Heads sole/flooring

[mikedefieslife]

In their infinite wisdom, somewhere down the line of previous owners all the interior soles were covered with self adhesive vinyl flooring. This covered all the inspection hatches.

Worse was that this surface was also laid in the heads, meaning meaning hair, dust and other residue could get stuck in the gaps between the panels.

I've completely ripped it up and sanded it down with 40 grit. Got a bit more sanding to do, but I'm now wondering how best to finish it as I'll need to order materials ahead of time.

Gel/flow coat it as is. Re-glass it then coat, or just sand it smooth and paint with an epoxy based paint. Looking for a smooth easy to clean surface with minimal fuss and effort.

I live aboard so can't really have the fumes of a polyurethane hanging about for a day or two.

[UNCIVILIZED]

One option is to glass it, then flow coat with pigmented epoxy resin. As since it's inside, UV won't harm the epoxy. And the flow coat should give you a smooth surface that's easy to clean. The one thing to add in addition to this would be some strips of skateboard nonskid tape or the stick on nonslip patches that you put in bathtubs at home. So that when it's time to give the compartment a really good cleaning, you just peel up the strips, scrub it all like crazy, & add new nonskid strips when it's dry.
This also leaves you with the choice to use paint with nonskid, either now, or later.

[mikedefieslife]

If I were to glass though it would be a poly resin no? I thought poly and epoxy don't like each other, and that expoy doesn't work with CSM.

[capngeo]

Epoxy can go over polyester, not the other way 'round.......

If you want it fair, then a filler like West 410 mixed in with epoxy; sand as required, and paint. I like the idea of skateboard stickums... never thought of that!

On every live aboard i've ever owned, I've always made a grate for the head deck, some out of teak, but lately always StarBoard

[mikedefieslife]

Never thought of a fairing compound. In which case there would be no need to re-glass, or sand much further depending on the thickness of the fairing.

Though I'd want something much cheaper than west system 410

[UNCIVILIZED]

When you flow coat (flowcoat) with resin, the resin itself IS the fairing compound. You need a fairly level surface for it to work, but the result is a smooth, tough finish. Which you can then remove the amine blush & paint it. Or indoors a pigmented resin should hold up okay, though painting it is probably preferable.

Go to the WEST System site & do a bit of studying on this technique. You can even use clear (neat) resin to coat bar tops & table tops, etc. Though there are specialty blends for this which work better than standard WEST or System Three epoxy. And the latter company's website has some good resources too.

[mikedefieslife]

Did another pass with 40 grit to remove the old grip texture and it's good now. It does want fairing as there small undulations where their are joins etc..

I already have a litre of 105, hardener, some pigment, and a metering pump.

What I don't have is filler. As you say, I'll need to look up the application. I've read of people using wheat flour, wood shavings and all sorts to thicken up for basic fairing.

[UNCIVILIZED]

There are "recipes" for various types/applications of thickened epoxy in the user guides which are free on the websites. And there's yet more info in the free book The Guegeon Brothers: On Boat Construction. It's worth testing out what you're using on some scrap materials to ensure that the stuff you're using will work out well on the project itself. And it'll give you an idea of how well things flow for flow coating, how tough various blends of thickened epoxy are to sand, etc.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

...I live aboard so can't really have the fumes of a polyurethane hanging about for a day or two...

Come on! You can't make temporary arrangements for an overnight stay?!

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

Come on! You can't make temporary arrangements for an overnight stay?!

It would be more like 3 nights. One for the primer, then two coats. My datasheet here says about 7-14 hours between coats minimum.

So that's a few hundred euros for a hotel room or find a greek girl to shack up with. I'm not impressed with either at least not this town.

[Cheechako]

I would use good paint on it. Probably 2 part poly. Close the head door, open the port, stuff towels around any gaps to eliminate fumes. It dries fast. Do you really want smooth & shiny in the head? is that a secure footing? You could easily use Kiwi Grip or deck coat I suppose.... at least where you stand.

[john61ct]

Hammock on the beach

[JPA Cate]

If you use the boat in a seaway, you do want to have non-skid on the sole in the head. It is not the place for smoothness, and slipperiness. Flo-coat, followed by non-skid polyurethane.

Ann