Gel coat, botom paint, sanding, 02 Carolina Skiff

[Bunnerrabbit]

I bought a 02 Carolina Skiff and it the hull looks more like a 92. It has bottom paint on it that was prob put on when new because its worn off a lot. The boat was kept on a lift in the waterway. Anyway I am having a hard time removing the bottom paint? Can I sand it? Just took my orbital sander to a small area and it came off pretty easy. How thick is the gel coat? Did I go through it? Suggestions welcome and little budget here to doing everything on the cheap. Also you can tell stuff was growing on the bottom it just looks like its been crapped off as there is nothing there but not smooth like glass. I know its a fishing boat but this is more like a family boat for me. More a Do it all boat. I want to clean it up and put new decals on it. I did spray some toilet bow cleaner on it and it took away the yellow grime. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[alaska_av8r]

Re: Gel coat, botom paint, sanding, 02 Carolina Skiff

The bottom may have been done with an ablative paint, the paint wears off as it ages and as it wears it exposes a fresh layer of antifouling versus a hard bottom paint that releases the antifouling but the binding layer remains, thusly making it harder as it ages to release the antifouling.

go to www.interlux.com and watch some of their videos....that may help answer your questions.