When Wye Invader Two was lifted out the water a few weeks ago, the hull was pressure-washed to remove the mud and river life in general that had accumulated. What soon became clear was, for whatever reason, the bitumen that had been applied 2 years ago and the touch-up that had been applied in May 2018, had not bonded properly to the lower part of the hull, the part that was below the waterline.
So I decided to remove all the bitumen below the waterline and repaint with an industrial coating to give more protection to the steel hull and then reapply the bitumen from the waterline down.
The bitumen was removed from the starboard side first, then washed down with water and left overnight to dry. The next day it was then sanded down with 60 grit discs using an angle-grinder, followed with a wire brush on the same angle-grinder. The dust was brushed off and washed with panel wipe and then 2 coats of paint applied. Weather permitting the Port side from the mid- line to the bow will be started next week.
