Removing Non-Skid...(Need Advice...)

[svpolaris]

Hi,

We have an older boat - it has those built-in little Non-Skid bumps. A few years ago the paint was flecking in our non-skid surface (and my wife wanted a different color) so we decided to paint over the non-skid with a 2-part epoxy paint (Interlux - I think). We also added some non-skid material to the paint. It worked great for about 5 years but now the Interlux is really chipping off in chunks.

I'm on a real budget this year and would like to just "strip off" the Interlux & the older remaining paint on the non-skid surface and then just paint over the little bumps.

Question: What is the best paint-stripper/method I could use to get down to my original fiberglass deck/non-skid so I could paint a thin layer of paint over it?

Thanking you in advance for any help.

Ken
svPolaris

[xsboats]

I use a heatgun on a low setting to remove paint from fiberglass. A scraper gets the bulk of it off and a wire wheel get the smaller deposits. Zip strip or other chemical paint stripper is then applied to any remaining paint in the non-skid pattern of the deck to remove it with a dental tool.

[svpolaris]

Thanks for the quick advice....

Will the wire wheel damage the little nubs?

Ken

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by svpolaris

Thanks for the quick advice....

Will the wire wheel damage the little nubs?

Ken

Yes it will, and I don't know of any stripper that will remove epoxy paint without damaging fiberglass beneath. You need to go with mechanical removal.

You may need to simply grind it all flat and start over.

[sildene]

I like epoxy paints, but didn't know you could use them as topcoats with prolonged sun exposure. Could the UV exposure be the cause of the paint breaking up, or did you coat the epoxy with something else, or was the particular epoxy meant to be a topcoat?

The type of built-in nin-skid is nice, but tricky to prepare for repainting. My thought would be to use a portable sandblaster on deck (and close all hatches to keep the sand out). Haven't used one to do this myself, but would like input from anyone about reasons why the sandblasting approach may or may not work.

Martin

[svpolaris]

Yea that's the problem...

We have a full enclosure and the areas that were painted under the enclosure are not chipping away as badly as the ones exposed to the sun.

Live and learn...."Always Check With Cruiser's Forum First" is my new motto.

Ken