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Ok, so there I am on Sunday sanding away by hand thinking "there must be a better way". So, what do you all do to remove old varnish, clean greying timbers and ready it for a new coat of varnish or oil?

I've thought of getting an 18volt Ryobi detail sander, or even using a small generator to run the 240volt sander. Any other suggestions?

Oh, this is to be done on the mooring, not on a work berth with 240v power.

Michael,

Evening Mike,

I have been looking at an inverter but don't really know enough about them.
Like what wattage or how much battery power is needed.

I have and use a 12 volt drill and a 12 volt vaccunm cleaner.
All else is done by hand!

Phillip
SEAKA

Michael

My boat has been a floating bunnings for quite some time.. ive found that using a battery powered sander is a good option, we got a combo pack (sander , jigsaw, drill, torch) from aldi for <$100 with two battery packs that has served us well

no point in spending big bucks if its going to live onboard as the salt will kill anything in a short period of time (ours is still going strong after 12months!)

dan

Hi Michael,
It's a daunting task, but between beers the job is not too bad!, & the rewards are satisfying.

The foam type sanding blocks are very good to get to areas the machines can not, also for a light sanding between coats which is essential to remove fine timber burrs.
Ive become a fan of hydrochloric acid , which instantly turns greying timber to beautifully new timber, but obviously its very dangerous stuff, will damage some plastics too, use sparingly & a good job for a rainy day. Not sure how it goes removing old varnish??

Is it possible to re-charge the cordless battery packs from the 12v cigarette lighter plug on the boats?

cheers
Shaun

Hi Shawn,
was wondering about the details of using this stuff. It was used on the topsides when i went in for an antifoul and they came up beautifully. But how and where can you use it otherwise - the dilutions, hazards etc
Thanks,Olly

Thanks for all the replies,

I ended up going to Bunnings, I bought a Corner Cat sander for $62, two more 18volt batteries for $98 and the requisite assorted paper. I now have 4 18volt batteries because I have the cordless drill as well. When testing the sander, it actually works better than the Ozito (chinese for elcheapo) detail sander I bought a year ago.

I like the idea of hydrochloric, but not the idea of spilling it. I'm a clumsy ass these days. So I used some nice teak cleaner with a brush and will now sand with power. \

Once I have a play on the boat tomorrow I'll update with photos of before and after if I get the chance.

Now, a 12 volt vacuum cleaner, there's an idea!

Michael.