Primer Stripper

CentralOregonBum

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 19, 2012
Messages
37
Hello. So I used the "Marine" paint stripper on my aluminum boat last summer recommended by all three "S.W." paint stores in my town. Patches of the paint came off like butter with a plastic putty knife. Other paches of the paint came off with the sander easily. And still other patches ... yes I let the stripper sit like the directions said too. I used it liberally...the stripper didn't make a dint in the boats primer but in one spot the sander got soo hot it put a dent in the side of the hull, but the primer stayed on. Now the guys at the stores told me everyone loved the product and had no idea what else to recomend. so my question is this... what can I use on my boat that doesn't take 4-6 hours of sanding every weekend all spring and summer long to get half of the boat's paint off? If I can get it at the home depot or the walmart, even better, because the lakes open up the 22nd if the snow is low enough to open the cascade lakes road and i need to get this boat ready..... thanks! S.O.S.
 

Bomber Goober

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
183
Re: Primer Stripper

Are you going to be repainting the boat? If so if that primer is that stuck on it, why not leave it? If all you have done hasn't taken it off I wouldn't see a problem leaving it. Also got any pictures of this stubborn primer area?
 

CentralOregonBum

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 19, 2012
Messages
37
Re: Primer Stripper

If i don't take it all off i would have spent all those hours last summer sanding the other side for nothing... and if i didn't take it off i wouldn't have the pride of knowing that my boat may not be a $35k wakeboarding boat but it is still better because...I built it and i built it better...i gotta have that if i'm going to cruise by the rich yuppies flying the rastafari flag, making their beaches wet with the sexy sounds of marly, protoje and omni. Plus the fish will know when I'm trolling and wont bite my hook because they will feel that I am leaning towards the side that I left the primer on and my worms will refuse to do the "sexy and I know it, wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah" dance ....so gotta get that damn primer off....but thanks....I only have photos on 35 mm.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,605
Re: Primer Stripper

Not knowing what type paint remover you actually used, I'd suggest "Aircraft Remover” myself. It does take some time but it does work very well. I stripped many different types of metal parts and panels and yes even car panels clean using that stuff. It comes in both spray cans and brush on. It will strip most any type paint/primer off most any type metal. But it does say to not use it on plastics or fiberglass because it could melt those materials. OH! And for the record, it also state on their cans that don’t use it on any Aircraft... I know, that seems so stupid...
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
71,095
Re: Primer Stripper

If i don't take it all off i would have spent all those hours last summer sanding the other side for nothing... and if i didn't take it off i wouldn't have the pride of knowing that my boat may not be a $35k wakeboarding boat but it is still better because...I built it and i built it better...i gotta have that if i'm going to cruise by the rich yuppies flying the rastafari flag, making their beaches wet with the sexy sounds of marly, protoje and omni. Plus the fish will know when I'm trolling and wont bite my hook because they will feel that I am leaning towards the side that I left the primer on and my worms will refuse to do the "sexy and I know it, wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah" dance ....so gotta get that damn primer off....but thanks....I only have photos on 35 mm.

Ayuh,.... but ya didn't answer the question,.... Are ya gonna Repaint it,..??

If so, Quit strippin' it,...
Sand it Smooth, 'n repaint it...

Strippin' perfectly good primer/ paint off is better than doublin' the time, money, 'n effort required to repaint it...
 

jbcurt00

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Messages
25,117
Re: Primer Stripper

That stuff Aircraft Stripper is nasty business, be sure to wear FULL personal protection gear. It eats cheap nitrile/latex gloves. A respirator w/ appropriate solvent filters is a must....

Recently, InMotion has had GREAT results w/ a cheap stripper & minimal effort to strip his Starcraft hulls nearly completely in 1 pass w/ the cheap stripper:

Interestingly, I stumbled across a really cheap, environmentally friendly and fast way to strip the bottom of the boat! A few posts ago I said that the cheap stripper I was using didn't work... well I thought I would try an experiment this morning. I literally poured the stuff onto the hull and then using a paint brush, smeared it leaving big globs of the stuff everywhere. I left the electric oil heater on medium for the day and tonight around 8:45pm snuck outside and tried to strip the paint off using a metal 2" wide drywall tool... low and behold the paint literally fell off the boat!! In less than 40 minutes 80+ % of the hull is completely stripped! Cost: less than $4.00! Time: less than 40 minutes of labor! Environmental impact: Virtually nill... this stuff worked terrific with no toxic chemicals!

Stuff is called Safe Strip

Just thought I would share that... getting the paint off is a normally a big pain and I'll tell you, I will have the boat stripped for less than $15 and way, way quicker than before with way, way less effort! I ran out tonight... but I am going to pick some more up tomorrow and pour it on Wed morning... I'll report back with the results to see that they can be duplicated.

Have a great evening fellas!

Jim
Up next to his user name there where I've quoted him should be a little 'square' w/ 2 '' in it. Click that symbol & it'll open the thread at his post. Read thru from there. Should be details of how & what he used to go 'bare' bottom ;)

Having used the Aircraft stripper, I'd give IM's method a shot before I spent any time w/ the big nasty, I gave it that name after an eraser sized blob got on my wrist while taking off my gloves. In much less the a minute, I had a nice chemical burn.
 

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,822
Re: Primer Stripper

I had a tough time with my paint removal as well. I used Klean strip gel in the orange can, doubled the amount I thought was necessary and then covered it with plastic for 20 min. When I came back, it was jello and most of it came off in 2 stripper applications right down to bare aluminum. Then I used a wire wheel on my big drill with a side handle and buffed the rest off. To finish up and make it clean, I lastly used a 3M scouring pad that has the plastic grip handle attached.

IMAG0306.jpg
 

CentralOregonBum

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 19, 2012
Messages
37
Re: Primer Stripper

Covering it with plastic made a world of difference... I also think since it is still spring and not summer, the temperature is helping out also...thanks...
 
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