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What a job! The multiple planes of the deck and the tight corners do not
make this an easy project. However, it is the most critically important aspect
of paint preparation. The heavy crazing and the poor condition of the paint
mandated total removal. All of it.

This was accomplished with a few Porter Cable 7336 DA sanders and a
whole lot of sandpaper. I foolishly (back to the learning thing) tried to do this
with belt sanders. Bad idea. They do not remove paint evenly but, despite
that deficiency, they can cut into the gelcoat and the glass with enthusiasm.
Don't try it!

Another thing that will likely not work on your decks is paint stripper. I tried
some of the environmentally friendly, "safety" stripper at West Marine.
Standard stripper will degrade the resin in fiberglass, so it's unsuitable for
fiberglass applications. The safety stripper is not only harmless to the
environment, its also harmless to whatever paint you want removed. As far
as I'm concerned, the only viable option is sanding.

This process takes awhile. For me it was exacerbated by a work schedule
that only let me get out there for an hour or two a few times a week. It took
months.

The actual process of sanding is necessarily straightforward. A few tips that
may make your job easier or more bearable are:

1. The right tool for the job! As mentioned above, it is absolutely critical to
have a good sander and one that is suitable for the scope of the job as well
as for the many curving planes of a boat's hull and deck.

2. The right sandpaper - and lots of it. The tool I used accomodated 6"
adhesive discs. The best discs available can be ordered from McMaster
Carr. One thing to avoid are cheap discs



Once I got the paint removed, I stopped sanding to do some deck repair
projects and to fair the decks smooth for paint. Next stop: painted decks.
Paint removal