The most common use of Soda Blasting within the Marine sector is for the removal of marine growth and anti – fouling  paint from the hull bottom. In the past, the options  were limited to abrasive media blasting  using the likes of sand or glass bead or mechanical methods such as scraping and/or sanding. Sanding the hull is the most destructive process and damage to the gel coat is very hard to avoid. A damaged gel coat can allow water in between it and the fibreglass resulting in possible blisters, fractures and delamination of the gel coat. Should a blister break while immersed, it allows for greater water intrusion into the fibreglass laminate and perpetrates the blistering process to deeper levels.
Most boat bottoms have never been completely stripped because it is costly and very labour intensive using conventional methods. The end result is that the boat ends up with multiple layers of anti – foulant which may well be covering blisters which are affecting the integrity of the hull. Boat operational performance is reduced due to the roughness of the hull surface and the added weight of water that has wicked into the fibreglass.
Eco – Xl provides a mobile service for boat owners to safely remove some or all of the hull paint as required, along with all surface contamination including oil, chlorides, bilge and marine growth, preparing the hull for repainting  or repair.  Any blisters can be removed and the area feathered for repair, quickly and efficiently.

Soda Blasting is environmentally friendly, a major concern for repair yards and marinas.  Eco – Xl makes sure that every care is taken not to affect the immediate surroundings by installing plastic tenting around the boat, performing the Soda Blasting and then wrapping up the paint and other residue for disposal.

For those who have recently purchased a second hand vessel, removal of all the anti – fouling paint will show exactly what state the hull is in, revealing voids, improperly patched holes and blisters.

	Remove single or multiple layers of paint
	Remove Oil, bilge and marine growth
	Detects, removes and prepares for blister repair
	Does not damage Gel Coat
	Environmentally Friendly
	Very fast and cost effective

We got a call the other day to have a look at a leisure boat (left) that had a bit of a problem. It seems that a steel boat moored alongside was having some repair work carried out an an angle grinder was being used. Over the course of the job, metal filings had covered the boat pictured and had then rusted. No amount of mechanical scrubbing or rust removing chemicals would remove the damage. Looking down at the boat from the harbour side, it look wrecked!
However, we took the job in hand and blasted with pure Soda at 35p.s.i
It was a great job to do as the result was so impressive - and the owner so happy!

Below are a few of the boats we have Soda Blasted over the last few months

 Steel Hulls

 Fibreglass Hulls

 Aluminium Hulls

 And Wooden Hulls, can all be safely Blast Cleaned

Other methods of Blast Cleaning can be too severe for some boats !!!