Removal of Sand/Epoxy finish on foredeck.

[JDCAVE]

Yes. I got 36 grit pads. The problem is the grinder shaft sits proud beyond the sanding pad. Hmmm.

Still haven’t done anything yet. Just preparing.

EDIT, Wire Cup update: The heavy, stiff wire cup on an angle grinder didn’t touch it. It only started to wear down the wires.

Jim

 

[JDCAVE]

Diamond cup carefully controlled with a deft hand!

 

[Max1]

When removing old resin and epoxy/fiberglass from my project boat, I have had great success with a heat gun and a 1" or 2" scraper/spatula.
There are many variables like heat-setting, distance from the surface and time to heat, but as you work on it you will get the feel for the settings, diatance and time down to an art.

 

[Larry M]

Diamond cup carefully controlled with a deft hand!

Well done. You’re home free.

 

[kapnd]

A word of caution re bedliner products, these can be extremely difficult to remove!
If you’re dead set on using it, make super sure that compatibility and surface preparation is 100%, because if it starts coming off in patches, you’ll have to remove it all.

 

[Wildbill]

This might sound strange , but we have/had nonskid on our bow, and we placed the dog turf (plastic with drainage holes), dog pee peeled the nonskid off in sheets. Now I have to be careful when rinsing the turf as big sheets of paint go with it .

 

[Southern Boater]

On my last boat the builder put the gel coat on way too thick so it had tons of stress cracking. It was bad on the bow in the patterned nonskid. I sanded all the nonskid off the bow. Still had small stress cracks everywhere. When I used the Kiwigrip it covered them nicely. One area the gel coat was almost 1/8” thick and it was stress cracked badly. This was not an area that was going to get Kiwigrip. I ended up using a belt sander with 40 grit to take all the gel coat off down to bare glass. Then I faired the area and painted it. Looked great when I was done but it was a PITA to get done.

I was recently faced with the same issue, after weeks of grinding out stress cracks in thick gelcoat on the flybridge coaming, filling and fairing (repeat, repeat, repeat!). With the decks I applied several coats of a high build epoxy primer which filled the tiny cracks perfectly. Then the first poly top coat mixed with Intergrip, and two more topcoats over the top of the factory molded non skid and quite pleased with the results.

 

[JDCAVE]

It’s finally almost finished! Three coats 2-part epoxy primer. Kiwi Grip on today. It looks really sharp!

I think I will use Awl Craft in the channels. Anyone with experience with this product? Suggestions, advice most welcome.

 

[sean9c]

Awlcraft is spray only, no roll or brush. Use Awlgrip if you want to roll or brush

 

[JDCAVE]

Oh! Ok. Thanks for that. So Awlgrip.

Jim

 

[JDCAVE]

I’ve looked into awlgrip and it looks quite technical too. A lot of sanding with very fine grit paper. I may have to look into an easier topcoat for those channels.

Jim

 

[Bmarler]

Most 2k finishes look complicated at first, but they aren’t that bad in practice. Awlcraft can be brushed or rolled but it’s much better spraying. It’s too thin for brushing effectively and needs more coats. Can be done though if needed.
Alexseal is probably a better choice for brush/roll application. Just watch the temperature/humidity so it kicks before there’s any chance of dew.