Cleaning non skid

[simonpickard]

Hello all,

Today I saw a guy cleaning his non skid on deck with some JIF / CIF white cleaner and a stiff scrubbing hand brush. Seemed to do a good job and looked like new afterwards.

I'm stating to get some marks on mine which won't come off with my normal mild soap and water + soft deck brush. Just wondering if anyone else uses the same method as above, or anything else that's good for cleaning non skid?

All the best,
Simon

[JPA Cate]

Try rubbing with a rag with acetone on it. If you use abrasives, then you open the tops of the microscopic bubbles that are gelcoat, and then dirt gets in the pockets, and it's a huge pita to then keep it clean. You can use any chemical that will not damage gelcoat.

If you do use abrasive, then you might want to use some product like TSRW or PolyGlow to form a temporary seal over the abraded area. It usually needs re-applying at least once a year, or after using the abrasive, if you so that more often.

Ann

[azsailor12]

I like the StarBrite nonskid deck cleaner. It takes stains off pretty well and leaves a protective coating.

[toddedger]

I second for the "StarBrite nonskid deck cleaner". Once you try it on a white gelcoat nonskid you will be hooked for ever.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by azsailor12

I like the StarBrite nonskid deck cleaner. It takes stains off pretty well and leaves a protective coating.

This does work very well. However, Ann's comments about the cruel nature of gelcoat are both wise and correct.



I've just reconditioned my anti-skid gelcoat as there were areas that had gone too long without TLC.

I started off with the starbrite and a soft brush and it worked quite well on most of it, but there were areas (under the running rigging) which just didn't come up well.

I resolved to using a soft 3" thick round carpet brush connected to my Matika along with 3M compound. This brought back the bright clean original look. If then followed with Finesse-it, and sealed with Collite's Fleet Wax.



May seem like overkill but it just looked patchy, beige and awful.



Now I can just wash anything (inc atomic bird droppings) off with the wash-down pump! However, I am also committed to resealing it every six months or so.



Phil

[simonpickard]

Good advice, the issue I'm having is what's been mentioned. Just some 'high-use' areas are looking a bit grubby. I want to get them back to pure white like the rest of the boat. But I can see some of the nobbles that look like the gelcoat has gone.

How is this fixed?

[weavis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msnp5orA3Hk

[Cavalier]

O

Originally Posted by simonpickard

Good advice, the issue I'm having is what's been mentioned. Just some 'high-use' areas are looking a bit grubby. I want to get them back to pure white like the rest of the boat. But I can see some of the nobbles that look like the gelcoat has gone.

How is this fixed?

If not much has disappeared, I'd recommend just a thorough cleaning/compounding, dry time and then re-sealing with a good quality wax. The excess was can be removed to avoid slippage but good anti-skid profile works even when waxed/wet.

I recently repaired a section of antiskid near my companion way. The area had evidently been ripped/burned through by either a rope or a tool and the PO had resealed the surface with caulk. The end effect was a long cigar shape with no anti-skid in the gelcoat which caught your eye everytime you headed below!

What I did may be applicable to your 'missing dibbits' problem with a little pre-thought.
I bought some white playdough. I avoided the cheap stuff that sometimes has colorant in it which could bleed out of the material.
I pressed the play dough firmly onto a good section of the antiskid.ensuring that the edges of the dough were also pressed, such that I could relocate the pattern perfectly again. I have the square-based pyramid type profile to my anti-skid. I did this to make an accurate mold of the profile.
I removed the PO's caulk and cleaned the whole area with acetone. I carefully rubbed candle wax around the area of the scar but not in it (or its edges). I then prepared some gelcoat (white). I painted gelcoat into the old 'scar' to make the surface level with the base of the anti-skid. I then carefully painted the indentations in the play dough ensuring that I didn't have too much gelcoat on the mold.
I left the gelcoat a short while so that it wasn't as fluid, and then carefully applied the mold over the top of the area, ensuring the edges aligned with the pattern.
After it was set I removed the mold and sprayed on mold release as it was still a bit tacky.
Once hardened I cleaned the whole area and the excess gelcoat didn't stick to the waxed area. A tiny touch-up with an edge of sandpaper was required to blend the edges of where the gelcoat had mated.

The final step was to compound the whole area with the carpet brush, and reseal, to help blend the color of the new gelcoat (by whitening the old).

The area is barely noticeable now apart from having slightly not-perfect pyramids!



H

Hope

[Cheechako]

a strong non-eco powder laundry detergent works amazing. (Amway is real strong) So does powdered TSP (tri sodium phosphate) but there are eco problems on the water.... and don't do it with your hands unprotected!

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

I bought some white playdough.

I have made similar divot repairs by waxing up a piece of good nonskid, covering it with RTV silicon and letting it cure. When cured, you have a mold for the nonskid that is reusable and you can keep around for the next time you drop the heavy scissors on the cockpit floor…

Mark

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by colemj

I have made similar divot repairs by waxing up a piece of good nonskid, covering it with RTV silicon and letting it cure. When cured, you have a mold for the nonskid that is reusable and you can keep around for the next time you drop the heavy scissors on the cockpit floor…

Mark

+1. RTV would do it too! My original thought with the play-dough was that I'd be able to get the mold to mate better with the good anti-skid area to minimize the amount of new gelcoat floating outside of the repair area - this turned out not to be a problem.

I wish I'd gone for a firmer mold using RTV or scotch-cast, as I believe I'd have ended up with much pointier pyramids!

Speaking of gelcoat repairs -I saw a gentlemen a couple of weeks ago place a still spinning angle-grinder face down [] onto his deck next to him. Before I could shout a warning, the grinder was already propelling itself across the deck and he'd jumped up like an electrocuted cat! I never did see what damage had been caused as the toe-rail obscured my view.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

+1. RTV would do it too! My original thought with the play-dough was that I'd be able to get the mold to mate better with the good anti-skid area to minimize the amount of new gelcoat floating outside of the repair area - this turned out not to be a problem.

I wish I'd gone for a firmer mold using RTV or scotch-cast, as I believe I'd have ended up with much pointier pyramids!

Speaking of gelcoat repairs -I saw a gentlemen a couple of weeks ago place a still spinning angle-grinder face down [] onto his deck next to him. Before I could shout a warning, the grinder was already propelling itself across the deck and he'd jumped up like an electrocuted cat! I never did see what damage had been caused as the toe-rail obscured my view.

Gibco Flex Mold has pretty much every commercial skid pattern ever in stock for this. I keep a sheaf of card sized swatches on a key ring.


Non Skid Pattern Molds | Non-skid Molding Patterns | Gibco Flex-Mold


http://gibcoflexmold.com/patterns/


Once watched a fellow worker on the next dock over while taking a break. He tripped the breaker, which was at the head of the dock, with a grinder. He was grinding in the bilge of a big yacht and set the grinder on the cabin sole. I watched him walk all the way up the dock and trip the breaker, then walk half way back to the boat before hearing the grinder. He'd left the trigger locked on! Watching him do a triple take like a duck in a shooting gallery while trying to decide whether to run back to the breaker or to the grinder on the boat was priceless! It was not pretty though...

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by minaret

Gibco Flex Mold has pretty much every commercial skid pattern ever in stock for this. I keep a sheaf of card sized swatches on a key ring.


Non Skid Pattern Molds | Non-skid Molding Patterns | Gibco Flex-Mold


http://gibcoflexmold.com/patterns/


Once watched a fellow worker on the next dock over while taking a break. He tripped the breaker, which was at the head of the dock, with a grinder. He was grinding in the bilge of a big yacht and set the grinder on the cabin sole. I watched him walk all the way up the dock and trip the breaker, then walk half way back to the boat before hearing the grinder. He'd left the trigger locked on! Watching him do a triple take like a duck in a shooting gallery while trying to decide whether to run back to the breaker or to the grinder on the boat was priceless! It was not pretty though...

Thanks for this!

[Pete7]

Simon, since you are in Europe you could try traffic film remover (TFR). Used it previously to keep my rib clean and its great stuff, often re-bottled and sold for an astonishing price like this:

Rib Revive - Rib & inflatable boat tube cleaner

but Keron won't admit it.

So don't buy it from anywhere that is connected to boating:

Zenith Traffic Film Remover 2Ltr | Winter Motoring Accesories | Screwfix.com

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Traffic-Film.../dp/B001T6XJGG

Cheechato mentioned dhoby dust (laundry powder for civies) which I use during the winter especially if it's going to rain. Sprinkle a light coating across the deck and leave the boat to the wind and the rain to do the rest over time. For zero effort the results are astonishing.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

Thanks for this!

Anytime. You can use this for spot repairs, which I don't do in molded skid because pro results are impossible, or to make sheets of thin fiberglass which already have the correct skid pattern and gelcoat on one side. These are then vacuum bagged to the deck to replace an entire skid pad.



This is one reason why I have talked many owners into grinding off their molded in skid and going with Griptex instead, as part of a full paint job. Easier to maintain, possible and simple to do good repairs, looks good, much better non skid properties, etc etc.