OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

Need some help. Well as I had stated I just bought a nice 1984 23 foot sceptre. In the process of peeling away the 6 coates of bottom paint we just discovered blitering on the waterlines on the port side. We are still peeling away the the bottom paint on the hull but thus far I have been able to feel some blistering down there too! I was just going to stip the layers of bottom paint down and give it a nice new fresh thick layer but what do I do now? Any help is great help....

Thanks everyone.

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

Some pictures showing the severity of the blistering may help in making recommendations. Dink

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

I will definately get some online tomorrow. The blisters aren't that large, about 1/4 inch to 1/2 an inch in diameter, but there are a lot. Looks like a teenager during puberty. They don't pertrude that much but are obvious in sight and touch. They are hard too, not watery as I expected.

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

If they are not to deep you could probably sand them out then epoxy barrier coat over them.

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

Thanks Bryan,

My father in law said the same thing after he saw it. I think I am going to hit it with some Interlux Epoxy, then some Interlux Micron bottom paint. The guy who had the boat had it constantly sitting in the water for 2 years.

Thanks,
Tommy

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

Tommy

The epoxy will run unless you thicken it with something. West System makes a collidial silica in a 1 quart can that will do the trick. Mix it with the epoxy until it has a peanut better consistency then trowel in on. you'll need to clean up the holes a bit first with something to remove any loose getcoat and then wipe with acetone before applying.
Good luck. Dink

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

When I said barier coat, I meant applying to the whole bottom after stripping, then you can apply your CSC or Micron. I have done that on more than a few older boats and the system works out great. If you are stripping the entire bottom it just makes sense to coat the whole thing. This is the product I used. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/prod...20002001GL.JPG

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

Don't you have to let them dry (after you open them up with a grinder) before you apply anything?

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

I would be careful using paint strippers not spec made for the marine industry. I used a so-called fiberglass safe stripper on bottom paint and noticed small pox mark like blisters and think they were caused by the stripper-PF

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

You should open each of these with a grinder and let them dry out completely,heatlamps will help with this,otherwise the epoxy will be a short term bandaid.best of luck
Alan

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

I agree you should grind them out. Ive had some big blisters on another boat where I drilled them out and they drained smelly water. Ive encountered others that seem to be like what you describe and they may just be a result of air void. Grind them out and verify that they are dry. Next when you know its dry, thicken up some west system with collidal silica and trowel it on with a spackle knife.

If these are deep and large youll need to add some fiberglass cloth first though. You really need to post some pics and describe them better, indicate dampness, etc.

After the hull is stripped and repaired correctly then definitely do the interprotect system. I always do that in your situation; why not you have a clean bottom to start with! I usually use less than the manufacturer recommends, say three coats and you can usually do all three in one day with decent weather.

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

You know that is more along the lines of what I am getting. I am using a marine stripper but I am now wondering if what my boat has might be a result of the stripper. The blisters are not soft, and fluid filled. They don't really pertrude to much from the boat and are only really evident visually on the port side water line and a few on the transom. On the hull I can only slightly feel them but aren't visually obvious. I will be posting pictures tomorrow for everyone to evaluate and help me out.

I want to thank you all for your insight, I really appreciate it.

Just want to get this done and get that boat in the water and fishing.

Take care,
Tommy

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

I remember from an episode on ShipshapeTV the exact same problem he tackled on a Bertram 31. The blisters were small, hard and fluid filled (smelly). He actually stripped the whole gelcoat off the bottom and then ground open all the blisters that were still closed. Then they had to let the hull sit for a while while the blisters dried out before sealing them and re-gelcoating the bottom. Apparently, no matter what you do, it's a long, tedious process. :(

Re: OH NO!!! BLISTERS
 

I wound up power washing most of the bottom paint off and just sanded the rest off. A lot of the paint was loose and flaking anyway. I didn't want to take a chance to do any damage to the hull if it was caused by the stripper.-PF