Does anyone have any thoughts or expericne on removing antifouling paint from the bottom of the hulls. Before I got my Prindle 18 someone painted the bottom three inches of the hulls with black antifouling paint. Doesn't look to great and wondering if it is slowing me down. Would like to clean up the boat prior to starting this season. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Scott
Prindle 18
Annapolis, Maryland

--
Scott
ARC 21
Prindle 18
Annapolis, Maryland
--

I've never tried to remove it completely on my mono hulls but it seems like the only way to do it is mechanically (sandpaper,) since chemical strippers would be unsafe on the fiberglass and you don't want to remove the gel coat underneath. A lot is going to depend on how much of the anti-fouling they applied but I would probably start with 120 grit on a 5" or 6" random orbit sander, if you don't have one, a regular oscillating sander will work also. As you sand through and start to reveal the gel coat that hopefully is still there your going to want to switch over to a finer grit, something like 320grit will work great to help you remove smaller areas that are still remaining and even out the hull surface with out greater risk of sanding through. Gel coat is generally sprayed on pretty thick so you can sand quite a bit before you get to the glass. Once all of the anti-fouling is gone you'll want to wet sand the hulls with some 800grit then buff the hulls (rent a good right angle buffer if you have to, your arms will thank you!) with an abrasive rubbing compound. 3M makes some great products for this process so hit up a automotive refinishing supplier and they'll make sure you get every thing you need. Lastly once those hulls are beautiful and gleaming don't wast your time with wax. It's just a medium for crap to stick to and a freshly POLISHED hull is faster any day. Hope it turns out well and good luck.

--
Jeremy Hales
1974 SOLCAT 18
Salem, OR
--

I used the scotch brite scrubbing pad and it took it right off of my P-18. Like yours, it was black anti-fouling paint that looked pretty bad. It doesnt take much pressure at all, just a steady supply of water.

http://store.applebazaar.…ponge-420-/prod_619.html

Something like this