New floor but no carpet

[pete s]

I am going to be putting a new deck in my boat this spring and want the carpet to go away with the old floor. I would like to gel coat the floor but have a few questions. What is the best way to texture the floor? What gel coat do you recommend? What is the best way to apply it? I have a quality spray gun but for base clear, will this work if the gel coat is thinned out?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: New floor but no carpet

You don't want to spray it, rolling works much better. You can use sand or various other types of grit to create the amount of grip you want, fine sand makes a great surface, but if you ever need to remove it, the sand makes it hard to do. You can normally find different types of grit at the hardware store.

 

[drewpster]

Re: New floor but no carpet

I used CSM as the last layer of fiberglass on my deck then rolled gelcoat over it. The rough texture of the strands in the CSM works well as non-skid and it does'nt look bad. One thing I have never liked about really aggressive non-skid is that it is difficult to keep clean.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: New floor but no carpet

I am going to be putting a new deck in my boat this spring and want the carpet to go away with the old floor. I would like to gel coat the floor but have a few questions. What is the best way to texture the floor? What gel coat do you recommend? What is the best way to apply it? I have a quality spray gun but for base clear, will this work if the gel coat is thinned out?

Hello Pete..

First off..that Quality spray gun DO NOT use lol..dont want to chance kicking gel off in a good gun ( also the fluid nozzle and needle could probably shoot thinned out gel..but its way too small to shoot SAND through it ! ).

Second.. Use ONLY Grip-tex nonskid particles ( http://www.awlgrip.com/Product Datasheets/4078+A+eng+A4.pdf ) .. NOT sand. They have a variety of grits ( fine up to extra cource ). Sand will show when used over a period of time.

I like to use a 50/50 mix of fine and coarse. When mixing with a paint stick if you tip the stick at 45 deg and let the paint drain off the stick it will show how much and kinda what patern you have On the paint stick..adjust as needed for your taste..

Now your prep. You have to base color your deck Before you apply the non-skid ( spray or roll does not matter ). You Must have a prepped surface color before the application of the skid..if you "burn through" your base here and there..you have/should spot coat and reprep those areas before application.

Basically the way I do it is get the glassing done..then softpad/DA sand the glass smooth...then roll or spray the gel base color. Then I Prep the gel with 180 grit ( Its All one base color at this point and prepped ) wipe with acetone and then mix and roll/spray the Nonskid Gel/mix over that.

I personally think spraying turns out Alot better because you can shoot inconsistant spots here and there and even the pattern up.

Also..mix your Nonskid/gel mix with 25-30 % Patch Aid..not wax.. ( There are different forms of Patch Aid/booster available .. but I like CCP Patch Aid 970X900 ) .

Prep is Key before anything in your nonskid app ..

YD.

 

[pete s]

Re: New floor but no carpet

Thanks for the info guys!! Would my best bet be to just glass the joints on the plywood or glass the entire floor sand smooth and then gel coat? As soon as I start I will post some pics.