Steel Boat, Non Skid, Alternatives to Expensive Rubber Sheet

[David M]

I rolled Interlux 2000 with Awlgrip coarse non-skid over an aluminum work deck. It's tough as nails and looks pretty good. You can get Interlux 2000 in a light grey or white. You can mix it if you don't want the glare of a white deck. For steel I think it would work great because the chance of it getting damaged exposing the steel to oxygen is pretty minimal since Interlux 2000 is such a tough coating. I put down three coats and drag weights, anchors, oceanographic instruments and other heavy things across it with hardly a scratch. It is also your primer and finish coat which is handy for doing touch ups.

Having a steel hull, you might want to invest in an air powered needle gun for blasting away at rust and blistered paint. If you have never used one, I think you will be surprised at how effective they are.

[vishawnath]

For you describe i got some more information about rubber products... Thanks

[chala]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Rubber particles

I have used rubber particles for the last 43 years. At first I was getting them from tyres company, removing all metal parts with a magnet. Today I get them from playground builders and I never had to pay for them. For a 37 feet boat just a cup full suffice. Protect the steel with many coats of 2 pack epoxy (Jotun jotomastic) protect the epoxy with one coat of recoatable 2 pack polyurethane (Jotun HardTop) then working in small section, using roller or spray, apply a fresh coat of polyurethane and using a modified salt or sugar dispenser, spray the rubber particles (5 to 10mm apart) on the still sticky paint. A soon that the particles stick to the paint, spray or roll new paint over the particles just enough to hold the particles captive. Some particles may stick to the roller or be blown out by the spray without creating any problem. When the job of spreading the particles is finished. Recoat the surface just enough to hold the particles firmly. Glasses balls, sand etc have the bad behavior of cracking the paint underneath them when impacted. Builder of swimming pools have antiskid particles that will not rip the skin out of your bum and are more suitable for seats and can be applied using the method described above. I prefer to use particles that are not so fine as dust.

[chala]

The following pictures show the material. The finished product depends on how good the operator is. The paint as seen is 12 years old. For a 37 footer, only one third of the rubber dispenser was used. Only areas subject to traffic needs to be treated. Where water is likely to be running the use of masking tape will create channel for the water to follow.

[chala]

Originally Posted by David M

Having a steel hull, you might want to invest in an air powered needle gun for blasting away at rust and blistered paint. If you have never used one, I think you will be surprised at how effective they are.

I would not recommend the use of a de-scaling gun (needles gun). It may be the best things after a chipping hammer but the needles have a tendency to hammer “hills” into “valleys” and in doing so do not remove the rust in the valley. They where also some health issues due to the metal composition of the needles.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by chala

I would not recommend the use of a de-scaling gun (needles gun). It may be the best things after a chipping hammer but the needles have a tendency to hammer “hills” into “valleys” and in doing so do not remove the rust in the valley. They where also some health issues due to the metal composition of the needles.

Yeah but geeze when the alternative is abrasive blasting they are WAYYYYYY better.

[chala]

Originally Posted by xymotic

Yeah but geeze when the alternative is abrasive blasting they are WAYYYYYY better.

Yes why that?

[gjordan]

There is another form of abrasive blasting that leaves things GRIT FREE!!!. DRY ICE blasting. Yes, I have seen it done in an industrial setting and it worked very well and only left the grease and rust that could be vacuumed up. It would be great for inside of a metal boat. Could even be used in an engine room without worrying about the abrasive grinding all of the moving parts up. The crushed ice crystals cut the rust/dirt/paint etc. and then evaporated into thin air. They brought in big insulated drums of crushed dry ice and used it pretty much how you would do any blasting. For cleaning up the inside of an older steel boat, it could be used in spaces that you would never want glass beads or sand flying around. I suspect it would only be available around large industrial cities, but it is something to think about.____Another 2 cents worth.____Grant.

[Jim Cate]

Re dry ice blasting: NEver heard of that before, but the lack of cleanup is attractive indeed. However, seems like great care would be required with supplied air respirators if done below decks. Place would rapidly fill with gaseous CO2...

Cheers,

Jim

[sailvayu]

I have recently started using a product called Soft Deck
Soft Deck — Welcome
You can see some of it on my boat here
Soft Deck - Blogs - Project Boat Zen - Boat and Yacht Repair and Restoration
It is about half the cost of Treadmaster and super easy to install using the PSA self adhesive that you can get on it. Talk to them about price if doing a whole deck they will work with you on better prices then listed online
So far i am loving the soft feel underfoot and it is great on bear feet and knees. Great traction as well. only problem is limited colors.

[gjordan]

Jim ,I had never heard of it before they started setting it up in a room full of machinery and employes. I was on the safety committee, and started to raise hell about sand blasting with us in the room, but the boss said, hey you should see this stuff. I was impressed , and talked to the contractor to find out what I could. He said it works almost the same as sand or grit(a little more gentle) and you get used to the amount of time by practicing , just like you would with any other abrasive. You are correct in that you could suffocate yourself pretty quick in an interior. It was as noisy as regular blasting, but we all had to wear sound protection anyway. I expect it is a pretty pricy way to remove rust, but if ruining machinery is likely, then it is a bargain. _____Grant.

[gjordan]

I just spent some time googleing dry ice blasting and found much more than I expected. What I didnt find was any mention of rust. The contractor that I talked to said it would clean it up, and some of the internet sites mentioned vessel hulls, but the word rust did not appear at all. There is a dealer about 50 miles from me, so I may talk to them about the WHAT IF I bring an old rusty Volvo/Perkins/Anemic 4 to their facility, what would it cost to clean it up?_____Grant.