How To Make Knurled (Diamond) Pattern In Resin

[Deleted member 36384]

Hi Folks,

The deck of my boat has a slightly raised surface, about 1 mm, with a fine knurled / diamond pattern. The purpose of the pattern I assume is to provide grip.

Anyway, the whole lot is covered in Treadmaster which is now worn and requires replacing.

I am considering reinstating the original deck and was wondering if anyone knows of a tool and technique to establish such a pattern, say applied onto a coat of Epoxy resin.

Thanks,

BlowingOldBoots

 

[William_H]

Deck

I wouldn't suggest you use epoxy resin as it is very susceptible to UV degradation in sunlight.
Better would be polyester resin which is what the boat was made of. (presumably).
When you paint or cover with more resin you lose the non skid surface.
You could perhaps try to score or mark the knurled surface in resin that is nearly hard. A small window of time and you would need to experiment.
I painted my decks with 2 pack poly urethane paint which is very tough and sticks well and UV resistant.
I used International Intergrip, a tin of grains of something which sticks to the paint and provides a rough surface. The surface does however wear and will need repainting from time to time. Each time you repaint you smooth out the non skid. So may need more intergrip.
It is all a bit tedious and there may be better solutions out there. What ever happens you will not be able to match the original molded in anti skid. good luck olewill

 

[Poignard]

If there is any of the original surface available, in good condition, how about making a rubber mould of it, after cleaning it thoroughly, and and then using that mould to reproduce the original where you want it?

This is only a suggestion mind. I have never done it but if I was in your situation I would give it a try ('on an inconspicuous area' or, better still, on a test piece first)

 

[electrosys]

Another vote for taking a mould off the original - an alternative might be to get a machine shop to make up a die from an aluminium or plastic plate with a milling machine. Spray with release compound and press into the goo until it sets.
There are UV resistant epoxies on the market, but they cost a little more - still it's only the millimetre or so at the surface which needs to be UV resistant. Alternatively, use polyester - but epoxy adheres much better.

 

[Seajet]

Most people, especially those of Scottish ancestry like me, tend to use non-slip paint; this can either be purpose made, or tradional yacht exterior paint with non-slip sand granules added, these granules are available in small plastic cartons from chandlers, applying it by brush on the intended surface is easy.

As with most things, preparation is the hard part, everyone I know who's had to clean off treadmaster adhesive & bits says it's a total s*d !

 

[Blue5]

If you want to go with resin I would suggest a phone call to Wessex Resin tech help to explain your problem, if its possible in resin they will advise the correct procedure.

I recently did the one day course and they were keen to promote their help desk, only advice was do not phone it first thing Monday morning as it was usually busy advising the weekend DIY trade.

 

[electrosys]

Two quick passing thoughts as I'm on my way out of the door ....

With polyester, you'll need to exclude the air (using cling-film or similar) to avoid the surface remaining tacky. This might influence your choice of method.

For an 'impression die' a trip to a High Street DIY 'shed' might prove a useful exercise. In the past I've seen plastic splash-back bath panels with regular embossed patterns. Then there's always that expanded metal grille stuff - no good on it's own, but could be ok over cling-film.

But these will only give you a non-specific textured surface - dunno if that's good enough ? If you want to match any existing diamond pattern, that'll be a litle harder to do.

 

[oldsaltoz]

I have repaired the standard dimple pattern using plasticine and flow coat (Gel coat with wax added).

However you would have a major problem doing large areas, just lining up the regular diamond pattern could prove difficult.

Good luck.

 

[boatbuilder]

To stop the gel ffrom being sticky just add 2% MW solution.

To find a good pattern go to B&Q and look at vynl embossed wallpapers, waxed they are great moulds

 

[2Tizwoz]

This video describes one method. http://www.masepoxies.com/Videos/NON_SKID_REPAIR.html

Paint with antislip granules incorporated seems more effective so its not unusual to see the diamond moulded in pattern filled with paint. I find mine less slippy where its painted.