Applying antifouling paint to your boat every year is a vital maintenance task for boat owners. Antifouling paint slowly releases biocides, which will prevent barnacles and other marine life from attaching to the boat's hull.
Unfortunately, antifouling paint is tough to remove. As a result, most boaters simply apply more antifouling paint over the old paint each year. After a few years, some of the old paint will begin to degrade, and the boat's hull will take on a pitted appearance. In addition to being visually unattractive, it also increases drag in the water — this results in slower speeds and increased fuel usage.
Once your antifouling paint gets to that point, it needs to be removed. Thankfully, boat owners have an easy and fast solution to remove old antifouling paint by hiring a dustless marine sandblasting service. To learn three reasons why it's your best alternative to remove your old layers of antifouling paint, read on.
1. Less Labor-Intensive Than Using a Scraper
One popular way to remove old antifouling paint from a boat's hull is to simply scrape it off with a long-handled razor. Scraping antifouling paint off of the hull works well for the first few layers. However, the old antifouling paint underneath typically hardens and becomes much more difficult to remove without using extreme amounts of force.
When you're hacking into your boat's hull with a long-handled razor trying to remove old antifouling paint, you run the risk of gouging your boat's gelcoat. The edges of the razor can bite into the gelcoat and create deep scratches. While these scratches can be easily filled, it simply adds more work to an already laborious process. Overall, using a scraper to remove old antifouling paint is an extremely hard job that risks damaging your boat.
2. Faster and Safer Than Using Paint Stripper
Since scraping antifouling paint off of a boat's hull takes so much effort, many boaters turn to paint stripper in order to remove old antifouling paint. There are a number of marine paint strippers on the market that won't harm a boat's gelcoat, and they're fairly effective. When applied to old antifouling paint, they'll slowly soften the paint so that it can be easily peeled off using a scraper.
Unfortunately, this process can take quite a bit of time. It often takes hours for paint stripper to soften old antifouling paint enough so that it can be easily removed, and it typically only softens a few layers at a time. You're left waiting around for the paint stripper to do its job. Worse, most paint stripping products have toxic chemicals that can burn your skin or your eyes. You need to be cautious and wear protective equipment while using them. Otherwise, you may suffer chemical burns.
3. Cleaner Than DIY Sandblasting
Marine sandblasting refers to using an air compressor to shoot fine abrasive materials at your boat's hull at very high speeds. Sand can be used, but ground glass is also a popular sandblasting material. It's easily the quickest way to remove old antifouling paint from a boat's hull since it rips through multiple layers of antifouling paint rapidly.
The downside of DIY marine sandblasting is that it's extremely messy. When your abrasive material hits the antifouling paint, both the material and small bits of paint will fly everywhere. It'll be carried downwind and can easily end covering nearby boats with sand and old antifouling paint. You may also accidentally inhale it while you're sandblasting your boat, and antifouling paint is extremely toxic.
Additionally, overzealous DIY sandblasting can easily damage your boat's hull. It destroys gelcoat just as easily as it does antifouling paint, and it can also punch holes through fiberglass. If you're not careful, your boat may require extensive repairs and a new gelcoat afterwards.
Instead, the best way to remove old antifouling paint from your boat is to hire a dustless marine sandblasting service. This is a special type of sandblasting that mixes water with the abrasive particles. When they're mixed with water, they'll combine with the bits of old antifouling paint and drop immediately to the ground. You won't have any toxic antifouling paint floating through the air. Additionally, adding water to the mix also slows down the abrasive material that's being sandblasted, which means that it's much less likely to damage your boat's gelcoat.
As you can see, hiring a professional dustless marine sandblasting service is the easiest and safest way to remove old antifouling paint from your boat's hull. You'll minimize the risk that your boat will be damaged during the removal process, you'll avoid the labor-intensive task of scraping, and you'll be able to get back to the water more quickly. If your boat has several layers of old antifouling paint that need to be removed, it's best to hire a professional.