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I'll be working on my very oxidized non-skid next weekend. I'm going to follow the 3M Heavy Duty compound, Finesse It II, and Collinite fleet wax route on most of the boat. However, I'm at a loss as to how to approach the non-skid in regards to compunding/restoring.

Would appreciate any approaches/products that anyone would like to share.

Thanks,

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I inquired about the same issue a long time ago. I was told by a Whaler dealer that you do not want to use wax on your non-skid areas as they can become slippery and unsafe. Also, any wax that has to be rubbed in is almost impossible to get out of the textured surfaces. I pressure wash my boat several times a year and wax both the hull and topside sometimes twice in a season or as needed. After using paste wax on the smooth surfaces, I will follow up with a car "wash and wax" product concentrating on the non-skid areas. I just let the solution dry without rinsing. Follow the instructions for the product. My Whaler is ten years old now and the non-skid surfaces are in very good shape considering they get alot of sun. If the non-skid areas are not cracked or pitted and you keep your Whaler in a garage or at least covered you may not have a whole lot to worry about.

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Denny,
you'll have to experiment with what works best. Do the rest of the boat before you try the non-skid. Then try a stiff brush and rubbing compound on the non-skid and see how it does. You can wax it, but starbrite deck cleaner is better, once you get the oxidation off. Don't stress too much if the sides look better than the non-skid. Keep working at it year after year and one year you'll be suprised.

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I am in the midst of the same project. So far I have avoided the non-skid and doing the easy areas first. At the rate I am going, snow will fall before I touch the non-skid.

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There is a product called "Purple Power" sold in various places, one of which is Advanced Auto Stores. I use this stuff to clean the sides of our camping trailer. Tried it on the nonskid in one of the boats last year and was amazed by how well it loosened up the dirt. I applied it with a long handle scrub brush and then powerwashed it off. I'm hooked on the stuff now! I suspect that if a powerwasher is not available, just a good brushing in and wash with a garden hose would produce a nice result.
These boats are great big parabolic sunreflectors with you right in the focus of all the reflected sun. If creating a slippery surface is not enough reason not to apply wax inside, think lobster! When I did my resto on the whaler, we purposely created an eggshell finish inside for just that reason, to reduce the reflection of sun back on the driver.
Collinite is the right wax for the outside. Use several layers over a day or two. It's pretty shiny, but really protective. Once this is on, you can use 3M Imperial Hand Glaze occasionally if you want to show off the finish. Easy to apply, and will not dissolve or compromise the Collinite, this glaze is what I use on both show cars. It won't last long in a marine environment, but man what a shine!
Best of Luck,
Grady

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I have had alot of luck with MaryKate cleaning detail on the nonskid on my whaler and Sea ray. It has a bit of git that will get in to the nooks and crannys and remove some oxidation. I just try to keep it awat from the other areas and rinse very well or rewash with regular boat soap after to make sure all reside is gone.

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I would give Woody Wax a try. You can also FluidFilm, which is the same stuff, but half the price; it is sold by any John Deere retailer. Work the WoodyWax/FluidFilm into the deck with a boat brush when the deck is wet. You don't need a lot. After working it in, a little rinse, and let it dry. For a few weeks you have a nice waxed, non-slippery, deck which is pretty resistant to dirt, blood, etc.

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Denny,
I purchased an upholstery brush that chucks into a drill to use on my non-skid. If I have a chance before I drop the boat in the water I will give it a spin with the buff magic and let you know the outcome.

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I took the brush for a spin today and it worked good. I purchased mine from Chemical Guys I was using buff magic, this week i'll try it on the 13 with rubbing compound. It gets the product into the non-skid quite nicely. It also gets it out which is the important part. I was using the softer yellow brush.

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Here is a shot after using Buff Magic on the 13. You can see the entire boat is fairly well oxidized and the single spot shines well. I did not try the non-skid yet but I will if I get some time this week. To do an entire boat, even a 13 you would want to use a polisher with a cutting pad just as you would with rubbing compound.

Buff Magic is basically rouge for gelcoat. It acts like rubbing compound but seems to leave a better finish.

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Here is a spot I did on the bow.

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I was faced with the same thing. I've been restoring an 87 Montauk that was heavily oxidized and spider cracked. The previous owner had moved the center console all the way up flush with the anchor locker. I am moving it back. There was much damage and holes drilled in the non skid so I bit the bullet and Sanded all the nonskid off. I have though about stripping it with 3M nonskid tape you can get in different colors or using interlux non skid. There was no way to make the retoration look decent without sanding the non skid off.

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Kamie -

I am making good progress in my gel coat repairs and detailing my Outrage, almost finished the outside. Expect to hit the non-skid areas in a week or two.

I am very interested to see if the attachment you bought works well on this area. With the smooth areas all compounded/finesse it'ed, waxed and buffed out, the non-skid will look really sad.

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CBO,
the upholstery brush worked well. I tried it on the non-skid for the 18. It is hard to show the difference between the light color of the non-skid and desert tan. It just doesn't photograph well. I will try to give it a shot on the 13 tomorrow so you can really see the difference.

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Kamie, where can I buy Buff magic? My daughter needs to use it on her 13 footer.

rich

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Scotfarm, no need to sand the nonskid area off. Read my last post on the 1980 Sport Cracks post.

rich

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Rich,

Buff Magic is sold at West Marine - if there's one close to you.

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Boaters world or West Marine.

I haven't had time to test out buff magic on the 13 non-skid. I will try this week, even just a test spot.

Scotfarm, too bad you sanded off the non-skid. It is really not that hard to repair.

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If the boat is stored outside, and water is left to stand in the bottom for a loooong time, the gelcoat will start to alligator and flake in the low spots. I don`t think at that point there is anyway to repair it. especially if these areas cover a couple of square feet. Here is a method I devised to fill screw holes in the nonskid with out flattening the surrounding areas. I had about 30 holes to fix. I covered the holes with a couple of layers of masking tape, then redrilled the holes through the tape. Then I mixed up some two part epoxy (the runny kind, and dripped it into the holes, when set I took my orbital sander and just sanded through the tape. When I removed the tape I had a perfect job. the holes were filled, and the surrounding nonskid wasn`t damaged.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c19...epair2.jpg

then I looked at the stern area of the nonskid where the gelcoat was flaking and curling for a couple of days, and couldn`t figure out how to fix it so it would look new, not good, so I just covered all of the nonskid with lightweight .75 oz. mat and one coat of polyester resin rolled on, just enough to saturate the mat.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c19...epair3.jpg

After I Awlgripped the boat, the bottom was somewhat rough due to the texture of the mat, but the paint made it very slippery. By this time I had the interior screwed in so I just taped off the parts of the bottom where a person would stand,(not under the seats,) and rolled on a heavy coat of Awlgrip, with a foam roller, and sprinkled on a little nonskid I got from Home Depot. It looks like salt, and I used a salt shaker. It came out perfect, you can`t see it but you can tell the nonskid when you walk in it. There is not enough on to make it hard to clean.

rich

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Before shot

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after two rounds of buff magic with the carpet brush pictured
It looks better in real life

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I used Buff magic for the first time this year. It really works well. Still trying to get to the rest of the whaler.. only so much time in the day.