How can I remove old paint without damaging the gel coat?

Ive always thought my 89 Hobie had original gel coat on it but I have just found that it is in fact painted. If I wanted to go back to the original gel coat, is there a way to remove the old paint without harming the gel coat? If so how?

The real answer is no. If the boat was prepped before it was painted, the original gel coat was sanded. You may have enough to sand off the paint and polish out the old underlying gel coat but don't count on it. Getting the paint out of the non-skid is also not possible. Usually with a boat this old, it is best to either live with what you have or buy a newer boat. Save the time and effort and the money you will spend on new paint, new wires, replacement everything, and just look for a newer used boat. All of this, unless you are a project person. I would rather spend my time sailing.

Hmmmm.....Well I am kind of a project person but now I am wondering if I should just sand it down and apply paint to it instead.

I see a can of worms about to be opened...

You need to test a small area to see what kind of paint the previous owner laid down to see if it reacts adversely to what ever type of thinner you think you may be using. It'd be my luck someone used cheap enamel...hopefully, this won't be the case with you.

Good luck!

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TC

Man, I kind of agree with Hammond. You don't really know how it was prepped or what it was painted with. Try some chemical paint remover and see what happens if you want a project.

Send us pics to post, so we can put them in a "Paint a Hobie" topic.

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What kind of chemical paint remover? Ive used aircraft stripper on cars but its always been such a mess I wish I just sanded it down instead. That also sounds a little intense for fiberglass.

It's either chemical or mechanical removal. I'd try a small patch with the stripper and a plastic scraper. If it's epoxy or something like AwlGrip the only way is mechanical pretty much anyway, so I'd try the easy way first. Just do a test patch and see what happens. Cured gel is tough stuff.

Or... you could just sail it.

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I do just sail it! Or try to at least, the last few times I have spent more time upside down breaking things then actually sailing! So the aircraft stripper is safe for fiberglass? I will give it a try and report back.

I've never used aircraft stripper on a boat before. I would do it. Test patch first.

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Another thought;

I stripped an old crew-cab Dodge Power Wagon of all paint to the bare metal with the following sanding disc. It was hands down the easier than chemical, sand blasting, or sand paper. It was very gentle with the metal and actually barely affected the metal. This might also be the gentlest mechanical means to removing the paint. test on a small patch first and I would not let it heat up much.

http://www.eastwood.com/4-1-2-cleaning-stripping-disc-system.html