Creating Non-skid on Gel Coat Surface

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
jimh
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Creating Non-skid on Gel Coat Surface

Postby jimh » Wed Apr 29, 2020 10:43 am

In many Boston Whaler boat restorations the cockpit deck surfaces with non-skid often are sanded away. Below is a link to a presentation on YouTube that demonstrates creating new non-skid surfaces with gel coat resin. The presenter is quite chatty and you have to sit through some short interruptions for advertisements. If you have 20-minutes to spare, this may be useful and informative:

[Two] Different Types Of Gelcoat Nonskid Applications For Your Boat Project
https://youtu.be/2pmTkIl2J-0?t=108

I jumped ahead in the presentation to where the presenter actually begins to explain his method. Be warned: the presentation is frequently interrupted by advertisements; you can cancel the advertisements after a few seconds.

dtmackey
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Re: Creating Non-skid on Gel Coat Surface

Postby dtmackey » Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:49 am

Out of the two ways to create non-skid that were presented, I prefer the sand, but with Awlgrip instead of gelcoat since it provides more options if customizing.

You can add a flattening agent in the topcoats over the griptex sand mixture to "mute" the non-skid shine as done in these pics.

Image
Fig. 1.

Image
Fig. 2.
Two- toning is also easier and you can easily add accents into the paint, such as this Whaler logo.

Image
Fig. 3.

Awlgrip, Alexseal or an equivalent will provide a better tape edge and can always be recoated over time, although after 14 years, I have one that still looks good.

D-

FL21WAC
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Re: Creating Non-skid on Gel Coat Surface

Postby FL21WAC » Wed Apr 29, 2020 1:27 pm

I recently used this product and was pleased with its performance:

http://www.softsandrubber.com/
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jimh
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Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: Creating Non-skid on Gel Coat Surface

Postby jimh » Wed Apr 29, 2020 5:37 pm

FL21WAC wrote:I recently used this product and was pleased with its performance:

http://www.softsandrubber.com/


I think that is the same product that is used in the demonstration presentation I mentioned in the initial post.

DTMACKEY--your work creating non-skid surface as shown in Figures 1 and 2 looks wonderful.