Carpet Backing Breaking Down

L&L

New Member
Aug 11, 2017
17
Boat Info
2004 Sea Ray 225 Weekender with Standard Horizon CP 180 plotter and SH VHF radio
Engines
5.0 Mercruiser with Bravo 3 drive
In our 2004 Weekender 225 the backing on the snap in carpets is breaking down. The carpets and snaps are in very good condition so before we go to the expense of replacing all the carpets is there any product out there that will extend the life of the backing and stop the "shedding" that is happening? Thanks in advance for any advice on this matter.
 
I had the same issue with mine. Used a wire brush to get all the loose stuff of the back and then brushed on 3 coats of plasti dip. It's starting to separate from the back of the carpet now but it was 6 years ago that I put it on.
 
I had the same issue with mine. Used a wire brush to get all the loose stuff of the back and then brushed on 3 coats of plasti dip. It's starting to separate from the back of the carpet now but it was 6 years ago that I put it on.
That is encouraging. Not sure where I would look for plasti dip. Same type of product as the link provided by Cliff who also kindly replied to this query?
 
Do a search here in the forums. There have been extensive discussions around this. There are several products out there and they work pretty good. You can get many more years out of those rugs.

Note: if you have any areas of the rug worn thin, make sure you get a material close to the color of the rug (i.e. not black) as it will show through the worn spots.
 
Durabak 18 smooth.
4 years so far since I coated mine and it looks Perfect.
 
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I used this on a 200SD carpet set my son has in Va:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kool-Seal-White-Elastomeric-Roof-Coating-1-Gal/17210942

I got it at Lowes 2-3 years ago but when I searched for it, Walmart came up as a source. It was easy to apply....wash the carpeting, remove the loose black latex backing, let the carpeting dry, turn the pieces upside down and roll it on like paint. For under $20, you have new carpets.
 
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A local marina uses a pressures washer to get all the old stuff off. They even have a sku in service for doing the process of stripping the old stuff off and applying new.
 
So, a quick course on the companies selling cockpit carpet. They are buying different grades of material from the major manufacturers and applying different grades of additional backing. The good companies are buying the better grades and are adding pvc to the back. PVC backings do not dry out and shed under any kind of normal use.

However, even the higher grades of carpet are coming to these companies with a latex backing. Latex is water soluble. These companies attach their backings, including pvc to the existing latex back. They really shouldn't. They should buy unbacked material, but still, it is working and these products seem to perform very well. This is most probably because the pvc is penetrating into the latex backing layer and re-inforcing it.

Learning this, I decided to buy a high grade, aesthetically appealing commercial carpet, and cut it to fit. I then flipped it over and spread an elastomeric rv roof coating with chopped fiberglass fibers via a trowel. Then I laid in a mesh of high quality area rug non-skid while it was still wet. I had everything bound. I did this in 2010, and it looks fantastic today.
 
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I had some carpet remnants bound to fit my cockpit. I have a full enclosure and I'm docked in a covered slip most of the time. After a few years, the backing began to crumble, probably from the heat. I used an elastomeric roof coating from Lowe's, rolled on in two coats and it has held up very well over the two years since that was done.
 
So, a quick course on the companies selling cockpit carpet. They are buying different grades of material from the major manufacturers and applying different grades of additional backing. The good companies are buying the better grades and are adding pvc to the back. PVC backings do not dry out and shed under any kind of normal use.

However, even the higher grades of carpet are coming to these companies with a latex backing. Latex is water soluble. These companies attach their backings, including pvc to the existing latex back. They really shouldn't. They should buy unbacked material, but still, it is working and these products seem to perform very well. This is most probably because the pvc is penetrating into the latex backing layer and re-inforcing it..........

Some of the above is not exacttly right...........

Corinthian Marine Carpeting........... https://www.corinthian-marine-carpet.com .......... is a vertical company. They are first a carpet mill that produces very high grade carpeting in their own factories to t heir owwn specs. then they add PVC backing to the carpeting for marine applications. I think other snap in carpet suppliers probably buy the carpet with the PVC backing from Corinthian.
 
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The term "vertical" is used very loosely in the carpet industry. I'll refrain from using names or sharing any proprietary information, but if you have a marine grade carpet in your boat, it came from one of several facilities, and it has latex in it. When PVC is applied well, it works.

You can mimic this reasonably well with the right materials and some care. My attempt was an experiment because I "bought" the beautiful material for almost nothing from the manufacturer I worked for, and I was curious. It worked very well. The biggest con is the effort. The pro's are you should end up at about 1/4th cost (if you pay retail for everything), you can pick from nearly limitless patterns and colors, and you can select products with better yarn systems that will resist crushing and soiling more.

If you don't want to invest the effort, I would highly advise using a PVC-backed product.
 
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Durabak 18 smooth.
4 years so far since I coated mine and it looks Perfect.
Thanks for this guidance. I finally ordered it and just finished applying it this week. Looks like it is going to work very well.
 

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