Black spots in diamond pattern non-skid

jsed said:
Regarding the Star Brite deck cleaner - is there a ratio for mixing with water? There is nothing listed on the bottle. I'm assuming 3 full caps to 1-2 gallons?
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I wet the deck, squirt starbrite deck cleaner straight on the deck, use a soft broom to spread over the deck and to agitate, wait a few minutes then scrub with a stiff broom, then rinse off. Repeat if necessary.
 
Majic eraser works wonders!


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Professional fishermen on those big battlewagons in FL will not let you use spray sun screen on their boats. This stuff is what causes nonskid to get mold in the cracks. Don't use it!!
 
Lazy Daze said:
I wasn't implying that you don't do upkeep on your boat - more of just a general statement. Mold doesn't grow on clean, inorganic surfaces. By not waxing the non-skid it allows for oxidation/degradation of the surface which allows for organic substances to get "caught" much easier than if it was a smooth surface - and the coating of wax helps even more. Oxidation, under a microscope, looks like the surface of the water with a wind blowing on it. Properly prepared gelcoat (shiny reflection) looks like water with zero wind... "like glass". I never waxed my foredeck nonskid, but I did use a stiff brush for washing that area and that seemed to keep the little mold suckers away. Although I still got them once in awhile. I've never heard anything bad about the Woody Wax, though, and if I did start waxing the nonskid that would be what I would use.

Yes - definitely do another waxing on the non-skid - some waxes wear out quicker than others. Plus, a non-skid deck takes the full brunt of the sun - much more so than other areas of the boat. So the wax would tend to wear out quicker there than other places.
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Also, don't assume it is mold. My marina is near a bridge. The amount of black crap that comes off of it is amazing, and you can't attack it like it is mold. I have to use a degreasing cleaner to get the black spots off my boat. And +1 on keeping it waxed.

Bryan
 
Update.....used the Star Brite non skid cleaner again. Diluted in a bucket of water (3 capfuls). Applied with stiff brush over all non skid on the fore deck. Waited 3 minutes. Scrubbed the deck again with the brush and then rinsed. Majority of the spots are gone! Now, I did not purchase the wax yet as I didn't know how this would work. So, I will check again tomorrow and see how it looks.
I don't think I was patient enough the first time with the star brite. We will see. And possibly didn't scrub well enough either. Keeping my fingers crossed this works.


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Glad to hear it almost worked. I keep my boat in GH also, and know what you're dealing with. For the past 3 summers I've used the Zep mold & mildew stain remover. There is zero effort involved. Spray-on, wait 5 minutes, wash as usual. Then apply the woody wax like everyone says. This stuff is cheap and available at the Home Depot on your way into town. I takes less than 2 bottles to clean all the black spots off my entire topside. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.
 
jsed said:
Update.....used the Star Brite non skid cleaner again. Diluted in a bucket of water (3 capfuls). Applied with stiff brush over all non skid on the fore deck. Waited 3 minutes. Scrubbed the deck again with the brush and then rinsed. Majority of the spots are gone! Now, I did not purchase the wax yet as I didn't know how this would work. So, I will check again tomorrow and see how it looks.
I don't think I was patient enough the first time with the star brite. We will see. And possibly didn't scrub well enough either. Keeping my fingers crossed this works. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Are you sure the black spots are mildew? Could it be coal dust from the power plant coal pile?
 
Can't say for sure. The boat is far enough away that it shouldn't matter. I can scrape it off with my fingernail when i go into the grooves of the non skid. Based on the replies I assume it is some mold.


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If bleach easily fixes it, it's mold. If not, it's something else.
 
I'm far enough away the the plant is not an issue. I can scrape the spot off with my fingernail. I am interested to see how it looks this week. I cleaned it up again Monday and she still looked good.


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I use oxyclean. Wet surface and sprinkle on surface to be cleaned. Gentle spray to wet it and make paste. Spread with a brush and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes but keep it wet. Often all comes up without scrubbing too. Works great on swim platform.

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I had been struggling with black spots in my non-skid this summer. I would get down on my hands and knees with soft scrub and a scrubbing brush. This did the job; however, its very tedious and also leaves no wax on the surface. And the spots came back. I followed the advice in this thread: I sprayed Zep mold and mildew stain remover over the entire surface and used the boat brush to spread around to insure full coverage. Then I had a quick beer, let it sit, and then hosed it off. Then I used the non-skid cleaner using the brush to scrub the entire surface. Then I had a quick beer and let it sit, then scrubbed it again with the same solution still on it, then I hosed it off. While still wet, I used the woody spray wax on the brush to spread the wax all over. Then I had a couple beers waiting for it to dry. Then I hosed it off and used a large towel to dry. The deck looks great, thanks to all for the advice.
 
Hick said:
I had been struggling with black spots in my non-skid this summer. I would get down on my hands and knees with soft scrub and a scrubbing brush. This did the job; however, its very tedious and also leaves no wax on the surface. And the spots came back. I followed the advice in this thread: I sprayed Zep mold and mildew stain remover over the entire surface and used the boat brush to spread around to insure full coverage. Then I had a quick beer, let it sit, and then hosed it off. Then I used the non-skid cleaner using the brush to scrub the entire surface. Then I had a quick beer and let it sit, then scrubbed it again with the same solution still on it, then I hosed it off. While still wet, I used the woody spray wax on the brush to spread the wax all over. Then I had a couple beers waiting for it to dry. Then I hosed it off and used a large towel to dry. The deck looks great, thanks to all for the advice.
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You had me at “a quick beer” :)
 
I want to clean the deck down to the gelcoat, there seems to be yellowing, assumptively due to a build-up of wax, I have been told by the woody wax people that an alkaline based deck cleaner will remove old wax. I can not find an alkaline based deck cleaner. Anybody know of a brand?
 
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