Exterior Restoration Work - Pale Blue Non-slip

[rohanp]

Hi all,

Brilliant response to my first post, so here with my second...

Our Corribee 21 has a fairly common pale blue non-skid/slip covering. I'd like to:
1. Replace with something white - for aesthetic reasons and also to give the boat a more uniform appearance
2. Fix up what is there.

Some of what is there is fibreglass damage, but I have a friend who can help with that. My questions are:
1. What is this stuff?
2. How do I get rid of it best?
3. Is going white sacrilege - I see a lot of the pale blue and its obviously common for a reason

Thanks,

R

 

[Concerto]

That looks like the gel coat has flaked off. It looks like an area just outboard of the handrail has already been filled. You will need to make sure there is no loose edges and then fill. My recommendation would be to use Teroson Gel Coat Filler (formerly branded Plastic Padding). This is a polyester based filler that is waterproof and easy to use and sand.

I find pale blue is a tad dated in look. Have you considered using a grey. I changed my Fulmar's deck from blue to grey and it looks very smart. Do make sure you use a good quality non paint creep masking tape. It is expensive but has a long life before you need to remove it, so you do not have to rush the job.

 

[prv]

1. What is this stuff?
2. How do I get rid of it best?
3. Is going white sacrilege - I see a lot of the pale blue and its obviously common for a reason

1. It’s fibreglass like the rest of the boat, only done with blue gelcoat into a textured mould to give the non-slip.

2. You can’t get rid of it, but you can cover it.

3. Nope, lots of boats were and are made with plain white GRP decks. Personally I don’t much like that pale blue that was in vogue when your boat was built.

If it were my deck, I think I’d go with KiwiGrip after repairing the missing bits and giving it a thorough clean. To avoid having to hide the edges of the existing textured areas I’d keep them as the edges of the new non-slip panels, so mask around them before painting.

After applying the paint you go over it with a special roller that gives a textured non-slip surface, and while I haven’t tried it I think that high-build and texture should do a good job of filling in the old stuff. At work we always use utilitarian grey kiwigrip but I assume other colours are available if you prefer.

Pete