Removing peeling paint inside E38 hull

[upnorthfrank]

I've got peeling/flaking paint on certain areas of the inside of the hull. There's also areas where there's no paint, the areas that you don't see behind & under stuff-

I want to remove all the flaking paint. Scraper works to a certain extent but it's not a surface that lends itself to this method, of course-

Will chemical stripper react w/ the hull resin?!? I'm thinking no, but I'll get some second opinions here before I jump in. Thoughts?!?

I thought of a heat gun too, but afraid of melting my boat. Thoughts?!?

Also, is it necessary, or does it help at all to paint the inside hull, in terms of preservation etc.?!?

Also also, I'm thinking of maybe fairing & painting the overhead, ceiling & other areas, instead of fabric w/ zippers, wood panelling etc. It's likely more work than trim & upholstery, but I'm also wondering if this would be enough of a weight saving measure to positively affect her performance?!?

Also also also, what's the best primer/paint combo out there?!?

 

[mherrcat]

I've seen some of the same paint peeling and flaking on some interior surfaces of the hull but they are in areas that are very seldom seen by anyone but me. If you really want to clean it up I would just use a not too stiff wire brush to remove the loose stuff and vacuum. I don't think it would really be worth the effort to repaint.

 

[Emerald]

This may be as much a question as an answer, but I'm inclined to say use a soft wire brush as suggested to mechanically remove any flaking paint, with perhaps the goal of leaving it exposed except where you need it painted e.g. finished stowage. Here's why, and this isn't an answer as much as something to ponder. From here at West Systems:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/boat-repair/

is this .pdf document on gelcoat bilster repair and prevention:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/howto-pub2/Gelcoat Blisters Diagnosis Repair and Prevention.pdf

This document (see the first chapter, especially pages 7-8) talks about moisture moving through laminate and that there seems to be a correlation between blister formation and interior ventilation - the better the interior ventilation the less chance of blisters is the basic thought. When I attacked the typical small blisters several years ago on Emerald, I definitely felt there was a correlation between areas with good ventilation and a lack of blisters versus areas with poor ventilation and lots of blisters. This has led me to have the gut reaction of not painting interior spaces if not needed to allow moisture out of the laminate versus trapping it in the laminate.

So, I say the above as a thought to throw out, but I'll add that I think I'll be removing the loose paint in my anchor locker but not repainting it. Anyone else have any thoughts on this? It would seem that if we're talking older boats that you know have a good chance of already having absorbed water into the laminate from the sea side, it would make sense not to trap it in by sealing the inside.

 

[upnorthfrank]

Thanks!!!!!

I'll get right to reading here. To the best of my knowledge, the paint flaked up as a result of water on the inside (the boat has sat on the dry for years & was allowed to become a cistern, there was maybe 2' of water in her, from the stains on the bulkheads)-

The exterior seems in good shape, below the waterline is pretty clean. I managed to buy the boat out from under another party who looked her over real good & came away impressed. I also spoke w/ a surveyor who had some familiarity w/ her, same opinion. These are reasons I've no plans to address her hull 'till a future haul-out-

Well, if bare hull is good I reckon I'll cover her up w/ wood & fabric. I'm still thinking about the weight issue though, for some reason. I realize she's not an airplane, not really, but.....

 

[Loren Beach]

inside finish notes

I'm not sure when Ericson started this, but like other high-end builders in the late 70', by the 80's at some point they were coating the interior hull surfaces with an off white polyester gel coat.
Our boat was done just about everywhere a hand could reach with a brush. The resulting smooth surface restricts the adhesion of dirt and gunk and so reduces the growth of mold some.
Looks great and is easier to wipe clean, too.
When I had our cabin sole out for refinishing I found that the areas of bilge totally out of normal sight were not coated... so this was perhaps another way to impress the buyers.

Before reinstalling those sole pieces I cleaned up the surface with some 60 grit and coated it side to side with white gel coat (you have to add some surfacing wax so it will cure).

I have found their work all the way back to the end of the transom area, top, bottom, and hull sides.

Unlike a painted surface, you do not have to remove 100% of it in order to bond stuff to it later if you are epoxying things into place.

Loren

 

[erobitaille]

Like Loren I also recently replaced the cabin sol in my E-38. I cleaned, scrubbed and wire brushed every surface I could get to. The build up of black gook was pretty severe. I then painted everything with Interlux bilge paint (grey), talk about a contact high even with a resporator. Yeah it was hot and did not wear it all the time. Since then the bildges are easier to clean, don't paint the keel bolts, and the boat is much fresher. It was a lot of work but I think worth the effort.

 

[mherrcat]

I recall reading something, possibly by Maine Sail, that mentioned Interlux Bilgekote is not waterproof...

 

[erobitaille]

Interesting been down 2 years now and still looks great where you can see it. Holding up well in main bilge???? I did two heavy coats.

 

[upnorthfrank]

Bilge paint

The bilge area (entire TAFG really) is original gelcoat & it's in great shape. I'll see if there's a pic of what I've got going here. Still having some trouble w/ the camera, I need a new card-

One of the pics isn't the one I was trying for, the second one is not good but you may get an idea of the overall freshness of the TAFG gelcoat, it cleans up nice & shiny, shop vac took the algae right off!!!

The one of my shower pan from earlier post shows it fairly well too-

When I cleaned her out I found several empty aerosol cans of KILZ inside the cabin, I was kinda half thinking maybe the PO had sprayed the areas in question. But why KILZ?!?

 

[upnorthfrank]

now that I'm looking @ it

The pic on the left shows the head area. The white areas along the inside of hull are some of the areas in question here, & I was able to knock off a fair amount of it w/ a dull paint scraper. I think the wire brush will get most of the rest of it-

The pic on the right shows port side looking aft to nav station from head (if there was one). All the bulkheads you see are getting replaced. They're all solid above, flaking @ the bottom-

 

[Mort Fligelman]

Interior PAINT.....

All of the surfaces on the undersides of the cockpit locker, the lockers under the berths port and starboard were all painted on my 35-3, and a miserable dirty mess.....there was definite mold on these surfaces....

I scrapped off all that would come off with a scraper and wiped bleach on the surfaces, and after a thorough rinsing and drying I painted them with exterior gloss enamel.......

Now when ever I see dirt, or the start of mildew or mold I just sponge down the area with a damp cloth......comes out looking clean and white.....

I had painted the interior surfaces under the berths and the insides of all the lockers on my previous boat.....had it for 26 years and it always looked fresh and clean.....

FWIW