How to Remove Paint From a Fiberglass Boat

Fiberglass boats will often have an exterior coat of paint called gel-coat. But this prime coat is often painted over. To remove either outer layer of paint while protecting the surface of the boat requires a great deal of time and care. There are three ways to remove the outer layer of paint: mechanical, heat and chemical. The mechanical method, which uses a paint scraper or sandpaper and a sander, is the most time-consuming and labor-intensive way to remove paint, but it is also the safest and most effective for beginners.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Power sander
• Detail sander
• Sandpaper

1. Clean surface of the boat with sandpaper for the initial removal. Depending on the new finish, use a progressively finer grit sandpaper of the 80-, 120- or 220-grit level.

2. Pick a small area on the boat's side and begin using the power sander. Keep the power sander moving to prevent gouging or damaging the boat's surface. Once you finish with the first area, pick another small area and continue.

3. Work from one end of the boat to the next this way, sanding in small areas, until the entire side of the boat has been sanded. Do the same for the other side of the boat.

4. Scrape away paint in the corners of the boat with a detail sander. Be thorough but careful.

5. Smooth out any irregularities with a finishing sander once you've stripped the paint from the entire boat. Again, work in small areas from one end of the boat to the other.

6. Clean and smooth surface with sandpaper. This will even out the surface even more and make the application of paint easier.

Resources

• Do It Yourself: Marine Paint Stripping and Removal