# Stripping Paint off Gelcoat.....without damage.



## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Forgot to add, the paint has been sitting on the boat for about 2 yrs, not sure if that makes a difference.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

A big pile of sanding discs. Mechanical removal is best as any stripper that will remove awlgrip will most likely harm gel.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Some guys use easy off oven cleaner to remove bottom paint. Search it up on the old googleweb.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Ok. Found some stuff called back to nature Multi-Strip. Works awesome and doesn't hurt the gel coat. 
View attachment 2059

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View attachment 2062


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Score!

That's cool, whatever works.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

Hope you find an easy solution. If you have some free time away from your project, can you elaborate on what went wrong with the awlgrip - if you happen to know?

I have plans to work with awlgrip over gelcoat in the near future, and in the meantime I'm stock piling as many success and failure stories as possible.

Thanks


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Whiskey Angler said:


> Hope you find an easy solution. If you have some free time away from your project, can you elaborate on what went wrong with the awlgrip - if you happen to know?
> 
> I have plans to work with awlgrip over gelcoat in the near future, and in the meantime I'm stock piling as many success and failure stories as possible.
> 
> Thanks


This stripper is working great kind of expensive but most strippers are...Sorry I'm not sure what failed, I'm not the one who painted it. I am assuming that he didn't get the mix right or used an incompatible thinner. I can say I wouldn't wish uncured paint removal on anyone. The outside of the boat has awlgrip sides and VC Performance on the bottom, which both turned out fine. 

The boat is an 82' Mako 224 had it for about 3 years, it's about 75% restored. Slowly pecking away at the restore again after being away for work for quite a while. Mostly cosmetic stuff and a bit of wiring left, everything below the rubrail is done.
LH


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

LowHydrogen said:


> This stripper is working great kind of expensive but most strippers are...Sorry I'm not sure what failed, I'm not the one who painted it. I am assuming that he didn't get the mix right or used an incompatible thinner. I can say I wouldn't wish uncured paint removal on anyone. The outside of the boat has awlgrip sides and VC Performance on the bottom, which both turned out fine.
> 
> The boat is an 82' Mako 224 had it for about 3 years, it's about 75% restored. Slowly pecking away at the restore again after being away for work for quite a while. Mostly cosmetic stuff and a bit of wiring left, everything below the rubrail is done.
> LH


Understood. Thanks for sharing what you can and good
luck!


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