How do I remove Latex house paint from a boat?

[thill]

Purchased a 14' McKee Craft (mainly for the engine) and the boat is in very solid condition. (bonus!) UNFORTUNATELY, the previous owner, in a drunken stupor, had slathered the boat and trailer in Latex house paint. It's dripping off everything!

What can I use to get it off without tearing up the gelcoat underneath?

I tried a powerwasher, and that would take forever. I tried a random orbit sander, and it takes it off fast, but it tears up the gelcoat. I don't want to have to refinish all the gel coat afterwards, if possible!

Any suggestions? Paint stripper? Oven cleaner? Thanks.

-TH

Edited August 5, 2009 by thill

[Ludicrous]

Latex on the boat AND trailer? Good grief. You've got some serious work ahead of you. The only easy route would be to soda blast both. Then sand, prime and paint the boat....with proper paint products. You might find someone with a HIGH pressure commercial grade pressure washer with heated water. I used to work at a shop that had an old gas fired Hotsy that would strip paint off autos if you kept the nozzle in one place too long.

You wouldn't happen to have pictures of this boat paint job would you???

[yottyboy]

I'd just sand and repaint with a latex enamel. Nothing wrong with it. Who are you trying to impress with a funky old 14 footer anyway?

Edited August 5, 2009 by yottyboy

[thill]

Ludicrous,

I need to take a closeup for you to see it. From a distance, it just looks like an older boat. Up close, you look... blink... look again... and your jaw drops when you realize what you are looking at.

Here is a picture I took the day I got it. I'll have to take a closeup later.

[165Striper]

You might try some of the paint strippers at the hardware store. I've used a couple for furniture refinishing that have worked very well. There is a citrus-based one that might not hurt the gel coat, but I would definitely test it first and use plastic scrapers. I would guess that he trailer is not going to be worth the effort to strip.

[yottyboy]

Sand it down and paint it black. use Rustoleum. better yet have it rhino lined

[autobaun70]

I would give bottom paint remover a try, it is safe for use on fiberglass, laytex should be no problem compared to a epoxy barrier coat.

[thill]

Guys,

I went the Easy-Off route, and it works like butter! Sprayed about a 2-foot section, let it sit for 10 minutes or so, and it scraped off clean, revealing.... white gel coat. It looks exactly the same, minus the drips.

That being the case, I wonder why the guy painted it?

Either way, the test was successful! Will do the whole boat in sections, as I have time.

Not trying to impress anyone. But I WAS impressed with this thread:

McKee 14' Restoration

I got this boat for cheap, so why not put in a couple hundred bucks plus some labor and enjoy a nice, economical boat for the back river, that doesn't look like crap?

-TH

Edited August 6, 2009 by thill

[Mike F]

Guys,

I went the Easy-Off route, and it works like butter! Sprayed about a 2-foot section, let it sit for 10 minutes or so, and it scraped off clean, revealing.... white gel coat. It looks exactly the same, minus the drips.

That being the case, I wonder why the guy painted it?

Either way, the test was successful! Will do the whole boat in sections, as I have time.

Not trying to impress anyone. But I WAS impressed with this thread:

McKee 14' Restoration

I got this boat for cheap, so why not put in a couple hundred bucks plus some labor and enjoy a nice, economical boat for the back river, that doesn't look like crap?

-TH

Well said. Any pics of the finished project?

[thill]

Mike,

I really just started. But it is moving along quickly.

I put about 2 hours into sanding the boat, and got it smooth. Blew it with compressed air and started to roll paint. Keeping a wet edge, it went really fast. It's amazing how nice it looks.

Then today, I masked off the waterline, and applied fresh bottom paint. At this point, the outside of the hull is mostly done, besides under the bunks.

Now, I've got to strip the interior, sand it down and paint the topsides and floor. Then I plan to move the side console forward. I thought about adding a center console, but the side console leaves lots of great fishing space. I'm going to add a cooler as a bench seat, and she will be ready for another engine.

Here is the pic of the exterior work as of today:

-TH