May 18, 2023

Verified Purchase

I have been looking into removing the bottom paint (mine was VC17 I think) in the most economical, cleanest, easiest, and without much damage to the gelcoat. I did couple of trials with other methods: 1. wiping with the paint thinner. Thinner had strong odor, and wiping required a lot of rags for small area 2. sanding small sections was a bit easier and somewhat faster, but extremely dusty. Aqua-Strip didn't require special neutralizers. Water is the neutralizer. Odor was not strong, almost undetectable when there was a bit of breeze. Application was easy - I used 4" cheap, short bristle brush to apply 1/8" and adhesion to the very bottom of the hull was great as it stuck to the surface without any drips or mess. The consistency of the stripper is like a wet bread dough. It does take a bit of practice to apply to the brush so it wouldn't roll off it right away. I was applying it in temperatures between 55-65°F so I decided not to cover it with plastic. As the stripper starts to work it becomes the color of the bottom paint and as soon I could see that it has changed the color from bright maroon to greenish color, which was the primer, it was definitely ready to be scraped off. It took about one hr for stripper to be ready to scrape off. Scraping off old paint was fast and containing it all was easy. Took it off straight to the gelcoat. Great product!

After

Before

August 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

I applied this product to some VERY thin, old bottom paint on my fiberglass center console and it barely removed any of it. I followed all directions and even applied additional coats with longer set times with very poor results. Ended up using a 3M Sotchbrite disc for paint removal followed by sanding with 120 to 400 grit using a palm sander.

June 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

Seriously, this works as advertised. Easy to use, easy to clean up, go through multiple coats. Buy it.

December 11, 2019

Verified Purchase

Doesn't work real well.of 3 gallons I received 2 were damaged the lid was off one and it was kind of curdled (didn't spread well nor work well) the second plastic pail was cracked and leaking.it needs to be better protected for transit.

March 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

In some spots it worked great but on my deck it only removed the top layer. Works great on removing bottom paint but was hard to apply. Olmost the consistency of pudding so it is hard to get a nice even coating and some what of a pain to cover in plastic. I just used very cheap painting tarps.

January 14, 2018

I used Aqua Strip on my 20 foot aquasport, let it sit over night in a heated garage set at 70 degrees. Went out in the garage in the am and used a plastic ice scrapper and removed better then 75 percent of the paint.Will do a second coat to get the rest of the bottom paint. This is a 1986 center console with all those years of bottom paint. Just ordered another gallon to finish up.

September 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

I used this product to remove many coats of bottom paint from my Lyman Runabout. I applied, waited about an hour +/- and removed all paint with a pressure washer using a 15 degree tip Excellent results without damaging the wood.

June 1, 2016

Any time you use a stripper, it's gonna be messy! Better know that going in. That said, this product worked very well. I wasn't stripping paint, but rather several layers of clear varnish and other sealers on the oak rub rails of my dory. Not easy stuff to get off. Two coats and a little sanding did the trick, though. This stuff is "gloppy," sort of like thick caramel pudding that hasn't really set up. Hard to pick up with a bristle brush, so I used a small kitchen spatula to smear the stuff on top of the rail, then used the brush to spread it around. As others have said, it needs to be warm (not always easy in an unheated garage in NH). But I picked a good couple of days when the temps got to 80+. Then, keep your spray bottle of water handy--I spritzed every 30 minutes or so. Left the first coat on for about 10 hours, the second coat for about 4 hours. Scraped most of the stuff off, then used one of those green kitchen scouring pads with lots of water to get the rest. Keep a bucket of water handy and rinse often! Then a light sanding with 220 sandpaper. In the end, I was much happier to have used the stripper instead of trying to sand everything off. With the stripper, I was able to get all the junk out of the deep pores in the oak and I was left with almost completely new wood, ready to finish. It's not painless, but it works. And I love the water clean-up and the very low odor.

August 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

Worked very well on my sailboat. 4-5 layers. Of course had to go back a second time to get the tough spots.

July 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

I used it to remove the bottom paint from my 22 footer. I applied using a plastic squishy, gave it two hour while prep the next area, came back rubbed the surface using scotch pad without removining it yet, gave it another half hour, then I washed with water assisted by a fresh scotch pad . I applied a second coat using the same procedure, and I got my bottom free from antifouling paint. Lucky for me humidity was about 98% while I used it, so it did not dried at any time. I haven't finished yet, I will buy more of it in the case I need more.