Removing paint from a Mad river canoe.

[rider1]

Can anyone tell me what to use to remove paint off an old Mad River Teton canoe?
I bought it a few days ago for $200.00 bucks. The previous owner had painted it cammoed for duck hunting and looks really bad. I would like to restore it, if I can.
I think that it"s made of Poly. but not sure. I was told that the M.R Teton, was the forerunner of the M.R Explorer 16, if that helps.
As far as what type of paint he used, I'm not sure of. The only thing that he told me, was that he bought some can paint from the hardware store and painted it.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Alan Gage]

I've had good luck with acetone. Be sure to wear nitrile gloves and test it first on a small area to be sure it doesn't eat the canoe.

Alan

 

[Canotrouge]

I think the easiest would be to find a paint that is close to the original colour and paint over top the camo.... Anybody else have a great idea like mine

 

[yellowcanoe]

Mad River Teton was conceived of as a strength training aid. It was not the predecessor of the Explorer. It was made of Triple Tough.From what I understand "Triple Tough" in essence is polyethylene skin/foam/skin or more akin to a 'cross linked' method of building

The good news is that its not Royalex and while testing is good, acetone might not eat it.

 

[rider1]

Mad River Teton was conceived of as a strength training aid. It was not the predecessor of the Explorer. It was made of Triple Tough.From what I understand "Triple Tough" in essence is polyethylene skin/foam/skin or more akin to a 'cross linked' method of building

The good news is that its not Royalex and while testing is good, acetone might not eat it.

Thanks for info, I tried a small spot with acetone and with a little elbow grease seemed to work well.

Thanks again.

 

[wgiles]

If acetone works, you might want to try Xylene (aka Xylol) or lacquer thinner. Xylene is not as hot a solvent as acetone and may give you a longer working time. Lacquer thinner is mostly a blend of Xylene and Toluene. Toluene is hotter than Xylene. Cold weather lacquer thinner will have more Toluene, warm weather thinner will have more Xylene. Acetone evaporates so quickly that it doesn't leave much time to get the old finish off. The most universal solvent, which may not be available through retail outlets, is Methyl Ethyl Ketone. I have seen MEK in the stores around here (central Illinois). MEK will take almost anything off almost everything. It was used in thinners for catalyzed Polyurethane paints. Don't breathe too much of any of these solvents. You get silly first, then you get sick.

 

[Iskweo]

Ooooooor sand it and paint oer that crap like Canot Rouge suggested.

 

[pblanc]

I have used MEK, acetone, and Toulene although I would suggest trying Citrustrip first. I have had good luck with it. You just brush it on and it does not give off any vile fumes.

 

[rider1]

If acetone works, you might want to try Xylene (aka Xylol) or lacquer thinner. Xylene is not as hot a solvent as acetone and may give you a longer working time. Lacquer thinner is mostly a blend of Xylene and Toluene. Toluene is hotter than Xylene. Cold weather lacquer thinner will have more Toluene, warm weather thinner will have more Xylene. Acetone evaporates so quickly that it doesn't leave much time to get the old finish off. The most universal solvent, which may not be available through retail outlets, is Methyl Ethyl Ketone. I have seen MEK in the stores around here (central Illinois). MEK will take almost anything off almost everything. It was used in thinners for catalyzed Polyurethane paints. Don't breathe too much of any of these solvents. You get silly first, then you get sick.

Thanks for the help guys, The Xylene worked the best and working outside helps with the fumes. So that's what I'm using.

While I'm here, any thoughts on what kind of paint to use on the bottom, that will stand up to heavy use against sand bars?

 

[Canotrouge]

I had really good luck with Krylon paint for plastic lawn furniture!!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Krylon . It will scrape but can be resprayed. I use the spray cans for touching up dacron on my wood dacron boats. Lots of light coats.