New to me JC Tritoon has 3 coats of bottom paint that needs to come off. I’m looking for the most efficient way to accomplish this. Thanx in advance for your suggestions.
Ouch, tough stuff to get all the way off for sure espicially if it’s a hard bottom paint. If it’s a semi sloughing/softer bottom paint can try pressure washing really good first, then green scrubbers, lots of em with water, very messy job. If it’s a hard bottom paint then serious solvent scrubbing and sanding will be needed and you will end up sanding the gel coat on the bottom a bit as well, which isn’t the best thing. Best bet if it’s hard paint would be to scrub with scrubbers/lightly sand, then repaint.
Altho the most “efficient” way in my book would be to take it to Chris at Charleston Marine and let him deal with it, will know it’s done right as well too.
Side note: Bottom paint contains Cuprous Oxide, which is a heavy metal and will absorb into your skin and into your bloodstream and eventually reside for the rest of your life in your liver which they can still detect 15 years after the last boat you cleaned and painted! (have cleaned and painted a LOT of em before).
Russ B.
Psalm 55:22
Thanks Russ. I have the same issue with my “new-to-me” Sea-Pro. But my bottom paint is sloughing already and any time I touch it I get a green mess on my hand. I’ll try the pressure wash for sure. Worst case scenario, I would like to return the bottom to clean gelcoat. Is it possible to remove it up to the gelcoat without damaging the gelcoat?
21’ Sea-Pro CC
Yamaha 150
2008 Dodge Ram Mega-Cab 4x4 6.7 Cummins
Thanx, Russ. It’s an aluminum hull, so the gel coat is not an issue. My initial thoughts were to use a respirator and DA sander or maybe a chemical stripper and scraper. I worry that a chemical stripper will etch the aluminum. I’ll try to give Chris a call.
If it’s sloughing paint a VERY good pressure washing and scrubbing with green scrubber pads or similar(they have em with a handle)should remove all of it without damaging the gelcoat, plan on a messy full day tho.
On the aluminum hull it’s a tin based paint rather then copper(or should be). I allways steered away from aluminum hulls so I don’t really have a lot of experience in removing tin paint from them, Chris V. should know more bout it tho.
Just please don’t take it to a certain dealer on Hwy 17 that happens to sell Gradys. They messed up the paint on my buddies boat so bad it aint even funny. They used a real soft sloughing paint designed for slow moving sailboats kept in the water on his 21 GW that he pulls onto a jet dock, the jet dock wore off all the paint where it slides on to it in the first few times putting it on it, now the jet dock is covered with paint residue and whenever you touch the boat you get blu on you.
And was VERY pricey paint job to boot!
Russ B.
Psalm 55:22