Practical Boat Owner - July 2018

(^1)
The safest way to remove
antifouling is to use a stripper such
as Dilunette Gel that
removes many layers
of antifouling in one
go and does not
affect the gelcoat.
3
The instructions say to leave the gel
for between 15 minutes and two
hours. However, I have found you can
leave it for several weeks where the
antifouling is thick. The results can be
seen here (above)
in the bubbled
and crusted
antifouling, which
then still scrapes
off relatively
easily (right).
1
Removal of the antifouling didn’t reveal any more problems than we’d already found
so it was time to grind off the gelcoat using an angle grinder with a coarse sanding
disk. The dust generated makes it essential to wear full face protection and a respirator.
(^2)
Before final sanding, the surface
was washed down with fresh water
to remove contaminants and prevent
these being ground into the surface. For
final sanding use either an orbital sander
or dual action type as seen here.
(^2)
Gloves (even a torn one!) and protective clothing are essential as chemical
strippers will strip skin as well as antifouling. The gel is applied by stippling onto
the surface in a thick layer using a synthetic bristle brush. It can even be spread on
using a spatula where the antifouling layer is particularly thick.
(^4)
Now that
the
antifouling is
softened it can
be scraped off
easily to leave
the gelcoat
undamaged. To
avoid damaging
the gelcoat layer
unnecessarily a
piece of timber
makes an ideal
scraper. It’s wise
to still wear
gloves when
working with the
stripper-
softened
antifouling.
EPOXY SHEATH A HULL
Stripping antifouling
Grinding back gelcoat
FYI
Dual action sanders
were designed for car
body repair to follow and
smooth contours rather
than try to completely
flatten them.