You know the part where the project stops being fun? I hit that part today. It was one of those days where you spend all day doing a part of the project that you thought would take an hour, tops. Who would have thought that the toughest job of the whole project would be cleaning the strapping tape and it’s residue off of the deck and hull?

Anyway, I could really use some help, and I have a couple of questions. First, the scenario: I started just peeling the strapping tape off (now that the inside seam is glassed and the deck and hull are firmly joined) but it didn’t come off cleanly. I started trying to rub it out with acetone, but that didn’t work very well, then I referenced Nick’s book and he said to use paint thinner, which was slightly more effective, but still a pain in the butt. So here are my questions:

1. Is there something that works better than either paint thinner or acetone to remove the fiberglass-reinforced strapping tape?

2. Do you think I screwed anything up by using paint thinner over acetone, considering I may still do a light skim coat after the outside seam is glassed?

3. What is the best way to clean the paint thinner off of the hull (assuming it is the best way to remove the tape and residue) so I won’t have any problems with later coats of epoxy?

Thanks in advance for the help!!