Removing Bedding Material

[hriehl1]

Hinterhoeller HR28 Refurb, I'm posting many discrete questions, hope that is OK. I want to keep the questions and topics explicit.

I removed all deck hardware today. The photo shows bedding material (kinda soft, like bathroom tub/tile sealer) that I need to remove. Is there a solvent that will soften it to make removal easier? A putty knife on smooth gelcoat is OK, but removing from non-skid seems to need some help. I can use a SS wire brush, but softening it first might be helpful.

Thoughts?

Many Thanks

[Rachel]

Does it seem like :shudder: silicone?

[hriehl1]

I really don't know... but it does feel like bathroon tub+tile sealant I've used on home repair jobs.

Curious... what if it is silicone?

[Rachel]

Then things get nasty. (Try searching "silicone" here and you will see what I mean.) Basically, it is not only hard to remove, but it leaves a seemingly life-long, invisible oil residue behind that confounds future attempts to paint or get anything to stick to it. Just to make it more annoying, it does not seal very well. Mean stuff. It would be good to know if that is what you are dealing with before you start. Is it kind of .... "shiny-rubbery"?

[hriehl1]

Shiney-Rubbery? I'd say yes. When I remove it on a smooth gelcoat surface with a putty knife, it gets most but not all (see photo). What remains can almost be "rolled off" like rubber cement, but not nearly as easy as rubber cement.

If it is silicone (which I'm guessing it is), can anything soften it without harming gelcoat (like Paint Thinner, Acetone, etc.)?

[Tim]

Silicone is pure evil.

[Hirilondë]

What remains can almost be "rolled off" like rubber cement, but not nearly as easy as rubber cement.

Almost is the key word, and this is very typical of how silicone behaves. I know of no solvent that is of any value in removing the stuff. This is one of the primary reasons to hate the evil goop. There are some good arguments for using it for glazing plastics (I still won't use it there unless specified by the customer), but it has absolutely no business being used any where else on a boat.

When I encounter it I go through a painful and tedious procedure of physically removing it. Scraper, wire brush, rolling it with my fingers and eventually sanding. There is still no guarantee of getting it all. It seems to work into gel coat, wood and many other materials. All I can suggest is to take your time and at least make sure to get all physical evidence of the stuff removed.

[Quetzalsailor]

Ditto w/Tim and Jack.

However, that second picture with the cracking is a stanchion base(?). The leverage on one of those things is quite substantial, a mechanical advantage of, maybe, 12:1 (24" stanchion, 2" bolt circle). I'd be sorely tempted to repair those cracks and add a substantial backing plate underneath. Repair means remove the cracked materials and replace 'em with epoxy/'glass and a finish of paint (if you're painting the deck) or gelcoat (if you're not). 'Backing plate' variously means a pat of epoxy/'glass, a bit of store-bought glass (McMaster Carr) epoxied on, a square of aluminum bedded on.

If you did not wish to repair the cracks or mess with appearance, then definitely glue on a chunk of 'glass from underneath to obviate further damage. Perhaps you could make nicely-finished subbases and epoxy them on from the top, say 1" larger in diameter and 1/4" thick, to structurally repair and conceal the cracks; still add the backing plates, though.

[Rachel]

Silicone is pure evil.

I guess I only needed four words ;^)

[hriehl1]

Yes... I will Dremel and fair the worst cracks and many other gelcoat chips.

I will also install backing plates on all major stress items that did not already have them. I bought a 2' x 5' heavy gage plate of SS (I think from a commercial kitchen counter) for $15 from a local metal recycler from which I can make backing plates to my heart's content... but it is a bear to cut, smooth-the-edges and drill. I expect to go through a few cutting wheels on my rip-saw.