Preview: Removing Paint from a Wooden Boat – Rhythm, Heat and a Scraper
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April 25, 2018
Email this Video to a FriendPride in one’s work is never more evident than here-watching Havilah Hawkins take on the task of removing paint efficiently, effectively and with the simple pleasure a doing a job well.
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22 Responses So Far to “Removing Paint from a Wooden Boat – Rhythm, Heat and a Scraper”
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David Tew says:
Excellent video, and Havilah is so relaxing to listen to!
Geoffrey Ashton says:
Thank you for this video! Timely, I was gearing up for the usual gallons of aircraft stripper and planning a week of misery to strip back the 56 year old topsides of my 50′ Lapworth. Just one day, a long one, had the job done to the envy of the boatyard (wish I could post a pic). Took a bit of time to get the cadence, but then it became an enjoyable job. Couldn’t find the recommended torch in NZ, but found a “Boar Debristler”. Looks like a weed burner. Throttled down with its wide 3″ nozzle never had a burn issue. Priming tomorrow.
Allen Sawyer says:
Thanks, OCH. Great video! Havilah Hawkins explains clearly and shows the enthusiasm for good work, a good rhythm to the work, and the sense of accomplishment to a task well done.
John Gebhardt says:
We want to get started right away on stripping out 1958 Lyman Islander but are having trouble finding a torch with a larger tip. Can anyone point us to a source for one?
Maynard Bray says:
The Greenwood propane torch sold by Amazon and Harbor Freight looks like it will work. It’s $20 at HF and $34 at Amazon.
John Gebhardt says:
Thanks Maynard. I think we might go get one and try it. Will let everyone know how it works.
Chad Brown says:
It sure is a pleasure to see immediate progress in a job, without the use of struggling to remember a user name and password!
Peter Jackson says:
Great information Havilah. Wish I’d known it when I was stripping back a 100 years of paint from our little wood cottage a few years ago. I got there but it was a horrible job – plenty of cursing instead of your meditative zen experience!
John Simlett says:
Very useful, thanks
Ahoi Mench says:
Bottom paint is a whole nuther animal. It reacts differently to heat and is
stubborn. Also, really hard to get comfortable. As one of my friends once said when I was scraping my bottom to wood all by my lonesome, “Sure know who your friends are when doing bottom work, huh Ahoi?” Yup.
Steve Stone says:
Ahoi ~ it was Havilah’s success with this method on his bottom paint that caught our attention. This method works great on bottom paint, and we might add a clip showing that, but he’d already finished the bottom when we reached him. True about the “friends” thing.
William Hammond says:
His description of what tip to use on the torch is extremely helpful. I’ve used a regular tip and it doesn’t work real well. I was always scorching the hull. Thanks for this great tip!
Julia Graves says:
Great video. Great instruction and I especially love how he loves doing it! Puts his passion in the instruction!
Max Marcatili says:
Excellent! I know it really does work – I was taught this technique when doing maintenance on an old (100+ years) steam boat. It means you can strip paint and varnish from wood without sanding away some of the wood in the process. We used an electric heat gun and that exact same kind of scraper but this propane torch looks more controllable. You don’t want to burn the timber!
Steve Stone says:
Max, you’ve just reminded me that Havilah talked about how the heat gun is far inferior to the flame of the torch for this process, but we may have left that out of the video???
Geoffrey Allan says:
Steve, with regards “inferior” then I’m assuming, broader heat with the flame, hotter and more visible (you can actually see where the flame is). Then without the heat gun warm-up time and often varying temperature, and the smaller pointed heat, you get speed-up with the flame.
Any further thoughts?
Steve Stone says:
Ya, I think you nailed the advantages Geoffrey. Perhaps not relevant for some but there’s a sensory advantage without the loud fan of the heat gun roaring for hours.
Robert Webber says:
Yes, would be great to see follow up video on fairing, priming, painting. Thanks for this one. Always look forward to OCH videos.
Steve Stone says:
Robert, here’s just what you’re looking for:
https://www.offcenterharbor.com/videos/fairing-and-painting-topsides-with-nat-bryant/
I see it’s listed in the “related videos” under this video, so be sure to check in “related videos” because you might find the scratch for your itch when finishing a video.
steve johnson says:
Steve, is that saying patent free ? ‘Finding the right scratch for your itch’.. I like that one !
MIke Hanlon says:
Would love to see a 2nd video featuring the next steps in the hull restoration process. Any sanding, patching, priming, painting.
Drew Waterbury says:
I agree with Mike Hanlon’s 2nd video request. Good stuff