A fiberglass canoe washed up on a friends beach a couple years ago. He
tossed it over to one side. Since no one has claimed it, I think repairing
it will make a good project for my son this summer. He is actually eager to
do it.

It has two holes, one in the bow and one in the stern. It looks like
someone dragged it over a driveway and simply ground holes. The previous
owner patched it with what seems to be asphaltic tape. He also painted the
inside and outside.

I am planning on putting one layer of fiberglass over the holes, and then a
larger layer over the entire bottom. The construction is awfully flimsy and
can use some strengthening.

First thing is to get the paint off. I have tried simply scraping and that
gets a little off. A heat gun and scraping gets most of it off, but not
all. And I am not not sure how good a heat gun is for fiberglass.
I don't want to sand (except of course where I will be putting new
fiberglass) because the fiberglass is so thin, and I have doubts about the
safety of a chemical stripper on fiberglass; someone warned me it will
soften the resin.

So, any suggestions?