Non-Skid Gelcoat Repair (non-seacraft boats)

[Bigshrimpin]

http://www.epoxyworks.com/22/nonskid.html

[optiguy]

Wow, looks great in pictures, but why don't they show the finished repair. OK, I am done being a dick. These type of molds have been around for years. I have tried various ones over the years and have only had medicore results. The list of reasons they are a pain to use are;
the nonskid cannot be worn down,
the routed out area must darn near perfect in depth, taping off the surround area so you get good clean up in near impossible as the tape only sticks to the peaks and the gelcoat leaks in the valleys,
the amount of gelcoat you use has to be near exact or you end up with voids or a hugh mess and last matching the gelcoat that is weathered is very diffucult. I will admit that they can do a fair job on a new boat with a small divot in the nonskid but large areas never seem to come out very good.
Bill

[FELLOW-SHIP]

Great response Noankbill
FellowShip

[Bigshrimpin]

Bill - That's some good info. Are these the same type of molds boat builders use to mold in the diamond and dimple shaped non-skid patterns or is there another nifty trick for that?

[Ntrain2k]

taping off the surround area so you get good clean up in near impossible as the tape only sticks to the peaks and the gelcoat leaks in the valleys, the amount of gelcoat you use has to be near exact or you end up with voids or a hugh mess and last matching the gelcoat that is weathered is very diffucult. I will admit that they can do a fair job on a new boat with a small divot in the nonskid but large areas never seem to come out very good.
Bill

Taping does only really stick to the tops of the non skid pattern, but the wax that you apply before you router out the area prevents the gelcoat from sticking in the valleys.
With practice, it is possible to make an almost invisible repair, though you are correct that the color matching is a pita, even with aged gel matched to a color chip from the orgional boat.There is always a slight color difference.

[Ntrain2k]

Bill - That's some good info. Are these the same type of molds boat builders use to mold in the diamond and dimple shaped non-skid patterns or is there another nifty trick for that?

I can tell you that Makos and Seacrafts use the Gibco patterns.

[Bigshrimpin]

N2 - is the molded pattern part of the liner mold or is the pattern added after the liner has been removed from the mold?

[Ntrain2k]

N2 - is the molded pattern part of the liner mold or is the pattern added after the liner has been removed from the mold?

It is a part of the mold.