Removing old bottom paint.

[MY2SONS]

Any suggestions on removing old bottom paint. I know it's bad stuff, and shouldn't be dry sanded, and any paint removed has to be considered hazardous, but there's got to be an effective, inexpensive, and safe method for removing this paint.

[anthonyyost]

I have a Thompson boat that I removed the old antifoul paint on the bottom by using an water based paint stripper that I bought at Sherwin Williams. I put it on with a barn brush and let it set for a couple of days and then using a powerwasher, cleaned it off. The anti foul paint was on pretty heavy, so it took a few applications, but it did the trick. I tried alot of other ways that didn't work, this finally did.

[MY2SONS]

Thanks for the reply. Te stripper doesn't harm the gelcoat in any way does it?Where did you do this at? I read that if any of the paint washes off and gets on your lawn the grass will be killed for years due to the copper content.

[anthonyyost]

No the stripper doesn't harm the gelcoat, I tried other solvent based strippers but that was no good, they softened the gelcoat in the test patches. This stripper from Sherwin Williams came in a white 1 gallon pail with a green top, I can't remember the name of it but you will know it when you find it. It seems like it was about $40.00 per gallon.