Projects from Hell & Paintshaver Pro

[Tim Ford]

Recently, my beloved esposa decided she (read: we) needed to re-finish three pieces of 50s/60s furniture that her parents acquired back around that time.

They are from the Paul McCobb "Planner" series and apparently they are collectibles and worth quite a bit. Problem is, they have layers and layers of paint on them -- all that stuff needed to go. So we sanded. And sanded. And peeled paint by other means. The good news is, except for a short punch list, this one is ready for shellac and/or lacquer.

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The bad news is: there are two more much larger pieces. And on top of that, we have 400 - 500 square feet of paint-covered floor upstairs to go after soon.

As things work out, coincidentally, after a weekend of sanding last weekend, on Sunday evening I opened up a newly arrived "Woodenboat Magazine." In the tool review section, there's a article on the PaintShaver Pro device. The review is very favorable. So much so that I wished to hell I'd known about the device two weeks ago. But such is life....

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My question is: Have any of you Scantlingers ever used one of these? Or have any alternatives in mind? They aren't cheap but I suspect they are well worth the price.

The Paul McCobb thing in the image above took more work than doing a complete strip, barrier coat and bottom paint job on the Catalina 27 I owned 20 years ago. I figure the Paintshaver will be worth the $800 - $900 bucks. We'll need the 8 amp model because yes, there will be the occasional nail. The upside is my kid in NH is doing one clapboard wall of their house a season, and they have many exterior walls. This could convert progress to two or three per summer.

The upstairs floors will be the biggest challenge....this is after 20 minutes of sanding with 36 grit. Many layers of paint, varnish and god knows what all else they used in 1913. The two planks at the bottom are from the 2002 addition, the three above those are from the 36 grit work-out. I need a beer....

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[Slick470]

I have not used one, but came across them when researching my "dreaded bottom job". If I recall correctly they have a marine version that I was very close to buying. The company has been around for awhile so that says something I think.. I also think you may be able to rent them.

[Tim Ford]

Not only that , but the company is located just a stoner's throw from the homes of two or three of our favorite folks associated with a certain BBY Alden 48 custom sailing yatch, in good old Cranston RI.

Thanks for the thought about renting one, had not considered that. We may have too much to do though, plus the clapboard sprawl up in NH.

One thing about the system is it seems to have MUCH a better dust mitigation system.

In dust, we trust.

[Olaf Hart]

What is the issue with a heat gun and sharp scraper?

[Tim Ford]

Nothing except it's painfully slow and somewhat inefficient on the side of a house or side of a boat or 500 square feet of rough flooring. Unless you are dealing with a thick layer of polymer paint with poor adhesion on a very flat surface, it doesn't work as well as I'd like.

I was thinking maybe power planer but those don't allow you to get right up along a side.

[Olaf Hart]

Now you are retired you have the rest of your life....

[Anomaly]

Not only that , but the company is located just a stoner's throw from the homes of two or three of our favorite folks associated with a certain BBY Alden 48 custom sailing yatch, in good old Cranston RI.

I miss the 60s...

[TheOffice]

I’ll be in Cranston in a couple weeks to see the family.

The company is around the corner from my favorite Italian restaruant - Marchetti's

[Slick470]

Not only that , but the company is located just a stoner's throw from the homes of two or three of our favorite folks associated with a certain BBY Alden 48 custom sailing yatch, in good old Cranston RI.

Of course that sounds like a good trip up to visit the factory when things are finally back to normal....

[Tim Ford]

I’ll be in Cranston in a couple weeks to see the family.

The company is around the corner from my favorite Italian restaruant - Marchetti's

One thing there is no shortage of in Cranston = eye-talian eateries. They should rename the town Cranstano or Cranstipaglia.

[TheOffice]

I’ll be in Cranston in a couple weeks to see the family.

The company is around the corner from my favorite Italian restaruant - Marchetti's

One thing there is no shortage of in Cranston = eye-talian eateries. They should rename the town Cranstano or Cranstipaglia.

RI is also the Dunkin Donuts capital, with 1 store per 1,000 residents.

[Ken Heaton (Salazar)]

For the Paul McCobb furniture, I expect they are covered with veneer? If so, your suggested PaintShaver Pro device likely can't be set shallow enough to not go through the veneer, at least not in places.

[Tim Ford]

Thanks for the warning, Ken. Oddly enough, the only veneer we've seen is in the sliding panels of the credenza, and those have been somewhat carefully sanded down with just two, fairly manageable, tear-outs. The rest is solid maple.

I think the real gains will be with the random-width pine flooring.

Slick, I looked at the MarineShaver Pro....god I wish I'd had one for two barrier coat jobs, back in the day!

[kdh]

I’ll be in Cranston in a couple weeks to see the family.

The company is around the corner from my favorite Italian restaruant - Marchetti's

One thing there is no shortage of in Cranston = eye-talian eateries. They should rename the town Cranstano or Cranstipaglia.

RI is also the Dunkin Donuts capital, with 1 store per 1,000 residents.

Can't have enough of the Dunk. The joke about giving directions to the Dunk: "It's across the street from the Dunk."

[Tim Ford]

I think the same joke applies to Starchuck's in NoVa! or at least....it used to.

[LarryHoward]

Thanks for the warning, Ken. Oddly enough, the only veneer we've seen is in the sliding panels of the credenza, and those have been somewhat carefully sanded down with just two, fairly manageable, tear-outs. The rest is solid maple.

I think the real gains will be with the random-width pine flooring.

Slick, I looked at the MarineShaver Pro....god I wish I'd had one for two barrier coat jobs, back in the day!

Hmmm. Can it take off bottom paint without significantly harming the barrier coat? I'm due to strip back back to the tie coat over the barrier this next winter. This costs less than a starch blast but I'd have to "drive" it. Tim. Buy one so I can borrow it to try out....

[Slick470]

Larry, if I recall correctly, it has a pretty precise depth setting so you could in theory only remove paint. I assume the thicker the paint layer, the easier it would be.

I really considered one of these when I thought that I would really only need to remove the gelcoat. Once I realized that I would need to go a bit deeper, I went ahead and hired a "bottom guy" with a peeler. That said, the "bottom guy" ended up costing about the same as one of these cost... almost.

[LarryHoward]

Larry, if I recall correctly, it has a pretty precise depth setting so you could in theory only remove paint. I assume the thicker the paint layer, the easier it would be.

I really considered one of these when I thought that I would really only need to remove the gelcoat. Once I realized that I would need to go a bit deeper, I went ahead and hired a "bottom guy" with a peeler. That said, the "bottom guy" ended up costing about the same as one of these cost... almost.

I managed to do it two ways 10-12 years ago. Starch blast to remove all the old paint (close to 20 years worth) that exposed some seriously hydrolyzed resin. Hit it with a moisture meter and the news was pretty bad. Brought in a peeler for 2 deep passes and then had the hull relaminated with cloth , veil cloth and epoxy followed by fairing. (yes, it was expensive). Now I just have paint build up but blasting is sometimes iffy. It does have the advantage of being easy to use. Just hand over the Visa.

[Tim Ford]

When I did my catty leaner 27 I used PEEL-AWAY. It works very well, but you have to be patient with it and wear thick gloves. I removed a couple of fingernails, completely, by being slightly less than careful with it.

[LarryHoward]

When I did my catty leaner 27 I used PEEL-AWAY. It works very well, but you have to be patient with it and wear thick gloves. I removed a couple of fingernails, completely, by being slightly less than careful with it.

I used peel away on a previous winter of 97-98. Worked ok but messy as hell. Post use rinse turned the yard blue. Probably drag a big fine if I did that these days.