Molded Nonskid: how to refinish with out sanding ?

[pescaloco]

Hey Guys,

I want to refinish factory molded nonskid decking with out sanding off the non skid.

Can this be done by abrading with cleanser and a scrub brush then rolling a thin coat of Gelcoat or Gelcoat mixed 50/50 with Duratec high gloss clear ?

One of my competitors uses this method and says it works well and does not peel or release. I have some real concerns about trying it on a customers boat.

We detail boats as well as repair them and need an inexpensive way to restore the cosmetics of the nonskid.

Thank you for your comments

[michael pierzga]

If its a molded gelcoat pattern, For best results you need to put a tooth on the surface...abrade it. These Norton Rapid Strip wheels on a drill or slow speed grinder do a great job . You could also use a wire brush.

After abrading and cleaning with soap and water Ive always painted non skid molded decks with awlgrip products . To get extra non skid friction particles or suger or sand to the final coat of paint that goes over the molded non skid.
.

[pescaloco]

Thank you for the reply

I was thinking paint except that the primer needed is likely to fill the negative space in the nonskid pattern, thus loosing the profile in the nonskid.

which primer do you like (do you thin it) and do you abrade or go straight to paint

Thank you

[ondarvr]

Any gel coat will build up and hide detail more than most primers and on gel coat primers aren't really needed. Gel coat with Duratec will work, but this type of mix tends to yellow sooner than straight gel coat.

[CDK]

I spray-painted the whole non-skid deck with white 2C polyurethane 14 years ago.
No special mechanical cleaning, just the pressure cleaner and a rag with acetone, trichlorethylene or MEK. After all these years the paint is still in excellent condition, except in a few spots where ropes have worn the paint.

[pescaloco]

Thank you for your replies

Any other comments are welcome

[keysdisease]

Oxalic acid (a powder I mixed into a thin paste) works great for cleaning fiberglass, non skid in particular. It will leave you with a very clean but dull gel coat finish. For my own boat I waxed the non skid like a smooth finish and then hit it with a pressure washer to blast the residue out of the grooves. The non skid pattern was a flattened checkerboard so it lent nicely to this process.

The acid will cut all wax, including where the wash down runoff runs over, so do this first and be prepared to wak the whole thing.

Steve

[pescaloco]

Thanks Keys