Blast Stripping Boats

Regardless of how much fun a boat is, keeping it in great shape requires many hours of maintenance and care. Pressure blasting a boat is an effective way to strip the paint off of the hull in order to prepare the body for refinishing.

Boat Blasting vs. Chemical Stripping, Hand Scraping or Other Boat Stripping Methods

More traditional and time-consuming methods for boat stripping include chemicals, acids and a lot of scraping. Not only is this environmental damaging, it was hard work and often resulted in cramped hands, stiff backs and contaminated water around the area.

Using a portable pressure blasting system will alleviate all of these problems and leave the boat’s hull cleaner and completely prepared for fiberglass boat refinishing and repair. Blast-stripping boats dramatically reduces the time needed for refinishing, thus giving you more fun time to use your boat.

How to Blast the Hull of Your Boat

You should have the following items on hand prior to starting your boat blasting project:

1. Portable Pressure Blaster
2. Blasting media
3. Gloves, goggles, mask and protective clothing
4. The boat dry docked or on shore

You will need a good quality pressure blaster, preferably with a 45 - 60 minute blasting time. The Kramer PPB Model KF150DM is ideal for saving time and labor as well as easily removing scale, dirt, debris and old paint.

The blasting media to be used will depend upon a few factors:

1. The composition of the boat’s hull
2. The amount of build up on the hull
3. Whether you used your boat in fresh or salt water

Although most boats are made of fiberglass, there are a few wood boats still being used and these gorgeous wooden wonders, which are quite sought after by collectors, do require a softer media for blasting. If you hull is wood, you should only use walnut shell grit and if the hull is fiberglass, you can use Plastic Abrasives or Walnut Shell Grit. Both media types come in an array of particle sizes designed for various removal requirements. Choose the media carefully to achieve the desired surface finish and preparation.

You will want to use broad, smooth strokes are you are using the blasting system on the boat. Do not leave the nozzle on any single spot, otherwise you will blast through the hull and create a repair problem. Always start from the top of the boat hull and work your way down, back and forth across from bow to stern.

Once you are done blasting the hull of your boat, you should now have a smooth, clean surface to refinish. Boat blasting will not only save you time, expense and labor; it will add years to the life span of your vessel.