Removing hydro turf grrrrrr!

[Ronnie]

I replaced all the turf in my Yamaha and even added more. The turf came up best for me when it was hot and before it was torn. after heating up a spot try to get under and edge, specifically under the glue with a a ruler and hopefully get it all in one piece as some one else heats the sections immediately below . If it tore we tried again at a different spot on the same piece. As for any glue or turf and glue remaining we hit those spots with a wire brush , poured goof off on them and scrapped them off. I had to use a lot of paper towels or the old stuff would come off and Stick to the boat. hthe good news is that your are a lot closer to being finished than you may think. The stuff on the dash came off a lot easier as did the anchor locker since it has no slip on it as I recall. Good luck with the rest of the job.

 

[robert843]

One of the things I noticed is most people with boats prior to 2010 seemed to have an ok time with this 2010 and newer seemed to struggle a little more. I wonder if something changed in the glue or deck material between then.

 

[maboat]

I've replaced mine multiple times. Haven't tried it in the cold but for me, using a pressure washer worked pretty good. But EVERYTHING gets wet so be prepared if you decide to go this route.

 

[dan144k]

Pressure washer did not work well for me. Maybe I need a bigger pressure washer.

I mostly rolled the turf from the edge with my thumbs and when I would get enough to grab then pulled it up. Sometimes bigger pieces, sometimes tearing all the way.

Tried, pressure washer, heat gun, couple chemicals, and steam. None seamed to be magical solution. Maybe cooler shady morning made it easier. Not sure. Still have a few pieces to in the spring.

 

[buckbuck]

After reading through this thread I am not going to ever replace mine!

 

[itsdgm]

Chemicals and wire brush.

 

[Bruce]

After reading through this thread I am not going to ever replace mine!

The experience varies greatly. Some of us have found it to be a quick easy job others have suffered but I have never heard anyone say that they regretted replacing their hydro turf.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I think you need to use acetone with the 5 way scraper. Soak the area with acetone by laying a rag on top soaked. Use the 5way slowly plowing the goo. Reapply acetone as soon as it gets dry. You'll probably use 1.5-2 gallons to do these areas. Looks like your turf was severely decayed and is flaking off instead of pulling off in sheets.

Stick with it!

Carefull not to gouge the gel too bad... You can open up the gel to the plywood core and start rot. Seal up any cracks and chips before your new mats go down.

 

[Albysure]

I used a heat gun to peel the turf off then used goof off and a rag to get the glue...best to apply the goof off and let it sit for a min...a little work but came off way easier then scapping and was no scratches..

 

[robert843]

Well finished removing all the back and other areas all in all aprox 8 working hours to do so. My matts were worn pretty good and severely dried out but the glue was still holding well which made my life hell. I tried all the above mention. Heat gun didn't work for as the mat being worn and dried within seconds at a medium temp would start to melt and at low temp did nothing. Mine would not peel off as it would crack and break before you could really get going. The painters tool did work the best for me. I let the glue soak in goo be gone for about 20 minutes and then scraped and it came up moderately easily any spots that didn't I hit with a 3m eraser on a drill which worked well also left no scratcher or marks. Due to timing I had to run the boat back to storage today but will finish install next week sometime will post pictures of the deck as it sits and the finished install once done. thanks for all the advice time for a cocktail

 

[Remy]

I just took my hydroturf off and it was a nightmare on the swim platform which is when I decided to use my hot water 8gpm pressure washer on it with 3500psi After that the whole cleaning portion of job took about 1 hour. I strongly recommend pressure washing it! I still have to do the acetone and apply new seadek mats. Good luck everyone!

 

[rkluck]

Remy, Did you use anything other than the pressure washer? It sure looked good.

 

[Remy]

Thank you. No, just a 8 gallon per min hot water pressure cleaner at 200 degrees with a yellow tip. (No chemicals)

 

[robert843]

Thank you. No, just a 8 gallon per min hot water pressure cleaner at 200 degrees with a yellow tip. (No chemicals)

Yeah part of the way threw my frustration I decided to try this as well but I guess someone decided to borrow mine as it was not in the garage which added fuel to the fire lol! The trouble of traveling for work you never know where anything when home.

 

[Jimonthebeach]

So been at it an hour and a half and don't even have a quarter of the first matt off I'm about to break out the power sander and say goodbye to this stuff unless anyone else has a great idea. Current method was using plastic putty knives went to a metal putty knife it was even worse.

Didja try dry ice?

 

[robert843]

Didja try dry ice?

Yes tried ice it didn't help at all for me.

 

[bronze_10]

Is this the wrong place to say my lower swim deck mats came up in one large piece except for an area about the size of a coffee cup?

 

[Julian]

Most of mine came up in close to full sheets.

Perhaps try using bags of ice to cool it?

Ditto...did mine in cool weather...pulled right up....wonder if Ice would help???

 

[aflax24]

I have gone through the worn/old mat thing 2x now, once on boat and once on the skis...
THE ABSOLUTE BEST THING FOR PULLING THOSE OLD BROKEN DOWN MATS WITH CRAPPY GLUE...
Scrape the bulk up with a plastic scraper...Then use Brake Cleaner or Gasoline, soak the glue for about 10-15 seconds then get a giant stack of clean terry cloth rags or those synthetic scowering pads and put some elbow grease into it. The glue essentially melts and turns into boogers as you rub. I have tried every method under the sun, this works the best for the hard cases...At the end, clean the surface with acetone and good to go...wear a mask...OR NOT!!!!!!

 

[JetPowered]

I'll try brake cleaner on my more stubborn spots tonight!

I have 2/3's of the rear deck pads off now. I've been lucky and one entire pad came up with only one small rip. The others were between easy and hard.