Parker non skid redo

[Fishaddict]

I know it has been discussed many times, but I could not find any good write up of gel coat redo of our Parkers. I have seen people using Interlux lpu paint. I spoke to Parker yesterday and they apparently use interior gelcoat with 9oz/Qt of Awgrip coarse non skid particles. Any experience of rolling this on with a paint roller? They told me the working time is about 40 minutes with 1% catalist. Do you need 2 people working at the same time from bow down? I have 18 ft boat and very handy guy. I want to give this route a shot. Am I crazy? Please, help. :roll:

 

[warthog5]

The last I saw Awlgrip nonskid...... They make smooth, Medium & Course. The course was like ROCK's.

I use the Rustolum stuff from Lowes.

 

[Fishaddict]

Awlgrip comes in fine, coarse and extra coarse particle sizes.
I am more interested in technical part of application of gel coat with a roller. Can a DIY person do a solid fine job?
Michael

 

[Bryan 2530]

Good description in this thread if you read through it.

http://downeastboatforum.com/downeast-p ... -2031.html

 

[grouperjim]

There are a lot of different ways to do a nonskid surface on a boat. Fiberglass Coatings has stuff that works. Larry did the cabin floor of his 2520 with their stuff and it is still holding up.

On my 2006 2320, to be honest I have not seen any type of particulate in the gelcoat in the nonskid. I have on 3 occasions done some repairs (once on the roof, pulpit, and motor bracket) where I had to match the factory nonskid perfectly covering a small area maybe a ft or two square.

To me, for the model year I have the nonskid looks to be a pure gelcoat thickened type spatter. I was able to do some undetectable repairs/blending of the nonskid by shooting unthinned Parker gelcoat through a cheap disposable Prevail sprayer. The sprayer spit out small globs of gelcoat identical to what was already on the deck from the factory.

FWIW if you use something like sand in the gelcoat to give it texture then what happens is it will look good for a while until it begins to wear down a bit allowing the sand particle flake out leaving a small divot.

Here's an example of a 3 inch hole repair and re-nonskid between the cleats spitting with a Prevail.

 

[warthog5]

After a surface wear "Sand" leaves Black Dots.

 

[Fishaddict]

Jim
Your repair looks amazing!!!!! Are you talking about Prevail cheepo canisters I found for about 10 bucks/piece? I wonder how many do I need to cover my deck. I think your point about using particles is well taken. Do you think Home depot airgun can be used for this? Any experience in rolling it on?
Michael

 

[warthog5]

I'd roll it on the deck. That is my norm for nonskid.

 

[grouperjim]

If you are doing the entire deck that doesn't require blending into existing nonskid, then like Wart said, roll it on.

 

[Fishaddict]

How much time do I have let's say in 65-70F weather till gelcoat stops self leveling and becomes impossible to roll again? What nap size rollers do you recommend?
Thank you again. Michael :roll:

 

[grouperjim]

Wherever you buy the materials, they should give you a sheet of paper outlining OAT vs catalyst vs time to kick. Not all materials are the same. Tell them what you're doing and they will advise you as to the correct materials and other supplies to get it done. Some products require a wax additive and some do not. ymmv

 

[Fishaddict]

Just to update you on my repair of nonskid.

Two days ago after days of sanding, washing with acetone and taping off the borders, I rolled on about 2/3 qt of internal grade of parker gel. Mixed to 11 ml of MEKP/1qt for about 1 minute. Rolled at 63F outside with overcast skies. Started to gel in 25 min. Became tacky in an hour, but never fully cured( would not fully harden, except in the jar of roller tray. Rollers became rock hard, but with tacky surface. In my mind there are 2 possibilities for this failure 1: Not enough wax in gelcoat (Parker pours it from its big barrels to unmarked metal containers) 2: too cold ambient temperature to finish reaction between resin an styrene and styrene being volatile, evaporated first.

Now I am on day # 2 of sanding/ washing uncured gel with acetone in knee/chest position. What a nice way to kill vacation time!!
Please, advice on where my failure came from and should I just do with Interlux perfection and nonskid additive.

Mike

 

[DaleH]

Mike: Curious you 1st state 'internal' grade gelcoat ...

But also, anytime I've bought Parker gelcoat, I've either had to add wax or cover the repair area with that purple (water dissovable) masking spray gel, or cover it with plastic wrap ... to seal off the gelcoat from the air and allow it to properly cure in an anaerobic (not exposed to oxygen) environment.

 

[hammered]

When I purchased my gel coat I ordered interior and exterior gel.Exterior has no wax and is for spraying in the moulds and interior has wax for top coat inside the finished hull.I think that is way it is I don't think I mixed the two up

 

[Fishaddict]

Just finished sanding out uncured gelcoat. What i found is that after I removed covering sticky layers of gel, it was cured gel under it . It make me think that gel did not have enough wax in it. It also entirely possible that thicker areas managed to develop right conditions to cure.
I am at the crossroads now: Try another gel work ( waiting for warmer weather), 3Qt if gel left, or go Interlux road $300-400 of new expense but the weather is right. Also does antibody has any experience in Linear Polyurethane (Interlux) paints in scupper area? It is not recommended for below waterline area and scupper area is constantly exposed to water.

Please, advise. Mike

 

[Bryan 2530]

Sounds like there was no wax in it, add wax.

 

[warthog5]

I would have sprayed the whole deck with PVA then.


Let it sit overnight and then wash it off with soap & water.

 

[grouperjim]

^^^^^ what he said.

Apply the matl and get looking the way you want. Surface tackiness is normal if it is trying to kick in the presence of air. Whether the matl has wax in it or not, wait about an hour and seal it off completely from the air with PVA and let her sit. I'd let it sit for at least a couple of days and then scrub/wash it off with soapy water like Wart said. If it's still a little tacky, PVA it again and wait a couple of more days. You can do that as many times as necessary. I also like to put a heat lamp on the area to speed things up.

Here is the stuff I use...........

FWIW Parker has two types of gelcoat, The shiny stuff on the hull and the flat stuff used inside the boat. That may be what the OP is referring to when he says "internal." Also, the rule thumb for gelcoat thickness to kick properly is a minimum of the "thickness of a credit card."

 

[Fishaddict]

Yesterday we had about 70F around here and I decided to try gelcoat with Awgrip coarse nonskid sand mixture on a piece of cardboard in different thickness and patterns done by brushing. Than I sprayed it with PVA. The curing was better but it came out nowhere close to Parker non skid, it looked like 60-80 grid sand paper Lessons I learned 1) Do the deck when it is solid 75+ F, 2) May be Prevail spraying/ spitting gel is more close to Parker's surface.

 

[grouperjim]

Too bad you don't live in this area or I would show you exactly how to do it or do it for you. If you have ever done any sheetrock finish work like knock down texturing, then spitting unthinned gelcoat would be second nature. It's really hard to advise you further without being there to see what is going on.

FWIW practicing on the cardboard sounds like a good idea. If you are going to try the "spitting" method then use styrene to get the gelcoat to the desired thickness until it spits the size globs that match the existing. Remember, this method is more suited for doing smaller rather than large areas.