Stripping

[sbillis]

I would be grateful for some advice.

 

I am stripping the roof of my steel narrowboat so that I may re-paint it. The present finish is several layers with what looks like paint with sand applied to give a non slip coat. The paint comes of with a scrapper but with one square metre taking two hours the whole job will take considerable time and several scrappers. With the sand they need to be sharpened after only a few minutes use.

 

I have considered paint stripper but I don't wish to pollute.

 

Does anyone have any ideas as to how to remove this type of finish?

 

Many thanks

 

Simon

NB Bulrush

[Big COL]

I would be grateful for some advice.

 

I am stripping the roof of my steel narrowboat so that I may re-paint it. The present finish is several layers with what looks like paint with sand applied to give a non slip coat. The paint comes of with a scrapper but with one square metre taking two hours the whole job will take considerable time and several scrappers. With the sand they need to be sharpened after only a few minutes use.

 

I have considered paint stripper but I don't wish to pollute.

 

Does anyone have any ideas as to how to remove this type of finish?

 

Many thanks

 

Simon

NB Bulrush

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Simon

 

The easiest way is to wet sandblast but this can be very messy, if you have a look on google there are various eco friendly paint strippers,just how effective they are I cannot say. The only other option is a 4'' angle grinder with a flapper disc or a heavy duty orbital sander with a coarse disc, this will be dusty and require quite a few discs,the one small advantage this has is that as you dislodge the old sand it partly becomes an abrasing agent under the disc but it also wears the disc. I suppose if you were very careful and worked quickly you could try an electric hot air gun but with care! best of luck

[John Orentas]

Use an angle grinder with rubber flexible sanding disc attachment. Buy the corsest discs you can get. Very messy but it will do the job, wear mask and goggles.

 

Don't aim for a finish to take a gloss paint finish, narrowboat roofs are never that good. Prime, undercoat and apply textured 'deck paint'.

 

John Squeers

[David Schweizer]

Hi Simon

 

I am about to embark on the same job - no I still haven't done it since you visited my boat in the Spring. I had the notion of combining the removal of most of the paint with a woodworking chisel and then finishing off with the angle grinder. This is the way I removed all the bitumen from the top plank and it worked quite well. The chisels being harder than a scraper require slightly less frequent re sharpening but I am resigned to it being a long job. When I was moored at Braunston the chap on the boat next to me took all the paint off his roof wuth a wire brush on an angle grinder, it took him five eight hour days to do a 30ft roof.

[sbillis]

David, I did the front area and the gunwhales, each of which is around 1 squre metre. Each took around two hours. I tried a chiesel but I found that too soft so I bought from B and Q a Harris scrapper. It claims it is made from toughened steel and is short and stubby and fits the palm of your hand. It works well for around five minutes then needs re-sharpening. There is not much left of it now.

 

My sore shoulders tell me this is not the way to do the whole roof. There are air tools that will do the job but I dont have a handy compressor.

 

John has given me a few ideas ( thanks John) for mechanical removal but before I resort to hiring a generator I think I will try the chemical method first.

 

In our last house several walls were coverered in a skin shearing textured finish. I used Nitromoors textured paint remover to remove it and it works very well and was not messey. At £17.00 a tin it is not cheap and each tin should do around 2 square metres. I think I will try a small area first.

 

 

Simon

NB Bulrush

[John Orentas]

Simon.

 

I would not advise paint stripper, you will inevitebly drip and splash it on other parts of the boat, (I would anyway).

 

I believe there are battery angle ginders available, If they go for only an hour between charges you will have had enough that day anyway.

 

Try Screwfix and B & Q

 

John Squeers

[dor]

I would be pretty impressed with a battery angle grinder that would run for an hour taking off the roof paint, including sand!

 

If the paint was as resistant as you indicate Simon, I think I would be very tempted to follow the stripper route. There are now many different sorts available in B&Q and the likes and I am sure one would be suitable. They tend to be gelled, so drips and spills should not be a problem if handled carefully. Equally, when you take it off with an ordinary scraper it is semi-solid after reacting with the paint (reminiscent of snake skin) so pollution should not be a problem. If a small bit does go into the water, I don't think it is particularly toxic in itself - the nastiness derives from its acid content. A drop in the canal will be diluted beyond any risk.

[Guest Sweeney]

How about a blow lamp ? I've never tried it on a boat but I do woodwork with it.

I don't think the heat transfer would be a problem. Did I miss someting obvious ?

 

Sweeney

[dor]

polystyrene insulation underneath perhaps?

[Rick]

You could try here for a thing called Wheel-away, otherwise known as a scabbling head. Pricey but supposedly good. I got the info from somewhere on the net, one of the forums or a ng.

 

www.refina.co.uk

 

Richard

[Cussy]

I'm due to repaint the top soon too, but hope to get away with a rub down.

 

What paints do experienced users recommend please?

 

I'm presuming International Yacht Varnish for the interior and Sadolins for a little bit of exterior woodwork - unless you know better!

[David Schweizer]

As far as paint is concerned, any of the marine enamels available in chandlers will do a decent job, different people will have their favorites and some are easier to put on than others. I used to like International Interlux but it is no longer available, although the matt roof paint version Interdeck is still available in a limited range of colours.

 

As far as Exterior woodwork is concerned use a good quality Traditional Yacht Varnish, but get the manufacturer to confirm that there is no polyurethane in it. Despite all the claims made bymanufacturers, polyurethane does not like sunlight and breaks down giving that oh so familiar crazed appearance which eventually flakes off. One Brand I can recomend is Parsons Blackfriars brand, but only buy a tin that is big enough for the job though as it does not store well once the tin has been opened. I believe that J.H.Ratcliffe (the scumble people) also make a traditional yacht varnish but I haven't used it.

[John Orentas]

Hi Simon.

 

I too would reccomend International deck paint, gloss paint looks awfull on narrowboat roofs and the traditional sanding method leaves much to be desired. I have no personnal experience of them but I understand there is now an additive available, some form of plastic granules that can be added to gloss paint.

 

I don't know why, but woodwork and steel boats don't mix, water gets into the joints and is retained there, paints and varnishes seem to last no more than a year. The stuff that performs best is the Sadolin type products, but I would always go for the oil based as opposed to the water based one.

 

Internal finishes are are a matter of personnal taste, personnally I don't like glossy, sparkley varnishes. The method I have adopted is a wax finish with a varnish base, acting only as a sealer.

 

Rub the woodwork down, through any previous coatings, apply spirit based stain, (always use use a light stain even if you don't want to darken the wood, otherwise you will get that aenemic look), apply coat of thinned matt or semi matt varnish, rub down, varnish again, rub down and apply wax polish, 2 or three times (it keeps getting better). Beeswax is good and always smells fresh, repeat the waxing every year.

 

Remember to punctuate your wood finished with some painted items and detail, otherwise things can be a bit bland.

 

John Squeers

Edited October 19, 2004 by John Orentas

[Martin]

Simon - Octarine had the same finish on the roof as you describe.

The only thing that would touch it sounds like the device already described but was called a scarifier.

I'm not sure if this was a stand-alone device or a head which attached to a large angle grinder but it sure made short work of the roof!

If you imagine something akin to a saucepan lid with a number of toothed wheels driven around horizontally underneath - this is pretty close.

I think the wheels are diamond tipped and it was certainly quick - the whole 72' roof was done in just a couple of hours.

Operators take a break after ten minutes use though - otherwise "white finger" (or probably white arm) sets in.

 

Try hire shops perhaps or I know for a fact that they have one at the boatyard at Norbury Junction - it will cost you a bit though as they won't let you borrow it!

 

Martin

[sbillis]

Thanks to all who have responded. The tool refered to in the last post seems to be the one to use. My local tool hire shop does it but I will need a special disk thing which I understand costs a packet.

 

Before I commit to circa £100.00 expenditure I will spend one more day with the scrapper to convince myself the cost is worth it.

 

Once agian thanks to everyone.

 

Simon

NB Bulrush

[John Orentas]

Simon.

 

For £100 you can buy enough sanding discs to strip a dozen roofs.

 

John Squeers

[Martin]

You can't use sanding disks to remove sand embedded into paint on a boat roof surely.

The sand in the paint would just rip the disks to shreds.

As an aside on sanding disk budgets - my painting tutor suggested you probably need to spend almost as much on sanding disks as you will spend on paint - you really will use stacks of them if you want to get a decent finish (assuming you are not painting a prepared shell or new boat).

Decent quality disks will last longer too.

[John Orentas]

Martin.

 

You can get very course, tough, discs, these are not the cardboard things that we are used to. They are made specifically for this type of application. You will however need to go to an engineers merchants, I doubt if the likes of B & Q will stock them.

 

John Squeers

Edited October 26, 2004 by John Orentas