paint shaver pro . is it worth the $

Has anyone used a paint shaver pro to remove gelcoat. It looks good but is it worth the money? $700 for everything   Farmer

Farmer, if you were going to do that for a living its probably recomendable, for one time use i dont think it would justify the cost. a good air type low rpm grinder is what we use to strip corvettes and thick paint. even if you bought rolls and rolls of 36 grit and a good DA (hutchins) it wouldnt equal the 7 beans for the shaver, plus a DA always comes in handy.   Eric

No,the tool I'm talking about is sold by American International Tool industries and is called "paint shaver pro" or "marine shaver pro" same tool, just a different use. This one uses carbide bits(3) to do the cutting.Nice tool but it is pretty expensive. I'm in the process of designing my own version with the help of a neighborhood "mechanical genious". Should be fun. Here's the web address:

http://www.paintshaver.com/marineshaver.html
They have a good video that shows the tool in use. Farmer

I just learned figured out that I could put a resin backing pad on my electric grinder and use sanding disks. A 36 grit disk chews through gelcote with a quickness. Takes a delicate touch then followup with an orbital sander (and bondo in some places). But costs about 15 bucks. I am sure the paint shaver pro is a much better way to do things.

I must say that video on the site looks like magic, at least on the flat areas. Farmer let us know how it works, and what your weekly rental rate for your good friends here at CCF will be.

That is pretty awesome. The right tool really makes a big difference. I spent an hour grinding then sanding to get a 3ft by 6ft section of my boat. You have a patent on that thing?

The tool I got the idea from is patented but it is much more refined and I'm sure works better than mine does.This one is good but I kept making grooves on the exposed fibergla$$ from the previous pa$$.You can see the head of a bolt in the lower right of the first picture that I added after I was almost done.It helped but I'd have to try something a little better if I was going to use this thing all the time. JoeinNY was right.It only works on flat or gently convex areas.I don't think it will work at all on the sides of the mustang.   Farmer

Wow, I agree, that is a scary lookin picture!
Looks like lotsa work.
BTW: what is that ugly looking white stuff along the driveway? Looks nasty as well.

john

PS to 79: See you at the ramp.

Gary we'll let you know how the water was later today, mid to upper 70's and John's new hot rod should be fun.

hey farmer 2 hours to strip..........20000 to paint   lol   eric   nice job

cool thing to do!!!....pretty neat tool

I am taking off the gel only to the waterline.The rest of the gel should clean up much nicer than I could do with my limited talent.My plan is to build coats of epoxy starting with CPES and finishing with epoxy mixed with thickeners to fair the surface.I have a friend with a spray booth who will shoot the epoxy with awlgrip or something similar. No more blisters.I will hide most of the seam under the stripe along the side.Does anyone see any problems with this plan? I am open to suggestions.   Farmer

Im not a big fan of Gel coat either, Gel coat has a purpose, it is used as a mold release when the hull is manufactured.
they make amazing products to paint boats, my first choice would be base coat clear coat,The clears nowadays have UV protecters in it and holds up well. anything that says marine on it is twice the price for the same product.
Allgrip great but so is the price, Imron is also very durable.....
anyone else?....

alot also depends what the owner wants and how he will take care of the boat over the next 10 or so years.. im with you for durability BD i would use the Imron.
For looks i would go bc/cc, that gives you the oppertunity to stripe her and clear over decals if any. remember there are cheap clears and good clears. cars hold up well in the sun as will a boat
I vote no on the gel coat

Anytime i see that word West i think get out the checkbook