mineral spirits for dewaxing
 

I am preparing to paint my sailboat and need to remove waxes and
polishes on the surface to get a good bond. All the paint suppliers
have their proprietary hull cleaners / dewaxers that are very
expensive.

Aren't these cleaners just mineral spirits or ??

Thanks,

Colin

In article .com,
says...
I am preparing to paint my sailboat and need to remove waxes and
polishes on the surface to get a good bond. All the paint suppliers
have their proprietary hull cleaners / dewaxers that are very
expensive.

Aren't these cleaners just mineral spirits or ??

Thanks,

Colin


Whether mineral spirits will work to remove the wax or not will depend
on the composition of the wax.

A wax, in the accepted sense, consists of a mixture or bees wax and
carnuba wax and possibly a softener which is usually mineral spirits or
some such petro chemical. It is easily removed with mineral spirits.

However, unless the ingredients of the listed, there is no guarantee
that the above are the only things in the "wax". Some things, silicon
for one, are especially difficult to remove from a surface and a simple
wipe down with mineral spirits will quite likely not remove such
additives.

Unfortunately, not being a food item, terms such as "wax" have no clear
definition. A manufacturer can pretty much formulate something from what
ever they feel is needed to do the job, call it "wax", and not have to
list any or all of the ingredients.

In short, unless you know exactly what is in it, it's a crap shoot as to
whether mineral spirits alone will remove the "wax".





--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods

www.heirloom-woods.net

On 13 Mar 2005 20:11:29 -0800, "grot" wrote:

I am preparing to paint my sailboat and need to remove waxes and
polishes on the surface to get a good bond. All the paint suppliers
have their proprietary hull cleaners / dewaxers that are very
expensive.

Aren't these cleaners just mineral spirits or ??

Actually, over time, the wax tends to remove itself leaving behind
deposits of dirt and encrusted grime. The problem with using any kind
of stripper is that it's going to leave a residue itself and if not
done properly, can FUBAR the paint job.

I've seen this done on hulls that don't need a lot of repair, but are
going to be repainted and it's time consuming, but simple - namely wet
sanding with 120 grit sand paper. Depending on how big the boat is, a
couple of rolls, an orbital sander and a day or so should take care of
it if your boat isn't more than 25 feet or so. Two days at the max if
it's a little larger.

It's the only real way to strip all the left over crap from years of
waxing. It's not any more work than using a stripper either.

I did this on my first Contender which had sat for a while and
garnered a ton of dirt on the hull. Worked great, only took a day for
32' of boat and believe it or not, the shine is still there after a
couple of years - I've only washed the hull every month or so.

Good luck.

Later,

Tom

An automotive parts supply house that also sells auto finishing products
will have a wax and tar remover in gallon cans that is inexpensive.

Don Dando


"grot" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am preparing to paint my sailboat and need to remove waxes and
polishes on the surface to get a good bond. All the paint suppliers
have their proprietary hull cleaners / dewaxers that are very
expensive.

Aren't these cleaners just mineral spirits or ??

Thanks,

Colin

On 13 Mar 2005 20:11:29 -0800, "grot" wrote:

I am preparing to paint my sailboat and need to remove waxes and
polishes on the surface to get a good bond. All the paint suppliers
have their proprietary hull cleaners / dewaxers that are very
expensive.

Aren't these cleaners just mineral spirits or ??

As it happens, I was with a first class glass technician this morning,
thought of this question and here is what he said.

He uses automotive wax removers and cleaners for a complete cleaning.
Mineral spirits will work, but it takes much more time and it won't
work as well as a formulated remover.

The chances of getting an incomplete cleaning without them is much
higher than without.

Sanding if the final step after a couple of runs with a cleaner.

Learn something new everyday. :)

Later,

Tom

On 13 Mar 2005 20:11:29 -0800, "grot" wrote:

I am preparing to paint my sailboat

Be sure to sand it first. I painted my 70' sloop about a year ago.