OH NO!!! BLISTERS

[Tensho]

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.

[thedink9]

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

[Tensho]

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.

[Bryan A.]

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

[Tensho]

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

[thedink9]

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

[Bryan A.]

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.

[nestorpr]

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

[paulfurnari]

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

[Solafide]

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