The Skipper's Blog

Ryan Dorsheimer asked:

The boat was hard docked and they bottom spayed the boat next to me. Over sprayed my entire boat! Verticals, non skid and ison glass. How do I remove over spray with cutting sealer…

Answer:

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Hi Ryan,

Ouch. I trust you are talking to “they” about covering the cost of restoring your boat. While you’re at it, find out what make and type of paint they sprayed in case you have problems removing it. Some paint is more difficult to remove than others, especially if it’s been on the boat for a while and becomes fully cured.

Recommended Procedure:

Removing Overspray on a Boat:

To get all the paint off, you’ll need to strip all the surfaces and re-protect them. I suggest that you work at one section at a time and not try to do the entire boat. Whatever you do, DO NOT use paint stripper or any harsh solvent. They can permanently damage the surfaces.

For Removing Overspray and Cleaning the vertical surfaces:

1. Wet the surface with water
2. Spray on some Boat Clean Plus onto the surface to be cleaned
3. Scrub with a Marine Power Mitt.
4. If some specks still remains, apply Boat Scrub, full strength to the mitt and scrub them away.

If the surfaces have been protected with Premium Boat Shine or VS721, the paint should release fairly easily. If the surface is not properly protected and the paint still remains, you will need to resort to wet sanding with 800 to 1,000 grit wet sandpaper and then go over that with Boat Clean Plus and Boat Scrub.

When the paint is removed, polish with Premium Boat Shine, or VS721 if salt spots are problematic.

You can also use the same process to clean the stainless steel rails, cleats etc.

For Removing Overspray and Cleaning Non Skid and horizontal surfaces:

The process will be the same as above.

1. Wet the surface with water
2. Spray on some Boat Clean Plus onto the surface to be cleaned
3. Scrub with a Marine Power Mitt.
4. If some specks still remains, apply Boat Scrub, full strength to the mitt and scrub them away.

When the paint is removed, re-apply 2 coats of Sure Step.

For Cleaning the isinglass and acrylic hatch covers and port holes or port lights:

Use a Clear View kit. If your windows are protected with
Clear View No. 2, the paint should release fairly easily.

1. Use No. 1 with a clean, soft, white cotton cloth and rub the paint away.
2. If that doesn’t get it all try rubbing with some No. 2 on a cloth. If they used a solvent based paint, the solvents in No. 2 can help release the paint.
3. When you get it all off, re-protect with Clear View No. 2.
4. Be careful not to get No. 1 on adjacent canvas. It’s difficult to remove.

For Cleaning and Protecting the Marine Canvas:

Most isinglass is set in marine canvas with zippers or snaps for holding it in place. If you have paint on the canvas, try to remove it with Fabri-Klean.

1. Wet the surface with water first,
2. Spray Fabri-Klean on and scrub with a scrub brush.
3. If that doesn’t remove the paint, you will need to have it replaced.
4. After you’ve removed the paint, you can re-waterproof the canvas with Canvas Shield.

Canvas Shield is the best fabric guard using new proprietary NANOIZED POLYMER™ technology to create a hydrophobic and oleophobic coating on Sunbrella and other marine fabrics. Just spray it onto your boat canvas. It’s clear so there is no color change and no milky appearance while maintaining the texture, feel and breathability. It is so effective that you can watch it waterproof a regular tissue paper here.

Thanks for your question,

Captain Aurora
Richard Kittar

The Skipper Recommends:

CANVAS SHIELD

BOAT CLEAN PLUS

SURE STEP

FABRI-KLEAN

MARINE POWER MITT