Using a scabbler

[Neil Corbett]

Time to have a serious go at the roof of the boat. I've seen Phil Speight recommend the use of a scabbler to remove old paint back to the bare metal, although I've never seen, let alone used, a scabbler. Has anyone experience of these? Perhaps Phil could comment if he reads this. Are there different types of scabbler? Are there any special skills or things to beware of? Or should I stick to a belt sander?

[Amicus]

Time to have a serious go at the roof of the boat. I've seen Phil Speight recommend the use of a scabbler to remove old paint back to the bare metal, although I've never seen, let alone used, a scabbler. Has anyone experience of these? Perhaps Phil could comment if he reads this. Are there different types of scabbler? Are there any special skills or things to beware of? Or should I stick to a belt sander?

You need a needle scabbler, there is another type.

Most effective scabblers are air driven, so need a compressor.

We used to use them all the time on site but not now because of elfin safety, they cause "White Finger"

See you local tool hire joint

Edited September 24, 2007 by Amicus

[blackrose]

Time to have a serious go at the roof of the boat. I've seen Phil Speight recommend the use of a scabbler to remove old paint back to the bare metal, although I've never seen, let alone used, a scabbler. Has anyone experience of these? Perhaps Phil could comment if he reads this. Are there different types of scabbler? Are there any special skills or things to beware of? Or should I stick to a belt sander?

 

I think the expense is the main thing - if you can lay hands on one then it will probably save you a lot of work. I've never used one but I was told that the discs (or whatever they're called) are hideously expensive.

[Amicus]

Toy one here, needle scabbler

 

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...-needle-scalers

 

 

I think this is a better deal.

http://www.paint-stripper.co.uk/perago.htm

Edited September 24, 2007 by Amicus

[Amicus]

A little googly gets us to

 

 

http://www.brandontoolhire.co.uk/directory...p?idproduct=177

 

http://www.brandontoolhire.co.uk/directory...p?idproduct=455

[David Schweizer]

I have been slowly removing layers of paint from my roof and re-painting it, I have no real power available on the boat so I have been using using a 1" chisel. Progress is slow and I have done about 4ft sofar!!!

 

However I am about to invest in a Big Mutt which is efectively a 7" heavy chisel, mounted on a 5ft handle. I have been told they work well and Focus have them at the moment for £16.99 (less my 10% Old Fogey's discount) which is cheap.

 

Only another 35ft to go.

[Amicus]

What about (carefull use of) a blow-torch?

[Phil Speight]

Time to have a serious go at the roof of the boat. I've seen Phil Speight recommend the use of a scabbler to remove old paint back to the bare metal, although I've never seen, let alone used, a scabbler. Has anyone experience of these? Perhaps Phil could comment if he reads this. Are there different types of scabbler? Are there any special skills or things to beware of? Or should I stick to a belt sander?

We don`t use a needle scabbler , ours is one that has lots of toothed wheels on a revolving ring. It`s electric , running through a transformer. I believe you can hire them. Whatever - we`ve used it for years and it does the job wonderfully well.

Cost about £350 plus the transformer a number of years ago.

Cheers

Phil

[smileypete]

We don`t use a needle scabbler , ours is one that has lots of toothed wheels on a revolving ring. It`s electric , running through a transformer. I believe you can hire them. Whatever - we`ve used it for years and it does the job wonderfully well.

Cost about £350 plus the transformer a number of years ago.

 

Hi Phil,

 

Does it knock mill scale off OK?

 

cheers,

Pete.

[starman]

So what's a scabbler like to use? It looks pretty monstrous. Do you get a smooth surface or does it leap away as soon as you switch on and suddenly you find you've got scrapes and gouges everywhere – and you wish you'd stuck to sandpaper!

[Phil Speight]

Hi Phil,

 

Does it knock mill scale off OK?

 

cheers,

Pete.

[/quote

I couldn`t claim that it does. It certainly removes any that is not tightly adhered, howver we always follow the scabbler with 36 grit linishing discs ( on flexi-pads ) on a fbig grinder ( I didn`t mean to type "fbig grinder"- but it`s particularly apt as it happens!). We get into welds and so on with Clean and Strip discs running in electric drills. Not recommended by the people who make the discs - so if you follow our example be careful and don`t blame me if it smarts a bit!

This mill scale thing, generally speaking, could run and run - but we`ve surely covered it by now.

Cheers

Phil

[DHutch]

...ours is one that has lots of toothed wheels on a revolving ring..

Is that a bit like the Perago disks then?

 

http://www.paint-stripper.co.uk/graphics/perago_duo_2.jpg

 

 

Daniel

[Phil Speight]

Is that a bit like the Perago disks then?

 

http://www.paint-stripper.co.uk/graphics/perago_duo_2.jpg

Daniel

No - but that there does look a mean piece of kit. The scabbler head has a ring running round it`s circumference which revolves at speed. Around the ring , thredded onto it rather like the necklace I affected forty years ago along with my mauve polka dot tee-shirt and my white hipsters. are a set of sharp toothed cogs which are in turn free to revolve as the ring spins.

And if I looked a pillock then its nothing to what I`d look if I dressed like that now.............

Cheers

Phil

[Phil Speight]

So what's a scabbler like to use? It looks pretty monstrous. Do you get a smooth surface or does it leap away as soon as you switch on and suddenly you find you've got scrapes and gouges everywhere – and you wish you'd stuck to sandpaper!

Yes they can gouge the steel but not so much that a (paint) industry standard paint build of two primer , two undercoat and two gloss won`t completely hide any damage - specially if you use a high-build primer. Fairly robust in use but perfectly bareable provided you don`t use your groin ( or any other tender part ) to stop it. In professional use there is , I believe , a restriction in the length of time you should use a scabbler - but my lads seem happy to work away with one for quite a long time. Their idea , not mine, and everyone seems healthy enough.

Cheers

Phil

[DHutch]

Had a look at the brandon hire range a bit more as well, as well as there needle scaler, they do a 'Hand Scabbler' for masonary, possably simular?

- http://www.brandontoolhire.co.uk/directory...p?idproduct=450

 

The inside of baseplate under the back deck needs some attention, after 15 years of being a bit damp, and having things lumped in and out of it, including much shifting of lead ballest ingots, its looking a bit worse for wear.

- Nothing serous that isnt sort able now, but its going run away with itself in the the next year or so if its not tackled, and hiring/buying a needle gun might be the best option for being able to get into the corners and just get it back to bright steel, then shotblast primer, highbuild epoxy zinc, twopack urethene. Like it was before!

 

Also, there are a few electric needle guns around, are they any good? Or do i just need a compressor!

 

 

 

Daniel

[Amicus]

A needle scaler/scabbler like

 

http://www.brandontoolhire.co.uk/directory...p?idproduct=455

 

would certainly do the job, I've never seen an electric one so I dunno about those.

The tool cited above is a pretty fierce bit of kit and need a full size compressor to drive it, this is a site compressor, albeit a small single tool job. The 1.5HP compressor used on nail guns ain't going to do the job.

These things are noisy, dusty and vibrate like a very viberraty thing, so wear full PPE.

[DHutch]

Yeah i certianly does look like a pritty serous bit of kit.

- Ive only seen on used very briefly, and that was outside, so in relativley confined space its going to need some thought.

- We already have fullspec replacable eliment facemask, so its going to that, good gloves, overalls, glasses and toecaps i think.

- I can proberbly borrow a compressor of a freind, which should be upto the job (large tank 7cfm jobbie) i hope.

 

The other option of coarse would be to go down the rust converter route, but its hard to get it dry out down there, and over most of it there a lot of fiarly well held 'loose rust' , so i would be a fiar job just geting down to firm rust i feel (had a bit of a go last month).

 

To start of with im going to have to lift some of the aft cabin floor, and see what it looks like there.

- Im hoping its it fairly good nick, as although it interconects with the area im talking about, it had never been touch, so the paint should be basicaly unbroken.

- Then forwards of the engineroom its a totalty dry bildge, and looks like new over all the bits you can see easly. Its just when the rain gets in under the back deck really and overflows the steartube bildge into the sectoin between the enigneroom and that.

 

 

Daniel

[Amicus]

If you do go that route try and recruit a couple of stong mates, work like that is a tad nasty and if you can do it turn and turn about it goes a lot easier. Get some really thick gloves, else your fingers tingle for hours, this causes "white finger".

Mainly, don't have a hang-over

[stuart]

Just love their safety symbols

[Puffer]

Time to have a serious go at the roof of the boat. I've seen Phil Speight recommend the use of a scabbler to remove old paint back to the bare metal, although I've never seen, let alone used, a scabbler. Has anyone experience of these? Perhaps Phil could comment if he reads this. Are there different types of scabbler? Are there any special skills or things to beware of? Or should I stick to a belt sander?

 

 

I have a friend who works for one of the Railway Preservation Societies, they swear by this gadget for stripping the paint off passenger coaches and get one side done in a day. Like everything it has limits. Big expanse of metal no problem, corners (eg side rails) and other roof items it will not get close enough. So the fiddly bits can take as long as the bigger bits. They are expensive to buy and the blades don't come cheap either. I have heard of £400.00 plus for purchase but not checked this. I haven't seen any hire shop offer such an item. This said, I am hoping to use one on my boat roof next spring. Oh and they are rather noisy when in use!.

 

Puffer

[Neil Corbett]

Thanks everyone for all the ideas and info. There seem to be a few options that are better than a belt sander anyway, so I'll be visiting my local hire shop when the time comes.

 

On a small area of deck at the counter end, I used a large screwdriver as a scraper and got very good results with surprisingly little effort, but I wouldn't want to attempt a whole roof that way!