cockpit carpet backing

I'm ready to order the Durabak product but I have a question for those who have tried it:

1. Do we need the UV product (more expensive) or is non-UV good enough? The sun does not really get to it sine it is on the bottom of the rug. Or does the sun get at it through the fibers from above?

2. Should I use the smooth (more expensive) or the textured?
 
Jack380AC said:
I'm ready to order the Durabak product but I have a question for those who have tried it:

1. Do we need the UV product (more expensive) or is non-UV good enough? The sun does not really get to it sine it is on the bottom of the rug. Or does the sun get at it through the fibers from above?

2. Should I use the smooth (more expensive) or the textured?
Click to expand...

Hello Jack,

Just like you say, the UV from the sun can't reach the bottom of the rug.
The smooth is easier to paint, so I will choose for that.

Success Peter
 
Okay, I've been really fascinated by this thread and the potential savings. The factory applied urethane foam backed SR carpet fails far before its time. A set of carpets for my 460 run $1500 and fail in three years +-! So I have the worst piece under evaluation and I'll add to the photo dialog here.

The test piece for me was a main traffic runner constantly exposed to sun & salt water and rain. The rinsed and allowed to dry and covered when not in use.

The entire backing was in various states of decay from shinny thin film to hard brittle caked mud like material. As I thought about the application of a new mastic material, the old stuff would just continue to flake off and eventually carry away the new coating with it so ... off with the old stuff. Note If i failed in this, all I'd be out was the time and a bucket of Durabak stuff as the carpet was absolutly unuseable in its the current state.

First was how to get this crap out of the jute backing? Flash of creative thinking had me reaching into my paint locker for these 3M abrasive wheels.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/nitefaze/ClubSeaRay/AbrasiveWheels.jpg

Then I attacked the back of the dry carpet with the intent of removing all the Carpet Cancer backing I could. With the red wheel attached to a cordless it didn't do much, so I switched to the black HD wheel and shazaam! The crud flew off in clouds of fine dust. I donned a dust mask and goggles and away I went to get this result.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/nitefaze/ClubSeaRay/CarpetBackremoved.jpg

A light touch of the wheel with little pressure in a right to left sweeping motion worked best. Don't let this wheel linger or it cuts the jute backing so keep it moving and only slight pressure. I removed all the backing I could with a sensible effort of time a 3X6 pice took about 20 minutes and two cordless batteries.

In places I cut up the Jute backing, I'm going to apply small patches of, you guessed it, 3M Duct Tape!. Then apply two coats of bed liner.

I'll add on to this post as I progress.

Question: To anyone using the bed liner coating successfully, have you experienced any transference or migration of plasticizer of other chemicals into the Fiberglass decks discoloring them?
 
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I'll let you know after a few months. I've put a nice coat of wax on the non skid just in case.
 
Everyone, this is a great thread and just about every question has been asked except one - How do you remove the black stuff from the carpet which is stuck to the non-skid deck?!?!:smt021

Any suggestions would be appreciated!:smt100
 
I ge the crumb off by wetting it well with boat soap, let stand then scrub with a stiff boat brush (Yellow Plastic) it comes free without too much effort.
 
Warning: Don't do what I did (whatever that was that I did wrong but not sure what that was for sure - follow that?)

The weather looked perfect.. several days of sunshine and warm weather before the weekend. I waited until the sun was off the porch, laid down ample drop cloths, assembled all the materials - ready.

Opened the can and stirred thoroughly as directed. The product I bought was the "textured" (because I'm cheap) so it was in need of good mixing. Poured some material into the disposable mini-roller-tray and went to work with the supplied roller. First go was a little awkward but, hey, this is my first time. By the time I got to "trying" to load the roller for the 3rd time, it was nearly impossible. The material transformed to a thick sludge that would not even load the roller let alone roll on the carpet. The nightmare begins.

The material did not like my environment for some reason (too hot? too cold? too humid? not humid enough?) so no matter what I did, it turned to sludge and was near impossible to apply. For example, when rolled on, it would immediately create "globs" of material rather than spreading. These globs would push around but not adhere. However, I found that if I used all my might applying pressure to the roller as I went, the globs would break up, spread around and coat the surface. Fortitude is a virtue.

My wife closed the kitchen window so that my daughter could not hear my colorful expressions of progress. Diner was served without my presence as I worked into the darkness. Globs of black stuff flew everywhere.

Next morning, I rose and reluctantly entered the place of the previous day's torture. I was prepared to admit defeat and buy new rugs. But alas, the stuff seemed to be OK. Not pretty, but doing the job it was asked to do. In the wanning light, I had missed some spots and other needed more material so I reluctantly opened the can hoping it was in fact dried out but it wasn't so I had to continue.

This time, I grabbed an old, firm nylon paint brush and went to work. The material behaved just as badly as the day before but the brush gave me the ability to "work" the material easier.

Conclusion: the rugs will serve us well for a few more years. However, some things I learned....
  • Don't buy the textured material. I believe the smooth would have been perfect for the job and likely no problem to apply.
  • Do wear a full body paint suit with cloves etc. This stuff is more nasty than bottom paint. Leave no skin exposed.
  • Do have a drop cloth extend at least a 2 to 3 ft around the rug ("ample" drop cloths is not ample enough).
  • Do plan 2 coats rather than one heavy coat (if needed). The material did bleed through in 2 spots where the prior backing had been completely removed.
  • Do consider buying the tan color to minimize any bleed through problem.
  • Do tape the edge binding and snaps.
  • Absolutely do the job outdoors or in the garage; fumes are nasty.
Would I do it again rather than buy new rugs? Yes. But I would follow the learnings above. Good luck.
 
What product Brand did you buy Jack, I want to run frm that one!

What thinner was used with it?
 
Asureyez said:
What product Brand did you buy Jack, I want to run frm that one!

What thinner was used with it?
Click to expand...

I used Durabak and actually would recommend it. Just not the textured variety. I think that was the only problem as when I tested applying some material before stirring, it went on ok. More importantly, the finished product seems to be doing the job.

I did not buy their thinner - add this to the "do" list. I tried turpentine and all the other potions in my workshop but they did little good.
 
Ahhh, some of the "clabbering" could have been raction to incompatible thinner.

Depending on the resin system the thinner is probably Xylol/Xylene or MEK.

I'll check that out too. Thanks
 
I have been following this post as well and it sounds like the Durabek can be a great solution - especially with the most recent posts with real life application experiences. However, I have been waiting to hear how this solution holds up long term and if there are any resulting problems such as transferance to the non-skid, etc. In the meantime, I took a diiferent approach which was cheaper and possibly only good for a single season; I bought a "rubberized" drop cloth at Home Depot (It is tan on one side and white on the other) and several cans of spray adhesive. There is one formulated especially for rubber and vinyl applications. I pre-cut pieces of the rubber cloth to slightly larger than the carpet sections. Then I taped up the snaps and bound edges and sprayed the carpet underside liberally with the adhesive. I then rolled up the pre-cut cloth piece for the first sprayed section and attached it, starting at one corner and working it over the surface much like putting up a piece of wallpaper. I did the other two sections in the same manner. I let the glue dry overnight and then trimmed around the edges, using a razor blade and scissors. I also cut away the material over the snaps. I then pulled the blue tape off the bound edges and snaps. Then just for kicks, I added white Duct tape all the way around the edge overlapping it onto cloth and the bound edge. I then used a roller to really adhere the duct tape down. I don't take my carpets up very often so l am hoping the rubber cloth will stay adhered to the back of the carpet for at leat this season. It definitely was a cheap project - maybe $50 in all and not very messy - I put down cardboard first to catch any adhesive overspray, but there wasn't much of that. The cloth seems to have adhered very well - time will tell if it can stand up. I think it will stay in place enough to catch all of that irritating black crumb mess I have been dealing with.
 
Anyone care to update this thread with how your carpet held up after the '09 season?
 
I recently repaired my rubber backing.. noticed the the areas that were getting salt water were just getting brittle and falling apart. I used a stiff brush removing the loose material then i used.

Plasti-dip.. just poured it onto the backing and used a squeegee to spread it around.

seems to work just fine and looks like new again....

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3573714&CAWELAID=340017557
 
I had the same problem last seasion. after some thought i came up with a very easy inexpensive solution. being an autobody shop owner for 20 years the 3 m co. rep stoped in and i told him what i was experiencing. He sugested their rubberised undercoating. A light coat sealed in the black dust while maintaining flexability and water resistance. just be sure to go light and let it dry well. spent around $40 to do the fly bridge and cockpit carpets
 
Great thread- Im especially interested in any more feedback from the most recent posts from Pancita or Lady Ashley. The Durabak seems to have worked but given the amount of carpet I need to fix, Ill need 2 gallons. For a a light color smooth texture thats over $300 w/ shipping

If the $40 products from Ace Hardware or 3M (whats the name of that?) are still holding up, are flexible, and allow rugs to dry I'd rather start there
Thanks
 
I already have the backing stuck to my gelcoat whe I lifted the carpet out to clean it. Any ideas on how to remove the backing residue from the deck? I am thinking of replacing the carpet with Nuteak or similar, but my wife is concerned about the heat that bulds up under foot. Any ideas?
 
I had the same problem with the deck getting the black residue on it when we pulled our carpet. We used non-skid deck cleaner and a stiff brush combined with elbow grease...it worked well and removed all the residue.

While I am fascinated with the ideas for re-backing the carpet it still does not address the issue of old looking/matted carpet. I just bought a 2003 340 in Sept. 09 and while the carpets were in good shape (I thought) I figured I could get one more season out of them at least. I have 2 small dogs and they can be hell on fiberglass so I ordered a swim platform piece and a custom transom step piece from Snap-In Carpets (the OEM of SR carpet).

Anyway once the new pieces arrived I realized I needed new cockpit carpet as well as they looked ENTIRELY different given the wear on my '03 carpets. Keep in mind my boat only had 110 hours when I bought it.

Snap-In was AWESOME to deal with as I changed my mind several times after they made/sent my carpets. No complaining...ship it back / new set sent!!

Roughly $500 for the new 4 piece cockpit to match the OEM transom carpet.
 
Sun Chaser said:
Peter,

I have the same problem with the backing on my '01 280. Can you tell me if you bought the smooth or textured coating. Also, it looks like you just did the bad spots and not the whole carpet. I was thinking of doing the whole carpet.

Thanks,

Glenn
Click to expand...


Don't use textured. I did and it was a bear. Smooth should do the trick.
 
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