Removing coating from the tubes...

[Trailbum]

Hey Guys,
I have a pair of 20' pontoons that are badly corroded and leaking on the bottoms, from sitting on salty trailer bunks....
I've removed the pontoon tubes from the boat and hope to get them down to bare metal for repair. I've searched unsuccessfully for replacement tubes in my area.
They are coated with what appears to be like a black automotive undercoating that is a real SOB to scrape off...... Looks like someone coated them with this stuff after they started leaking.... Been working on them with a 1.5 inch scraper and it looks like an impossible task....
Does anyone know of a better way to remove this stuff???? A chemical solution or would it be possible to sandblast it off??? If so, what type of abrasive should I use???
I'm open for suggestions..... HOPE to actually get this beast in the water this year!!!
Thanks in Advance!!!!

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

Probably bottom painted. Try some paint stripper on a small area..

 

[solar7647]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

Now when you say auto under coat are you talking about something like Rihno truck bed lineing or some kind of paint?
Blasting it off should work if it some kind of paint product but I would use soda instead of sand, it will be less abusive on the metal of the pontoon considering the condition of them. If its some kind of truck bed liner i have no clue.

 

[Trailbum]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

Sorry, shoulda' mentioned it's like that spray on bedliner crap..... almost a hard rubberlike finish... A real PITA to try to scrape off!!! There is also a light blue paint under it.
Thanks again

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

Check with a local company that installs spray in bedliner. If anyone would know how to remove it, it would be them.
The only chemical that will remove SOME brands is aircraft stripper. Another method is heating it with a blowtorch and scraping. (BE VERY CAREFUL). I have heard that liquid nitrogen will freeze it and then you can flake it off. Finally, and maybe the most expensive, soda blasting from a professional.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

Heavy duty wire wheel on an angle grinder but use a soft touch not to go through the pontoon.........

I have warned people about using the bedliner just in case of the removal..... sorry to hear that someone used it on the pontoons.

keep us updated on this..... good luck

 

[solar7647]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

I did a little research and found that the best ways are grinding with a very aggressive wire wheel, but you need to have a respirator because it will cause a lot of dust and is filled with chemicals. The second way is to use a aircraft stripper but it needs to be 70 degrees when you do it so the stripper activates and you should only do 2ft by 2ft section at a time and the last and most recommended way is to soda blast is off. The soda blast gives best results and is least time consuming.

Good luck!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

I saw this post yesterday and kinda ran over it in my head and as a welder I have to say even if you do get the coating off I don't know that it can be welded.

Fixxing each hole isn't going to work so really your only option would be an overlay sheet which is going to be next to impossible to get the contour without a roller of some kind, point being even if you do get it off I really don't think they are repairable without soending a boat load of money on them.

Before I got any farther into this I woudl find a welder and have him look at it and see if he can do it and what materials and time would cost.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

I would not even bother with attempting a repair on what you already know are leaking pontoons. Unless you wrap the weak and leaking area by a good six inches on each side there will not be enough good metal to weld to. Besides, unless you have access to and the knowledge regarding aluminum welding you will end up with a costly repair and even a pinhole in a weld will cause a leak.

 

[Trailbum]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

Thank you for all of the quick replies!!! I think at this point, the cheapest fix would be to find an inexpensive, basketcase pontoon boat with a decent pair of pontoons under her!!!
Providing I find one, would my best course of action be to remove the pontoons and try to attach them to my current deck, or to just remove the engine, furniture, and railings from my current boat, and bolt them onto the deck of the basketcase????
Thanks again!!!

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Removing coating from the tubes...

Putting different toons under your current boat would be less work, I think.
You run into unwiring and rewiring work, etc. the other way.
But then it might depend on what condition the donor boat is too.