Sand blasting and bottom paint 

Whenever Sam posts I get happy

We learn when you learn. Thanks for sharing. That’s why we watch. Forge ahead!

I can’t believe I watch an entire video about sandblasting a boat, but I did. The positive energy in Sam’s videos is much appreciated.

Hi Sam, Jim here, the previous owner. I think that layer you couldn’t sand blast off was a previous barrier coat. It should be referenced in the receipts. It’s just as well you couldn’t remove it. Sand blasting a bare hull pits the gel coat creating problems. I think white soda blasting is recommended.

I’ve been watching since you did your Hawaii trip and you are rad as hell. I live at 9k feet surrounded by 13000 ft peaks and the ocean is a whole different world to me. I love seeing your ingenuity, drive, and ability to withstand shit conditions. You’re like a ski bum but for sailing, something I didn’t know existed but that I love.

I’m a retired engineering inspector with a certification in applied coatings. You actually did a fantastic job!

I don't have time to read all the comments so maybe someone else has already said what I'm about to. I'm European/metric and I started out with my own 30' Colin Archer with a 5000 L/min (375 cubic inch?) compressor. It worked pretty well but I consumed a lot of "sand". I got impatient and upped the compressor to a 12000 L/min the next day when I first started out. It was a whole other story. Low consumption, less clean up and so much more efficient. The efficient blasting area is more like 2-3 inches with the appropriate nozzle rather than this 1/2 inch in the video. You'll finish a job on a boat this size in a couple of hours with enough air volume/big compressor. I have done 18+' alu RIBs - 49' Princess. This is just intended as good advice to anyone attempting to use this method. It's definitely the best. Allthough I used resirculated glass as a the blasting agent, "sand" will do just fine. You just need to have/rent the right equipment. Also try to stick with circular motions with the blast pattern and "pick up" what you didn't catch the first time around. I promise it will save you a lot of time, energy and cost. It was taught to me when I first started out. I didn't have much faith in that method but believe me...

Doing fine Sam, do not be discouraged.

You have to do the best you can for the day. It’s easy to look back and say I could have done better, but that’s not how we live out our lives. At the end of your day a confident “I did my best” will carry you all of your life. All the best as you prep for the Atlantic crossing.

Days of work summed up in 20 mins, you make it look so easy lol

I like the color choice. The Black paint job looks awesome.

Harbor Freight needs to be a sponsor. Sam over here demoing the result of multiple models with multiple materials.

Love how you learn on the go. Sharing your experience saves us time and money. Thanks for sharing.

Good job! Done that last spring to my 19 ft boat. Rented screw compressor (100€)for weekend bought same blaster(100€) as you + dosen nozzles (as nozzles wear bigger during blasting)+ 10 bags of sand/media (tried t find best media fo the job) and two water separator. Also air humidity allowed blasting only from 12:00 to 4 pm after and before that sand jammed into blaster container. After job was done I heard professional sand blaster wuold have done job for 200€.

You're making impressive progress. Congrats. That barrier coat will do fine. Everything under it is totally sealed. No way for that old paint to flake off. Many many boats have fallen while moving those stands around. Hassle and expensive for an additional stand but well worth it.

I can never get enough of sailing channels doing bottom painting. I have so much fun every time I do it on my boat. Its like Disney land when i was a child

I love your videos. Watching most of the others it’s like watching the Trueman Show. They think they are MGM so please don’t change Sam. Well done

For anyone else thinking of doing their own paint removal, a pull-style scraper can remove an unreal amount of paint very quickly. The remaining paint can then be easily and quickly removed with an orbital sander and 40 grit paper. It's labor intensive, but if you're strong it's worth it. I did 27 foot catamaran with decades worth of bottom paint on it in a day, down to the epoxy hull skin.

I don't often watch YT vids, much less all the way thru but when I do it's Sam, always Sam the Sailor Man, has to be a song there

Love your honesty in the video and how you felt about the project. The bottoms end result looks pretty good, and really, you are a sailor that actually sails a lot. Your growth issues will not be the same as others tied to dock, or on the hook for weeks or months at a time. Can not wait to see her splash again.

Great progress Sam! It is looking so awesome!

I believe you and I would get along great! I travel in boxcars and you the water. I'm in Seward Alaska now looking for exciting things to keep me going. lol Great videos

unlike pothers I love that you are taking weeks, months, whatever to clean your bottom properly. as you have probably recently remembered a proper bottom cleaning is important and refreshing:) great vid Sam!!!

Awesome content, it's amazing your humbleness and the way you explain things. Just keep content coming on a regular basis and you'll inspire millions! I'm waiting for you in Azores!

My dad was a penny pincher and did EVERYTHING on our boat growing up- except the paint. He was more than happy to shell over the money to NOT have to deal with that lol.

You're doing a helluva job...keep it up ! glad to see your crew helping out too.

Aloha Sam, I used a large squirt gun, special fiberglass paint remover and wet or dry sandpaper with a drywall extension pole! Then I captured most of the drippings, put them in plastic bottles to separate and dehydrate the water. The end result, powder and less toxins put into the eco system! Good Exercise!!!! Catalina 22. Swing Keel! Eight coats of paint is needed to keep the fiberglass dry! Fair winds and following seas!

Great learning experience on removing and painting the bottom. I feel your pain, it's satisfying when you're finished, but that job is really worth having someone else do it for you! The black looks sweet!! 💪👍

Awesome vid , paint looks great !

I think that came out really well, looks like it's gonna hold pretty good!

Nice to see you making it happen,

Sam, Thank you for your postings. I wish there were more like that posted as often. You may not know what you are doing when you start out but you sure learn fast. And I mean that as a compliment. So give us a tour of what you have done. Will you be carrying extra fuel to operate your heater? Best of luck.

Looks like buying that property was a great idea for all your projects!

Your videos are always a welcome break, no matter what you're up to. Very nice to have your own boatyard now. Too cold for me, but you are getting it done. I'm a big fan of Harbor Freight. Keep safe and keep your videos coming! The water awaits.

Well, I just spent the winter traveling to the boat 90 miles away and scraping and sanding the bottom down to the 10 year old barrier coat. I'm retired so I had "nothing" better to do but it's the last time I'll do it. I've wondered about the Harbor Freight sand blasters so it was good to see your report. Good luck with your "new" bottom. Ron

True Grit personified!

Your boat, your time! Who cares if you don't do things as others would!

I’m 3/4 of the way through scraping and sanding my bottom down to gelcoat. It is 3 times the job I assumed it would be. I was really starting to question if it was worth the effort. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

I've never found an easy solution. I've got a little 16 foot sailboat that had 40 years of bottom paint on it and in places it was close to a quarter inch thick where it would come off like potatoe chips. I used an 8 inch orbital sander and carefully went from 36 grit to 80 to finally 120 before I got to the gel coat. Time consuming? You bet. Dirty? Beyond belief. But in the end it was well worth the effort. Great job! Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see you back on the water.

Wow! inch-by-inch. I am liking your idea of let the boat yard to the bottom.

the black looks nice

Looks great!

Sam, great work! Boat is looking really sharp. Keep up the great work!

That was surprisingly interesting Sam and you clean up nicely! 👏

Happy Easter Sam

Good work ! That looked like a pain. At least now you know what you got. When you do these types of things you really are making it your own. The satisfaction in knowing you did it right will stay with you until you have to do it again. At that point you will really be able to make an experienced opinion.

"got your ears shortened" as my grandpa would say. "Nice haircut" is what I say

Great job Sam

This is usually done with baking soda instead of sand or silica because the soda will remove the paint down to the gelcoat without damaging it. But soda for blasting is several times more expensive than sand. Echoing others in saying that what was hard to remove was probably previous barrier coat. Oh well, I appreciate your willingness to try and learn and figure out what you can and can't (or prefer not to) do on future projects.

Don’t worry about osmosis on a Cape Dory! They never used the cheap resins and my ‘81 has never has any. Nor have any other CD owners we have met!

Another great video Sam, soon it will be time to splash your boat for mor adventures.

I agree Sam you should have had a boat yard do your bottom work. It would have saved a lot of time for all the top side work you still have to do. Nice job and a good learning experience you amaze me with all the stuff you take on. Haircut looks great too!

I'm glad you did this job and video. I've been looking at the options. The boatyard says $950 for a light sanding and one coat of antifouling. Or $1500 for soda blast plus $2000 for barrier coats and antifouling. I don't want to do the work myself. I've sand blasted a few vehicles. I get too stiff after doing this kind of work. I might just pay a diver to keep it clean and go no antifouling.

Sam you're doing a good job on your boat even if it is a little bit more work but if you ever get another boat you'll know exactly what you want to do to make it the way you like just be safe moving those props around the stands you don't want that boat teetering on you it's much heavier than you are so play that safe we want to be able to see you making more videos not lying in the hospital from getting crushed with your boat anyway keep up the good work Sam homes can't wait to see your next videos sailing across the Pacific God bless you be safe Ray Garrett from Roseville California United States

Never thought of sandblasting being an option to remove bottom paint! I was at a yard in SF and my neighbor for a bit was a racing boat and the yard spent weeks covering the hull in some sort of vinegar solution to remove all the paint after it had been sanded down. Either way you got it done, it looks great!

Your experience may not be perfect but it is what we love about Sam Holmes Sailing - Can Do.... Well done Sam. Pickled Herring is looking more awesome every episode. The Instagram picture of the upper portion of the hull looks great as well. Happy Easter!

Indestructible Sam ! Cheers

My Dad starting building houses young. He DID NOT know electrical work. He paid a guy to wire one of his 1st house, he watched closely and copied the work. He never hired an electrician again!

Hey, Sam! Great idea, to collect the sand an reuse! Saves some bucks and protects the environment too! 😉👍

you must have a unbelievable desire to get that boat on the ocean and sail.....i think i may have had somewhat of your desire yrs ago but have long lost it.....i sure admire you...

I totally love Sam's painting technique with that spongy brush ... haha

So helpful man! Thank you

I think you're gonna be fine with this result. If it couldn't sand blast off, then that layer is pretty well bonded to the hull, and that barrier paint will do the same to the existing. If for some reason the whole assembly fails , then you can spot treat that later. Can't wait for splash day. Good luck

nice work! I like to choose a bottom paint that contrasts the ocean color as much as possible. worst case if the boat is floating upside down it will stand out and be as visible as possible.

This video has been awesome! In the UK we have Clarke Tools which I think is the same as harbour freight as I have the same red sand blaster. I'm now motivated to use that on the hull!

I don’t like sailing, but I love this channel

I’ve had very good luck with the Totalboat products.

And as far as the two-tone discoloring I would use 2-ply of shurtape across the red paint and then once the bluest painted then tape on the blue once it's cured and then freshen up the red paint

Nice one Sam. Must feel good to get that biggie out of the way. Hopefully plain sailing from here on in! 👍😊👏⛵

There is another way - a steel brush in an angle grinder - removes all loose stuff and leaves a steel-brush polished surface ready for new paint. I do a barrier coat where necessary and then 3 coats of anti-foul, 3 different colours, and the boat goes 2 years between haul-outs. . . .

I understand looking back and knowing better Sam, but at least you learned what to look for effectively when someone else does it next time if you choose. Good video as usual. I think you’re doing a great job. I wish I could help you, but I’m in Ohio. It’d be a good learning experience for me and I’m sure it’d be nice hanging with you. 🙂

Nice mop chop!

Great job Sam! Read up on soda blasting, too. It's pricier, because you have to rent a big compressor, but it's cleaner and way faster. Also, there won't be any sand particles lodged in the hull which I read can fisheye paint.

Looks like good work to me. As long as the barrier coat is compatible with the layers of bottom paint you left it should work fine...

Super video! I applauded for CA$10.00 👏👏👏

Paint goes a long way... boat looks great

Glass is the way to go. Another benefit. It doesn't produce heat like sand products. Reduces warping on metal surfaces.

There's bigger. 3-4" hose and helmet run of 2" portable compressor trailer. The helmet blew constant out. Kept sand out but also acts as an air conditioner down in those pits we dug out around basements. You would like its aggressiveness, we blasted 2' thick tar pitch off . You can rent them like we did. -25 years commercial waterproofing.

There's a nice sandblasting attachment out there for pressure washers... They work pretty good for stripping paint and rust off metal. Not sure if they'd be the thing to use on fiberglass, but they're definitely fast and easy.

Always put an extra epoxy/barrier coat aswell as an extra coat of bottom paint to the leading edge on the keil

i've only tried this with really fine powder like fine sand etc, but you can also use a normal compressor with a hose and a T connector which has a compressor pistol on one side, the compressor on the other and a bucked of fine sand tubed into the T. The compressed air should be able to suck up the sand from the bucked and work as a home made sand blaster. Not unlike how a paint pistol works

Well, from the cameras perspective, the bottom looks really good. And if the bottom layer of paint was adhered to the hull like you said it was, your paint and antifoul should last for several years. By then, I expect you'll be in a bigger boat. Always, great content, well presented.

The only time I stripped a bottom (34' fin keel) , I used a chemical stripper (one that you cover with paper and let work for 24 hours or so). It worked fairly well - there was only minimal sanding after.

Wow, that was a ton of work. I think the line you've drawn in the sand, to get back in the water, made this a pretty tough task and added to the unpleasantness. But it looks fantastic. Now, let's sew!

I tried many methods for removing bottom paint. Fastest and most effective is s painters tool with rounded edges as not to gouge the hull. Bit hard on your hands but once you get a good rhythm going it goes fast.. not much dust, or crouched over slowly blasting.. I generally took an 8 hour day for a 27 footer. Paint next day.

This is the first video of hundreds I've seen on youtube using TotalBoat... on an actual boat.

Bro I just found you very interesting. I always wanted to sail when I was in the Navy. Best thing about you is your that type of person that always looks like you’re smiling.

Same here for Soda Blasting (sodium bicarbonate) Due to the softness of the media, you can remove coatings leaving a very smooth finish. However once you've tried it, you'll never do it yourself again.

The kids play sand from Home Depot works well you just need to sift it through a fine screen to get the tiny pebbles out. It’s only $6 for 50lb bag. No matter what you’re blasting always heavily mask up, cover your ears, and protect your eyes. I like to lay out a large tarp to catch the debris and reusable media, pin it down with screwdrivers or tent stakes, then you can sift it back into your blast pot. EZPZ! Paint dust, gel coat dust, Cilicia dust, or any fine particulate matter is harmful to your lungs no matter what it is, mask up!

Nice 👍

When the nozzle clogs/stops blasting, cover the nozzle with the palm of your hand tightly and open the valve all the way, then pop your palm off and back on a couple times. Not sure why it works or what it does, but this almost always clears blockages. During my misspent youth I spent thousands of hours behind the nozzle of quite a few blasters and this was way easier and quicker than dropping what I had and going to fiddle with the media tank.

A paint removing disk for an angle grinder would make quick work of that job.

Wood chisel works good for scraping paint

There's a port on an eastern bay and it serves, a hundred ships a day, lonely sailors pass the time away and talk about their homes. And there's a boy in this harbor town And he works layin' whiskey down They say, Sam, can you fetch another round He serves them whiskey and wine... The women sailors say, Sam you're a fine boy " (you're a fine boy) "What a good husband you would be" "Yeah, your eyes could steal a woman from the sea"

Great job. As a sometimes painter I’d suggest a short pole for attaching the roller to, less tiring on the hand, and longer, more even application. (After working as a painter it always irks me to see people rolling with just the cage in hand, sorry). BTW. I just retired and you doing exactly what I want/plan to do. First step, a cheap property with potential for boat work.

Excellent, Sam!

I think we’ll just have someone do our bottom this spring. I was thinking of doing it myself but after watching this I don’t think I will. Our slip mate got his done for $1400 total including yard stay and lift. Sounds reasonable to me 🤷‍♂️

At 9:50 I started biting my nails but Sam does it single handed to hold the camera for us 🤣

Wow Sandblasting that's a blast from the past. It was banned more than two decades ago here, other mediums are allowed but sand is banned due to the risk of silicosis

So I watched this video after a day of bottom prep on my boat. The boat was barrier coated but now has a decade of VC-17 which is now flaking. To Sams point the battery powered orbital I started with was totally insufficient. I ended up buying 2 black and decker 120V orbitals and roping in my son to help. We are about 30% done (bow and waterline ares) but the hard part of still to come. Similar to Sam, and based on the soreness of my back, I think I should have paid to have this done.