removing paint using a scabbler

[dccruiser]

2 minutes ago, Rickent said:

Also holds a lot of dirt and is a pig to get clean.

Absolutely! ... personally i didnt replace it when i repainted, just make sure i wear shoes with a good grip when on the roof 

 

Rick

[reg]

6 minutes ago, Rickent said:

Also holds a lot of dirt and is a pig to get clean.

But the only surface for me when single handed in winter. 

For me Practicality trumps Aesthetics. 

[cuthound]

27 minutes ago, Rickent said:

Also holds a lot of dirt and is a pig to get clean.

 

Pretty easy to clean with a long handled scrubbing brush and Ali's Caravan Cleaner. Did my 60 foot trad in less thsn an hour.

 

15 minutes ago, reg said:

But the only surface for me when single handed in winter. 

For me Practicality trumps Aesthetics. 

 

This ^^^^. I've seen someone break a leg stepping onto an unsanded roof from a lock side on a wet day.

[dccruiser]

30 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Pretty easy to clean with a long handled scrubbing brush and Ali's Caravan Cleaner. Did my 60 foot trad in less thsn an hour.

 

 

This ^^^^. I've seen someone break a leg stepping onto an unsanded roof from a lock side on a wet day.

I also cruise single handed, i just take my time and I use the ladders to get on and off the boat, in winter i wear snow boots and have never felt them lose traction, in summer I wear sketchers  which have amazing grip, but each to their own, i cringe everytime I see folk using suicide seats or those that cruise with kids clambering on the roof!

Rick

[reg]

2 hours ago, dccruiser said:

I also cruise single handed, i just take my time and I use the ladders to get on and off the boat, in winter i wear snow boots and have never felt them lose traction, in summer I wear sketchers  which have amazing grip, but each to their own, i cringe everytime I see folk using suicide seats or those that cruise with kids clambering on the roof!

Rick

My boat is a Liverpool which have a pronounced curvature to the roof so grippy roof almost essential for me. 

[dccruiser]

1 hour ago, reg said:

My boat is a Liverpool which have a pronounced curvature to the roof so grippy roof almost essential for me. 

That explains it , as you can see in my pics mine has a very gentle curve so walking inside the handrails its all but flat.

 

Rick

[Rickent]

23 minutes ago, dccruiser said:

That explains it , as you can see in my pics mine has a very gentle curve so walking inside the handrails its all but flat.

 

Rick

My roof is also fairly flat and  has 3 solar panels on, so not a lot of roof to walk on really.

[Steve Manc]

're when taking window out during painting your narrowboat.

 

Has anyone stayed in their boat at the time of painting?

 

What do you cover the window internal to stop dust etc getting in?

 

Thanks

 

 

[matty40s]

3 hours ago, Steve Manc said:

're when taking window out during painting your narrowboat.

 

Has anyone stayed in their boat at the time of painting?

 

What do you cover the window internal to stop dust etc getting in?

 

Thanks

 

 

Cardboard cut to shape, sealed with lo-tack masking tape.

[jetzi]

Wow, these scabblers seem like magic! I have never painted a boat but I sanded down an old VW combi to bare metal once, and that was a job and a half even with power sanders.

 

Hiring one of these for a day and getting rid of all the layers of paint and rust, getting the boat right down to bare metal seems like it would be money well spent.

 

Is there any danger of the scabbler damaging the metal?

[LadyG]

5 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

Wow, these scabblers seem like magic! I have never painted a boat but I sanded down an old VW combi to bare metal once, and that was a job and a half even with power sanders.

 

Hiring one of these for a day and getting rid of all the layers of paint and rust, getting the boat right down to bare metal seems like it would be money well spent.

 

Is there any danger of the scabbler damaging the metal?

Don't kill yourself, take a longer hire, wear full pp esp 3M/hi spec mask, not the 50p rubbish ones. Make sure it is 230v or you need a generator hire.

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by LadyG

[Chewbacka]

13 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

Wow, these scabblers seem like magic! I have never painted a boat but I sanded down an old VW combi to bare metal once, and that was a job and a half even with power sanders.

 

Hiring one of these for a day and getting rid of all the layers of paint and rust, getting the boat right down to bare metal seems like it would be money well spent.

 

Is there any danger of the scabbler damaging the metal?

If you do hire one, make sure they know it is for metal, otherwise the teeth they supply will be only suitable for  concrete and will very quickly wear away on metal, and they are not cheap.

Edited November 18, 2019 by Chewbacka

[jetzi]

I'm not sure if a DIY paint job is for me, so I'm thinking of painting a panel under a bridge and seeing how it turns out.

 

The real question is how I'm going to prep the test panel. The paint job is flaking through at least 4 colours in my boat's history, so it's probably time to take it back to bare metal. Of course I don't want to hire a scabbler just for a test, so I'm thinking of using a flap disc in my battery angle grinder, plus a my battery random orbit sander. I'm terrified of gouging out the metal - is that more likely with the scabbler or the flap disc?

 

My alternative would be to buy a cheap scabbler from eBay, like this 1500W one:

https://ebay.co.uk/itm/Concrete-Planer-1500-W-140-mm-Floor-Scabbler-Scouring-Machine-Grinder/113044707989

 

also available same price here

 

https://www.manomano.co.uk/polisher-grinder-3324

 

But I can't find alternative teeth for this Besides, running this off my 3kVA inverter is probably not the greatest idea.

 

Going to order a 750ml tin each of the Epifanes Multi-Marine Primer Grey, Epifanes Grey Undercoat and one Epifanes Yacht Enamel (Bootlak) in a blue/grey of the wife's choosing. It's a 70 quid experiment (plus 8.5 GBP delivery) which will show me a) how hard the job really is, b) what it will look like if painted by a muppet, and c) whether the colour is what we want. 

We asked around and pros for our 65' narrowboat charge on the order of 7-8kGBP for the job, not to mention the fact that you have to book a year in advance.

 

 

On 09/04/2019 at 10:57, WotEver said:

A quick Google for ‘Scabbler hire Manchester’ gets quite a few hits. Why not phone around your local hire shops?

I had a look around and although there are quite a few hits, they are all actually for needle guns, pole scabblers, or "lawnmower" style floor scabblers. I haven't been able to find the handheld scabblers like in John Barnard's video.

Edited June 13, 2020 by ivan&alice

[WotEver]

3 minutes ago, ivan&alice said:

I had a look around and although there are quite a few hits, they are all actually for needle guns, pole scabblers, or "lawnmower" style floor scabblers. I haven't been able to find

I’d give Brandon a call and see what they can offer. They might have to get one in from another branch. 

[matty40s]

If you are coming up this way, these guys have one, we hired it when our own one control switch threw a wobbly.

https://www.hirecentres.com/

 

Its Plantools in Daventry. You need a Creditcard to hire, even if you are paying cash.

 

[jetzi]

Thanks, how much was it to hire? I can't see it on their website but I can give them a call on Monday and find out.

 

Yes I'll be in that area at some point, I'll not be hiring it any time soon, I'm going do my trial patch using a flap disc and see how well that works out.

 

My main concern with removing the existing coatings is that I don't gouge the metal. If I can successfully do one panel with the angle grinder with a reasonable amount of effort, then I'll know it's possible at least.

[BEngo]

Rather than a flap disc for the trial I think you would be better with a sanding disc in your grinder.  There are a wider range of grits available  and they are IMO quicker than a flap disc.  They are also a little cheaper.

 

Screwfix item 42416 is an example.  You will need a backing pad.  They are available in bigger diameters if you have a bigger grinder.

 

N

[WotEver]

9 minutes ago, BEngo said:

You will need a backing pad. 

Something like this:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/nylon-backing-pad-115mm-m14-x-2-hole-22mm/41534

[jetzi]

Thanks for the tip. I think I'll get both flap discs as well as the angle grinder backing pad + fibre sanding discs and see which works best for me. Would you suggest 80 grit for taking the old paint off?

 

I was then thinking 120 grit with the orbital sander over that - I understand that you don't want to go too fine here lest the primer not adhere to the steel.

 

Between the primer and the undercoat, 320 grit with the orbital sander. Then between coats of gloss, 400 grit with the orbital sander.

 

I'm going to get these discs anyway and see how I get on with them.

 

[BEngo]

80 grit should be OK.  Depends a bit on the existing paint.  If it tends to clog then go a grade coarser, but not as far as 36 grit.

Your DA suggestions look fine. I would give the final undercoat 320, 240 if set really hard.  Don't press too hard on  the undercoat or gloss coats.  They will be soft and you only want to take the nibs ( and dead flies and dust) off.   If you are painting on successive days the paint solvents should give you a chemical bond between the layers, so you are not relying  a mechanical key, but the sanding exposes the inner paint and makes it  easier to get the chemical bond.  If weather means you have to wait a few days between coats then is the time to go back to 320 to get a mechanical bond.

 

N

PS  Buy some decent knee pads.  You will need them!

Edited June 14, 2020 by BEngo
PS

[jetzi]

Thanks @BEngo, I'll get 320 and 240 then and see how it goes (plus 400 for the gloss coats).

[David Mack]

4 hours ago, BEngo said:

Rather than a flap disc for the trial I think you would be better with a sanding disc in your grinder.  There are a wider range of grits available  and they are IMO quicker than a flap disc.  They are also a little cheaper.

 

Screwfix item 42416 is an example.  You will need a backing pad.  They are available in bigger diameters if you have a bigger grinder.

 

N

 

I found sanding discs ineffective. I used a flap wheel in the angle grinder to strip Belfast's roof back to bare metal. It cut through half a dozen layers of paint in one go, but only over a strip about half an inch wide. So the whole process was quite slow.

I used a combination of cup and disc wire brushes to get into the odd corners.

The final finish was lightly scored, but not gouged, and perfectly fine for the application of primer.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-zirconium-flap-disc-115mm-80-grit/7448g

[WotEver]

15 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I found sanding discs ineffective. I used a flap wheel in the angle grinder...

That echos my experience too. 

3 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

Would you suggest 80 grit for taking the old paint off?

Depends how thick it is. 60 might be better. 

[jetzi]

I've ordered 60 grit discs and an 80 grit flap. Between these I hope I can at least do my test panel, though I expect I will find a scabbler to hire when I'm ready to do the rest of the boat. Will report back on how I get on.

[WotEver]

2 minutes ago, ivan&alice said:

I expect I will find a scabbler to hire when I'm ready to do the rest of the boat

Hire some ear defenders at the same time