How do you clean a bilge before paint?

[akintosyali]

I am thinking about painting my bilge (with bilgekote). Today I spent the whole day scrubbing the bilge with a heavy duty degreaser. All is working ok, but there are places I cant reach or see, like under the oil pan, under the water intake hose etc. How can I make sure I can get those areas cleaned?

[Will]

Try wrapping a rag soaked with minieral spirits or odorless paint thinner anound a long handled brush to reach the hard places. Be sure to have plenty of ventilation.
Will

[rsmith]

I'd never paint my bilge again. I did everything but steam clean mine and 2 years later was digging potato chips of pealing paint mixed with oil and muck out of the limber holes. I dont think its possible to get the oil out thats soaked into the glass.

[yachtsmanbill]

The trick to that is to use ALKYD enamel. Thats what we used for painting steam cleaned BIG equipment. Its hot enough that it burns into oil soaked substrate. Smells good too! WHEW!!! ws






The loong brush is a life saver!!

[bostonhatteras]

wash it SEVERAL TIMES with the degreaser. being liberal with the degreaser and the RINSING. check with interlux and see if you may incorporate a small amount of acetone or M.E.K. as a thinner/reducer, this will help the paint to etch into existing surfaces. i did just the same thing as you are doing now and i have had no delamination problems for 4-5 years. i used white as i like a clean appearing engine room. also didnt bother with interlux products...too expensive for what it is, just used an industrial alkyd suitable for floors that was chemical resistant. a california paints product available at any good paint store wash wash wash and do a minimum of three coats, drying thoroughly with fans between coats, but not so much that the new coat wont chemically bond to it

[akintosyali]

Bill,
where did you get the steamer? did you rent it? Where did you get the Alkyd Enamel -HD? Did you clean the surface with mineral spirits or acetone before application?

[akintosyali]

Also,
Has anyone tried using epoxy resin with gray pigment to cover the bilge? Wouldn't it stick and wear much better than any paint?

[yachtsmanbill]

Cut the holes for the drains first. Hook up the shorepower and water and scrub the crap outa the bilge with HOT water and Dawn with a good hose nozzle. Use a stiff long handled brush. Do it 4-5 times and rinse well. Let it dry for a few days. Meanwhile, go to Sherwin-Williams at
172nd and Torrence for some real paint. Tell them what you need to do.
FWIW... we steam cleaned the equipment at work. It would be a royal mess on your boat. An $89 cheapo pressure washer will help also. The Alkyd paint will let you cheat a little bit. Google PPG for a distributor also. I got mine for free from work! ws

http://www.ppg.com/coatings/truefini...s/default.aspx

[luckydave215]

Tide laundry detergent, hot water, and elbow grease. No noxious/flammable fumes, and it degreases well enough for oil based enamel to stick tenaciously. If you insist on painting out your engine room with Awlgrip, you need more extensive solvent procedures and mucho sanding. Have fun with that.
I refuse to be raped for Bilgecoat, I use ordinary Rustoleum oil base industrial enamel. It wears well enough, sticks great on oily surfaces, and it's cheap.
A rep at a paint retailer once told me Billgecoat is relabeled Rustoleum anyway. Who knows, it might be true.

[krush]

I use ordinary Rustoleum oil base industrial enamel.

You answered the question I was going to ask...why not just used inexpensive oil based rustoleum?