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The hull’s fouling and failed coatings needed to be removed before recoating, but traditional stripping methods carry a risk of damaging the gelcoat and substrate beneath them. Any removal method chosen had to lift the unwanted material effectively while protecting the hull from the kind of damage that would create additional repair work before the new coating could be applied to the vessel.
BlastOff soda blasted the vessel to lift fouling and failed coatings from the hull without damaging the substrate underneath, a gentler method suited to protecting the gelcoat during removal. IBIX Polyfusion was then thermally fused onto the prepared surface, forming a continuous, waterproof and impact-resistant coating built for the marine environment across the treated hull area of the vessel at Westhaven Marina.
The hull received renewed protection through the IBIX Polyfusion system without damage to the substrate beneath the old coatings. Avoiding a more aggressive stripping method also meant the vessel avoided the extensive fairing work that harsher removal techniques would typically have required before recoating.
Every hull carrying fouling and failed coatings eventually needs that material stripped back before it can be recoated, but the method chosen for that removal matters as much as the coating that follows. At Westhaven Marina, the vessel’s existing coatings and marine growth had to come off without damaging the gelcoat and substrate beneath, ruling out more aggressive stripping methods that can gouge or thin the hull and create extensive fairing work before any new coating can go on.
BlastOff soda blasted the vessel to lift the fouling and failed coatings, a gentler process suited to protecting the gelcoat during removal rather than cutting into it. IBIX Polyfusion was then thermally fused onto the prepared surface, forming a continuous, waterproof and impact-resistant coating built for the marine environment across the treated hull. Choosing the right stripping method is one of the more consequential decisions in any hull recoat, since a robust steel hull may tolerate abrasive blasting while a fibreglass or gelcoat surface generally calls for a gentler approach like soda blasting to avoid substrate damage.
Boat owners and yacht managers weighing up a similar recoat should ask what their hull material can tolerate before assuming the fastest stripping method is the right one, since removal damage often costs more in repair time than a more careful method would have taken. For this vessel at Westhaven Marina, that approach meant the hull went into its new marine coating system without substrate damage or the extensive fairing that harsher removal techniques typically require. It is a useful reminder that the fastest way to strip a hull is not always the most cost-effective one once repair and fairing time is factored back into the project.
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