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My 18 Outrage has old peeling red (possibly lead based) bottom paint along with a few barnacles. I have called several boat dealers/marinas locally and no one paints inhouse, that work is farmed out. The local Whaler dealer reccomended someone who said he bead blasts off paint - he specifically said this was NOT sandblasting, which I know from reading this site is a cardinal sin. But- what about bead blasting?
Thanks and I love this site!

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Bead and media blasting can be done but it does leave a very rough surface. Look for a place that does soda blasting and you will be much happier as you will have less sanding and finishing to do after the hull is blasted.

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plastic media blasting is how some facilities blast the paint off of helicopters. We never use it on fiberglass or composets and on some of the UH-1N type acft which are really old, areas in the skins that had been puttied smooth are exactly what Jeff said, so rough the entire area has to be redone.

Duf

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So I gather bead blasting is a bad idea. Is this for all fiberglass or is this Whaler specific? If I can't find a soda blaster what are my other options? (chemical removers, scraping, ect.)
I REALLY want to have this done professionally, this is one project I do not want to tackle at home!

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What kind of surface are you expecting once you have the paint removed? If you are expecting a nice slick as glass smooth bottom, you might not get your hopes up too high on that one. If your going to bottom paint it again, then you might be happy with the soda blasting/chemical stripping, etc route. I have talked to a few people that have had thier bottom paint stripped off and none of them left it that way for very long because it was basically rough and dull. just food for thought. Good luck

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I am going back with paint (either blue or black).

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tcrenshaw,

Most "marine" areas have a "soda blaster" around. If you're in a coastal area, check the free papers often carried at marinas (around here it The Mariner, Proptalk, Salty Dog, The Nor'easter). They'll surely advertise there. Here in the Chesapeake area, there is also an MPC network.com "yellow pages" for boaters. There's probably a version for your area. You can check their website and order a free copy.

http://www.mpcnetwork.com/

Though I can't vouch for the safety or desireability of soda blasting, it's become so popular, there must be a reason.

Good luck with it.

Dan <--- did it the old fashioned way, on his back with sandpaper!

EDIT: hmmm. Just checked... the MPC books are free here at the marinas, but they're 9.95 if you order them online!

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thanks for the suggestion, I am in the Charlotte, NC area, but I will attempt to find someone who will do soda blasting.
Thanks again!

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I just have called about renting a Soda Blaster in SC and am going to try it this weekend on my 17 Outrage. I will let you know how it turns out.