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Boat paint removal and preparation


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As a traditional boat owner for nearly 10 years we found one of the most difficult and time consuming taskes was boat paint preparation. 

4 years ago, Our boat cost the best part of £6,000 to be stripped to bare metal and repainted. 

One of the major contributors to the costs was labour and how time consuming the paint removal was, this took over 2 weeks and still it wasn't done to my fussy standards. 

I found areas around screws and such you could only get in so close, same as getting into tight areas even with with special tools, it was almost impossible.

and I wanted perfection, as I was paying top dollar. 

Sadly because some of the original paint was left and surface preparation could have been better, we feel the boat will require more work as it's starting to show signs of rust and paint flaking, where the substrate had not been correctly keyed to take the new paint. 

So I may well have come up with a plan to produce a perfect paint preparation application that is eco friendly , dust free, and completely mobile, I can strip my complete boat in less than three days, and I mean complete, down to bare metal in all the nooks and crannies as well.

The system was initially created for my Gate business in my workshop but I may make it mobile to take on my boat restoration again this year.

the benefits I can see are substantially reducing the prep time, speeding up turnaround of boat being painted by the company, ensuring a complete and proper strip to bare metal, and leaving a good key for new paint to adhere too .

but most importantly having my boat back in the water up to two weeks quicker than the last time.

i would be happy to advise/help on anything to do with paint surface preparation.

if I can save time, it must be a good thing?

getting my wife to agree is another..

 

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Sounds interesting and on a boat that has been repainted many times or has areas such as scabby decks, scabby chequerplate or bits in the welldeck where cobwebs have been painted over and other such sins then back to metal would be useful. Personally though for the rest of the topsides I've always found that getting the thing flat is enough and it saves starting again with primer and then the brush marks in the primer show through the undercoat and the brush marks in the undercoat show through .... etc. etc. If you find yourself in France then I have some areas of painted over cobwebs that really need attention. Good luck anyway and of course you know where the fussiest boat painters are - in the Netherlands.

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6 hours ago, H.C.Astell & Co said:

As a traditional boat owner for nearly 10 years we found one of the most difficult and time consuming taskes was boat paint preparation. 

4 years ago, Our boat cost the best part of £6,000 to be stripped to bare metal and repainted. 

 

 

 

so you found one of the most difficult and time consuming task(e)s was boat paint preparation.

Did you do it? No

Around screws and difficult corners missed, your fussy standards, almost impossible , but you requiring perfection. £6k.....

2 weeks preparation...

It sounds like you didn't do your homework and listened to budget over standard? 

Having screws left in means you are cutting longevity off the finish, was this your choice or the boat painters.?? Everything should be removed back to basic hull structure, if you have said paint round bulls-eye, windows, lamp stand, pigeon box etc, this will negate the overall paint job, even if you think there is negligible rust there when job commissioned.

 It also sounds like you were sitting on the workers which may well have pi$$sed off the final finish.

By all means come up with something that assists preparation, but consider the restrictions of boat docks, some wet, some dry, some boats on hard standing, some customers wanting windows leaving in, some taking out, some people wanting to liveaboard whilst paint job takes place,...etc etc....

there are lots of variables other than your personal boat painting needs and frustrations. 

 

 

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Sadly our first paint restoration was a complete disappointment. 

We have many areas leaking, that had now damaged window frames and cladding in side cabin. 

I wanted perfection as I was the paying customer, what I got was a half cocked effort. 

This has lead me to open the possibility of creating a mobile unit to help create a perfect preparation finish, in or out the water, windows in or out, live on or vacant, I think it could be doable.

Im currently off work with a virus, but will build this over the next few weeks, and show anyone who it intrigued or interested. 

It is eco friendly, it produces 92% less dust than conventional processes, can be completed on the side of the cut if required, as long as I can get close enough with truck and trailer, however there is a chance of flash rusting because of the humidity and conditions being raw metal exposed, so it is vulnerable. 

Im looking to find a anti rust inhibitor to give me 48-72 hours of work time to give a chance of coating it with a base coat or primer. 

Thanks for the replies so far. 

Edited by H.C.Astell & Co
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4 hours ago, W+T said:

Isnt the rule here ` no pics then its not true or didnt happen ` ? :)

 

Come on what is the plan you came up with then? 

I will give you some pictures of the machine build and description and process next week to look at, once im back in the workshop. 

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The trouble with metal fixings, is they expand and contract and are subject to vibration. Perhaps even with the most fastidious care in preparation areas such as around screws and windows will always allow capillary action unless the paint can expand and contract as well. How much do modern paints allow for this? Probably quite a bit perhaps the more knowledgeable will comment. I am now going to insult the many dedicated trades in the narrowboat industry!!!!! In my limited period involved with their actual construction ( my sailaway) I find the modern steel narrowboat construction and fit-out to be quite embryonic and very reliant on the small boatyard in many cases a one man managed business. They often have I`m sure a very experienced and detailed knowledge of specific parts of the industry. However they do not have the wide depth of experience and knowledge of every part. The result is they are naturally susceptible to marketing ploy and those salesmen pushing their own product -naturally ofcourse- without seeing the problem faced by the DIY boat owner. In my case the paint that was used as a primer which may or may not be compatible with the final products I may want to use. Even the development of the Smart Gauge was the result I believe of the narrowboat owner recognising and having the specific knowledge to fulfil a need.   It will change with the now rapid growth of the industry being taken seriously by the major industries with research facilities. ALL JUST MY VIEW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

t

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Let's give him a chance to show us next week as promised, my gut feeling it will be a blast and retrieve type of thing that some sand blasters use that suck back the grit as it bounces of the steel then filters it for reuse.

Neil

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I think you are at least partially correct. The narrowboat industry though is giving the customer what the want, these days its gadgets and 'Luxury' . All too often the carpet, bathroom fittings and lovely paint are what is asked for. Boats can have a much harder life than, say, a car and yet we expect the paint to stay in good or excellent nick. What we should do is think of a boat as more akin to a van, brushing along the brambles in country lanes, squeezing into too small spaces and being left out in all weathers. Professional paintwork is better but to be honest its perfectly possible to do a very good job yourself and save a lot of money. £500 buys a hell of a lot of paint and sandpaper. Personally I only used any fancy paint on the last 10 feet of the sides, everything else was kept simple and was re done as and when. The fancy stuff just got a coat of varnish every few years. I gave up painting a coach line / break line when striping tape came along and I use paint rollers for a good finish.

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15 minutes ago, Neil Smith said:

Let's give him a chance to show us next week as promised, my gut feeling it will be a blast and retrieve type of thing that some sand blasters use that suck back the grit as it bounces of the steel then filters it for reuse.

Neil

Hi Neil you are very close, however sand blasting comes with a few issues,

1- being its dust is harmful (silicosis) and requires the area to be tented off.

2- sand blasting warps panels through heat created by friction.

3- sand blasting is extremely aggressive and pits metal

my process is dustless and is encapsulated in water, we use recycled bottle glass, the panel temperature is reduced by 10 deg from ambient, and such no friction and no warping is guaranteed.

it is in fact a dustless blasting system i purchased new for stripping my customers gates, ive never used it as  its still in crates, and i have to now build it into a mobile trailer with compressor water tank etc.

i haven't got all the answers, however i would like to see if this process, is viable to use and maybe offered to others who require it some day.

i dont think its a cheap alternative, but the process is extremely good, setting a high standard and getting the perfect result i expect, if i was a paying customer.

early days yet.. 

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I have a question  . Its a genuine one . 

Why do you require perfection ? 

Are we not talking about a narrowboat as opposed to a Ferrari ? As mentioned above - its out in all weathers , there ll be knocks and dings etc . 

Even if your perception of perfection is achieved its only going to remain so for a certain period of time - not a very long one i expect . 

Also , i rather suspect that £6000 isnt going to buy perfection. Though it is indeed a sizeable sum of money to spend on making a boat look pretty it strikes me as not " top dollar "'for a full repaint . Tho ive no experience as such because ive got better things to spend my hard earnt on , i 'd expect to be looking at nearer 10k for " perfection " . 

Don t mean to appear argumentative but i would consider your wants a bit optimistic & a higher budget could possibly achieve it ?

cheers

 

 

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Crushed ice or sorbet could be blasted at the paint. A machine made out of an old freezer coupled to a vacuum cleaner to suck it out and then through  a hair dryer with its element removed to apply it. Crushed different flavoured ice lollies would be very pleasant and tasty if you kept your mouth open to catch the recocheting particles whilst working. The steelwork would keep cool too.

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52 minutes ago, chubby said:

I have a question  . Its a genuine one . 

Why do you require perfection ? 

Are we not talking about a narrowboat as opposed to a Ferrari ? As mentioned above - its out in all weathers , there ll be knocks and dings etc . 

Even if your perception of perfection is achieved its only going to remain so for a certain period of time - not a very long one i expect . 

Also , i rather suspect that £6000 isnt going to buy perfection. Though it is indeed a sizeable sum of money to spend on making a boat look pretty it strikes me as not " top dollar "'for a full repaint . Tho ive no experience as such because ive got better things to spend my hard earnt on , i 'd expect to be looking at nearer 10k for " perfection " . 

Don t mean to appear argumentative but i would consider your wants a bit optimistic & a higher budget could possibly achieve it ?

cheers

 

 

A boat will get scratches and scuffs from overhanging vegetation (unless it never leaves a marina) and the more perfect the paint finish the more terrible those marks will look. Old working boats always get admiring looks and those are usually deeply "textured" with just a rough coating of paint over the top. A better approach is to aim to make a boat look attractive rather than shiny but few people appear able to do this. The Northwich traders which are invariable painted in a primer style matt are one example of this approach. 

..............Dave

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1 hour ago, chubby said:

I have a question  . Its a genuine one . 

Why do you require perfection ? 

Are we not talking about a narrowboat as opposed to a Ferrari ? As mentioned above - its out in all weathers , there ll be knocks and dings etc . 

Even if your perception of perfection is achieved its only going to remain so for a certain period of time - not a very long one i expect . 

Also , i rather suspect that £6000 isnt going to buy perfection. Though it is indeed a sizeable sum of money to spend on making a boat look pretty it strikes me as not " top dollar "'for a full repaint . Tho ive no experience as such because ive got better things to spend my hard earnt on , i 'd expect to be looking at nearer 10k for " perfection " . 

Don t mean to appear argumentative but i would consider your wants a bit optimistic & a higher budget could possibly achieve it ?

cheers

 

 

Hi Neil

mayby I expected too much, it was my first time I had the boat repainted. 

I did actually have a few quotes and this one seemed about right, but I guess/hope you get what you pay for..

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14 minutes ago, jddevel said:

 Two comments:

1)In he classic car world that I enjoy- patina is the buzz word

2)http://millarsodablasting.com/ 

Funny you should say, my unit neighbour Adrian has a classic cortina Mk1 and has asked me to strip it, once I'm up and running, it was loaded with too much paint 20 years ago and he never done anything about it. 

It will be my test..

 

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9 hours ago, H.C.Astell & Co said:

mayby I expected too much, it was my first time I had the boat repainted. 

 

Perhaps you did, but the photos at your 'lovely boat' link certainly show how a paint job can make a world of difference - your boat in the 'before' certainly scrubbed up well for the 'after' photos!  You've seen it close up and have spotted all of the imperfections, but to the casual onlooker she looks great.

Anyway, I for one look forward to the next installment of your idea when you return to work. Good luck with the venture.

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6 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Perhaps you did, but the photos at your 'lovely boat' link certainly show how a paint job can make a world of difference - your boat in the 'before' certainly scrubbed up well for the 'after' photos!  You've seen it close up and have spotted all of the imperfections, but to the casual onlooker she looks great.

Anyway, I for one look forward to the next installment of your idea when you return to work. Good luck with the venture.

Thank you for your genuine post. 

Yes agreed it did look great, but it was only after time that the issues started to show themselves, then I started to realise why. 

Anyhow, I'm going to start by doing my rear deck and front deck at some point this year, and I will show photos and video of the process and outcome. 

Im no painter, so I may well get someone professional  in to do that part properly. 

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