Which paint stripper ?

I'm planning to strip and then re paint my carvel planked timber hull. All paints used were single pack. The antifoul has built up over the years and is now about .5mm thick.
Topsides are International Paints "Brightside" and antifoul is International Paints Micron Extra.
Any recommendations for a paint stripper to use ?
Anyone tried this product from boatcraft.com.au in QLD .... "Lemon Peel Paint Stripper" or the Norglass Orange Peel stripper via Whitworths ?

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zilla said..
I'm planning to strip and then re paint my carvel planked timber hull. All paints used were single pack. The antifoul has built up over the years and is now about .5mm thick.
Topsides are International Paints "Brightside" and antifoul is International Paints Micron Extra.
Any recommendations for a paint stripper to use ?
Anyone tried this product from boatcraft.com.au in QLD .... "Lemon Peel Paint Stripper" or the Norglass Orange Peel stripper via Whitworths ?

I'm sure you meant 5mm not .5mm. Micron Extra is an ablative so would not be the cause of the build up. Underneath is probably some hard antifoul. Unless you have flaking paint and paint just peeling off I would not strip the paint. Underwater areas I would use coarse wet and dry and flatten the surface. Topsides I would sand smooth. Touch up with special purpose grey primer to any bare spots and then paint with your paint system of choice. Topsides may need some thickness removed. Thick paint will crack and peel eventually so experiment with different sanding techniques to find what suits you best. 7 inch 36 grit disc on a 5 inch pad works well but takes some skill!

The same 7 inch disc with straight bits cut off the edge to form points will rip down the antifoul paint too but this is dangerous to your health and other people in the vicinity so don't do that.

I went through two orbitals and a variety of grades of sandpaper over the course of a week. One day on one side of the keel and the next on the other.
Hard grind but paid off in the paint job.

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2bish said..
Did you bother trying any of the citrus strippers?

I used the Norglass Citrus strip, it wasn't bad but nowhere near as good as they claim, but then none are.
A lot depends on the kind of paint and how thick it has been slathered on as to how effective they are over what time span.
I had the best result with Soy Gel and by best I mean it seemed to work better with a larger variety of paints but still dependent on paint type and thickness. Both Soy Gel and Citrus strip don't contain any methylene chloride but there is still a caveat about leaving the mixture on gelcoat or resin too long.

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LooseChange said..

2bish said..
Did you bother trying any of the citrus strippers?

I used the Norglass Citrus strip, it wasn't bad but nowhere near as good as they claim, but then none are.
A lot depends on the kind of paint and how thick it has been slathered on as to how effective they are over what time span.
I had the best result with Soy Gel and by best I mean it seemed to work better with a larger variety of paints but still dependent on paint type and thickness. Both Soy Gel and Citrus strip don't contain any methylene chloride but there is still a caveat about leaving the mixture on gelcoat or resin too long.

Thanks, what sort of coverage did you get with the Citrus Strip? Is the soy gel available here?

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2bish said..

LooseChange said..

2bish said..
Did you bother trying any of the citrus strippers?

I used the Norglass Citrus strip, it wasn't bad but nowhere near as good as they claim, but then none are.
A lot depends on the kind of paint and how thick it has been slathered on as to how effective they are over what time span.
I had the best result with Soy Gel and by best I mean it seemed to work better with a larger variety of paints but still dependent on paint type and thickness. Both Soy Gel and Citrus strip don't contain any methylene chloride but there is still a caveat about leaving the mixture on gelcoat or resin too long.

Thanks, what sort of coverage did you get with the Citrus Strip? Is the soy gel available here?

Sorry but I can't give you any definitive coverage estimates on the Citrus Strip as I bought it as an experiment to see how well it would do on various paint types.
As for the Soy Gel, yes it is available in Australia, the place I bought mine from, no longer sells it but a good googling should be able to find it.

This is the one I have

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southace said..
Bunnings , pile it on thick and scrape off!

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southace said..
Bunnings , pile it on thick and scrape off!

I will be scrapping bottom paint for the first time this week-end...
Will the digger paint stripper + at bunnings be of any help?

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cazou34 said..


I will be scrapping bottom paint for the first time this week-end...
Will the digger paint stripper + at bunnings be of any help?

I removed all the Micron Extra a few months ago but didn't bother with any strippers, used a couple of cheap chinese mini hand planers I got of ebay for less then 10 bucks to remove it all in no time. I had to sharpen the blades a few times to complete the job but was easier then I expected.

Just tried the Anchor Paints product called "One Shot" on the recommendation of a local paint shop. It is rated as "Dangerous" so I used gloves and glasses and washed my hands, etc promptly afterwards. I did a 1m x 1.5m section, left it for about 15 minutes (30 degrees today) and scraped it off. About 50% of the paint came away and I sweated a bit with the effort. First time I've used a chemical paint stripper and I'm not very impressed but it still may be the best method. I'll apply another coat to the same section tomorrow when It's cooler and leave it for longer before I scrape it. Perhaps with some experimenting it will prove to be a good system.
Suggestions welcomed.

@NSW. Yes I'm following the instructions which also state to wash off with water (or metho). No gel coat on my timber hull.....

I haven't tried the hull under the waterline so it's unknown whether it's effective on the Micron Extra antifoul. I'm trying the product on the hull above the waterline first. Anyway, I re applied the paint stripper to the remaining paint and although it took off another coat of paint, but still not everything, I'm sure there must be a more efficient method. I'll try a heat gun and a scraper next but in the meantime does anyone have any other suggestions?
(No need to state the obvious methods of "elbow grease", "sweat", etc. I'm looking for the easy ways, if they exist, before I start punishing my elderly body.)