Blacking advice

[the lost boy]

We're planning to do our own blacking (first time). We bought the sailaway two years ago (Liverpool Boats), and so I'm not sure what they originally blacked it with.

But, we wanted to use 2pack epoxy anyway (Hempadur 45143) so that it will last longer.

 

Whatever they've used is pretty thin now as we can see lots of rust patches, but do you think it would still need grit blasting or should pressure washing plus scrapers and electric wire brushes do the job to get it off?

 

We can't grit blast it so I'm just worried about buying 2-pack epoxy and then realising that we can't manually get back to the bare steel and needing to instead use bitumen.

 

 

Anyone done similar with a Liverpool Boats hull?

I take two of my family with me to the drydock on sunday morning. I first go round with a pressure washer to remove loose stuff. I buy three long handles scrapers which have a blade like a long stanley blade from the pound shop, two start either side of the stern and I take the bow doing both sides in about three hours we have removed all the old blacking i then go round with a brush that you see the butcher scrubbing his wooden cutting block with to remove any bits missed then wait until monday morning to let the hull dry I used the old tar instead of all the new fancy stuff and a year after it is still good I re-black every two years. last years in the dock I watch a old timer go round and remove all his blacking on his own in about two hours using a scrapper that looked like an inverted plane the round handle at the top and the bottom handle pointed down and was used to pull the scrapper down completely clearing all the blacking before it I also noted that there was the remains on red oxide (something I was told would not go under blacking) but was there for me to see the boat was about 15 years old but looked like it was build this year he also said he take it out every 3 years. so i plan to do this next year. alan

[Matthew Dowson]

But a jet wash won't remove Bitumen. It'll take off any loose stuff and it will clean it, but it won't take you back to bare steel.

 

My understanding from the yards that have blacked our boat is that you can't use two-pack over bitumen. Hence we've always just stuck with bitumen (it's cheaper anyway).

 

T

Depends on the jet - the one at Pennine Cruisers in Skipton takes everything off if you let it.