Durabak--Has it held up?

W

Wizard

Member
Oct 10, 2006
49
Long Island Sound
Boat Info
380 Sundancer 2000
Engines
454 mercruiser with v drives
Anyone that used the Durabak to restore their backing on their cockpit carpets, wondering if it held up over the season?
 
I did mine two years ago with Grizzly Grip and they still look like the day I painted them.
 
Mine is holding after two seasons and looks as from day 1. Good stuff, the only thing I would consider for next time is going with non-sanded type. I thought that sanded would have better grip, but I think even non-sanded will do just fine.

100_3323.jpg
 
J Levine said:
I did mine two years ago with Grizzly Grip and they still look like the day I painted them.
Click to expand...

I have a lot of spots on mine where the black backing has just come off. It was difficult to remove the residue left behind on the cockpit floor. I was going to get new carpet this year, but the carpet side is still clean and in excellent shape. Would this be the way to go, and if so is there any special prep work to be done before coating the back (removing the old stuff….)? Thanks
 
hack4alivin said:
I have a lot of spots on mine where the black backing has just come off. It was difficult to remove the residue left behind on the cockpit floor. I was going to get new carpet this year, but the carpet side is still clean and in excellent shape. Would this be the way to go, and if so is there any special prep work to be done before coating the back (removing the old stuff….)? Thanks
Click to expand...

I had the exact same situation. I used a large wire hand held brush (the cheap type you would find in a paint store) and wire brushed the back to remove all the loose stuff. I then vaccumed the backing with my shop vac before applying the coating. For my boat I needed the same quantity of coating that they recomended to coat a standard 8' truck bed. You might want to see what is available in a auto parts store these days for coating truck beds before ordering this stuff on line. I think this is becoming a pretty common item.
 
One thing I notice is currently my carpets tend to hold water for a long period of time because the water sits in the original black backing. With the new backing do you feel like the carpets dry faster?
 
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I never paid attention to this with my application. Don't know if Jon has any input for you.
 
I'm guessing it'll only hold water which is dripped from above, but water which runs beneath should probably not be absorbed or lifted up.
 
That's sounds correct, John. Do you think it's a problem?
 
So here are my questions:

Do you think this will leak through bare carpet backing, or is it thick enough to apply bare?
I'm guessing that the non-textured is the way to go.
I'm leaning toward Navy Blue so if it does bleed through some, I can clean it up and the carpet will not be stained.
 
It has the consistency of warm syrup, so if you have a loosely woven backing, it will come through. Don't get the textured stuff. prep prep prep is the name of the game with this stuff. it's messy, sticks to everything, smells to hell, and takes forever to dry. put 2-3 coats on.

oh and take pics so we can see your blue fingers after the job.
 
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I agree with TT. To be on the safe side get the best matching color to your carpet. The difference in your application is that you don't have any original carpet backing while I was applying on top of whatever was left from backing on my carpets. There was one spot where things were looser and minor bleeding took place. If I had beige color, then it wouldn't be noticeble. If I was to do it again I would get non-textured.
 
I'm keeping these threads in mind...my backing is just starting to go.
Does anyone have anything to say about applying the overton's products or any other rubberized non-skid?
I see the durabak is more for truck bed liners...I'm being cheap and considering this
http://search.overtons.com/?D=NON SKID&Nty=1&N=0&Dk=0&Ntt=NON SKID

or maybe eve something from home dep or lowes?
Same concept right.....??
 
KHARRIMAN said:
I'm keeping these threads in mind...my backing is just starting to go.
Does anyone have anything to say about applying the overton's products or any other rubberized non-skid?
I see the durabak is more for truck bed liners...I'm being cheap and considering this
http://search.overtons.com/?D=NON SKID&Nty=1&N=0&Dk=0&Ntt=NON SKID

or maybe eve something from home dep or lowes?
Same concept right.....??
Click to expand...


Now is the time to apply it. If it's starting to go, by this time next year you'll be picking that black stuff off everything.
 
I tried 3 different products on 3 different pieces of original carpets. I was planning to throw them away anyhow since the carpet was stained. I had planned on doing just as John did and make my own carpets then coating the back with the best of the three products. The three products were Durabak (been using it for years in trucks, jeeps), some cheap spray on liner in a can, Duplicolor I think, and a moblie home/rv rubber roof coating from home depot.

As others have said, Durabak worked great. I used smooth black and it did bleed through even though I tried to do it lightly.

The spray on stuff was a waste of $7 a can. It flaked right off after drying, too brittle

The roof coating actually worked out really good. It was white which I preferred and was thicker than the duraback. If I get around to making my own carpet which is doubtful since the boat is for sale, I will use the roof coating because its white and was about a 1/4 the price of the durabak.

I threw away the carpet with the spray on crap but left the other two sit around the garage for about six months. Both were as good as the day I applied it when they were tossed to the curb.
 
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