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O.K. whether it's paint of varnish, there comes a point where it is just
got to come off. If it is varnish, at least you can see when the wood-to-coating
join starts to breakdown. If it's paint, you can't see when it is going
wrong until the wood is entirely saturated underneath and starts to create
bubbles of water under the varnish.
How you take the varnish off will largely depend on what it is you are
trying to take off and how well it is presently attached to the wood.
If it is really bad, lets face it, it can be just dropping off which
is a good start, but to be honest, if the varnish is that loose, you have
to be rather worried about the quality of the wood underneath, how long
has it been standing around with no protection at all. I would have a
good look and just make sure that is not going to be easier to replace
the wood entirely.
There are various ways of removing paint/varnish. You can sand it off,
scrape it off or burn it off....with chemicals or hot-air. I normally
end up using most of these methods....even on the same bit of wood. Sometimes
one thing works well and you stick with it but normally I use a bit of
each method in a process that goes something like this:
First I use a long blade-scraper or filler knife and just go around and
pull off any paint that is already loose and just waiting to fall off.
This bit is rather fun....just like pulling sun-burnt skin of the back
of you loved one (well I used to....not now of course).
Hot-air Gun
Next I use a hot-air gun and a hook scraper (like a Skarsten or other
tungsten bladed scraper) and try and pull off the majority of the paint.
This is hard work, you burn your hands, your assistants hands, your tools
(watch out for plastic handled scrapers….they melt) but as long as
you don't stop moving the gun about you won't burn the wood. When eventually
you get most of it off, it looks like you have almost got the job done,
you have a pile of old paint. (you want to be a real nerd.....weigh the
removed paint, it's kinda interesting to know how much it all weighed.
Now it looks like you have practically done it.....but in reality, although
you have moved most of the paint....your work has hardly started.
Chemical Stripper
OK, now you can use the Chemical Stripper, I have tried most but normally
come back to using Nitromors, it seems a bit easier on the wood. I either
use the Brown can if I am just stripping varnish, or the yellow can if
I am stripping paint. The yellow can is not nearly so thick, so it runs
a bit, but, it gets nicely into the cracks and seems to keep working a
bit longer. (But hey, the Red and Green cans seem to work to). Stipper
takes a while to get through the outer layer, but if you have already
used a hot-air gun to take off the majority then getting the Nitromors
to attach what is left should be easy. Even when you have already removed
most of it....you will still find that you can easily use a ton more stripper
just taking off the little niggly bits. If you want to start with the
stipper and miss out on the hot-air gun then it can be worth abrading
the surface first before you apply the stipper as this helps it get into
the varnish. Stripper can work very nicely, but do not underestimate how
much it will take. If you are going to use lots of stipper, it will certainly
be worth choosing where you buy it from with care and also buying it in
the gallon cans which, if you search around you can get for about 30-35
quid.
Sanding
Once you have got all the varnish/paint off, you will still need to give
it a good sand to clean it all up. By now the boat will look like you
have already removed all the paint/varnish....but still have some marks'n'stuff.
You are going to hate me to say this.....but in terms of time, you are
now most probably only 60% of the way through the job. That sanding goes
on and on and the bottom line is that the more you do, the easier it will
be to varnish your boat and the better it will look when it is finished.
It's an old adage, but none the less true, that the better the preparation…..the
better the finish.
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