Stubborn adhesive residue on non skid surface

[Robconn]

I am open to suggestions as the original seadeck on the swim platform has become unglued. I have followed the steps watching Will’s YouTube video from Jet Boat Pilot.
The seadeck began unsticking at year 6. IMHO, as original owner, this should not occur that soon. Especially when I store boat in garage every winter, and use a covered wet slip during boating season.
Please see attached pics. You can clearly see a difference between left and right areas. The left side seadeck pealed away last year without any chemicals. So I applied mineral spirits directly to non skid surface on the left side. Which looked like how the right side is now. The right side I applied paper towels doused with mineral spirits and covered with plastic over night. The right seadeck pealed off in one piece but the glue was not quite Tacky for an easier removal. At this point, I will apply more paper towels, mineral spirits, and cover with plastic.
So question at this point in project, will new seadeck adhere with out issue if I cannot remove 100% residue, I have not found any videos that specifically address stubborn non-skid surfaces with glue residue. Thank you in advance for you input.

 

[Babin Farms]

I used brake cleaner when I did the same project.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I think @drewkaree had a successful strategy about removing the glue AND prepping the surface to re glue.. hopefully he an chime in here in a while…

 

[Acard7]

Acetone worked for me to remove residue to add the new stuff.

Edit*
Use acetone at your own risk, had a member let me know it could soften gel coat using it to remove the adhesive! I replaced my swim deck seadek 5 years ago and haven’t noticed any issues, that’s my own anecdotal experience though! I wouldn’t leave a acetone soaked rag on the adhesive, I just would splash it on and rub it off, it evaporates fairly quickly.

 

[Robconn]

Thank you all for your advice.i will keep at it. Between prep and removal, I have not spent too much time on it. (2 hrs) so will keep you posted and I will compare a small area with break cleaner and show the results. Should have pics by end of week.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Also spray a spot with WD/40 and let it sit overnight see if it works

 

[lazergeek]

FYI: Marine Mat corporate does not recommend using thier adheasive mats on the Swim Platform, Im assumign for the same reason of failure. Of course that does stop the known Mat vender from recommending and only offering it. I wonder if SeaDeck also makes the same recommendation?

 

[zipper]

Not sure about the adhesive on Seadek, but this stuff works on 5200 and sikaflex. Been using this to restore my boats since 2018. Search Debond here... Teak Sea dek replaced with new style (completed)

Marine Formula Adhesive & Sealant Remover | West Marine

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[BumbleBee255]

Goof Off eats ALL adhesive. Don't let sit long (more than 15 mins). If that doesn't remove it, nothing will. I have used that to remove stickers from motorcycles for 25 years. Same old recommendation tho,,, try on a small spot that doesn't show first.

 

[drewkaree]

Great Stuff makes acetone in a spray can, it's used for cleanup of spray foam. Can be found at Home Depot or any hardware store by the cans of spray foam insulation.

Spray a rag, and use that to clean it off, rather than spraying the deck and then scrubbing.

SeaDek instructions were to use acetone. Yes, it does react with gelcoat, but not to the extent of damage unless you're supremely stupid with it, like leaving puddles on it for a while.

The gelcoat patch instructions state to use acetone to clean/prep for repair, and to make sure it's dried and flashed off, otherwise it slows or stops curing. If THEY recommend it for use on gelcoat, I doubt it's the equivalent of napalm for gelcoat unless, like I said, you're terribly careless.

The liquid is cheap and easy to get, perhaps a white scotch Brite pad will help speed up the process for you as well. The gray scotch Brite may be needed as well, but I wouldn't use any other color, and I really would consider those a last resort, and try to stick to the white pads.

Melamine sponges (magic erasers) will just fall apart on the non-skid and frustrate you.

The brake cleaner mentioned will work too, and @HangOutdoors used that stuff @zipper pointed out, with good success, but that was relatively new SeaDek he was removing.

 

[drewkaree]

Still use a heat gun to help, if you're using one. If not, borrow one or Harbor Freight one and add it to the process, on low, and be careful with it. DON'T set it down on the boat unless it's on something to protect the gelcoat, that WILL damage things in a hurry

 

[Robconn]

Still use a heat gun to help, if you're using one. If not, borrow one or Harbor Freight one and add it to the process, on low, and be careful with it. DON'T set it down on the boat unless it's on something to protect the gelcoat, that WILL damage things in a hurry

Still use a heat gun to help, if you're using one. If not, borrow one or Harbor Freight one and add it to the process, on low, and be careful with it. DON'T set it down on the boat unless it's on something to protect the gelcoat, that WILL damage things in a hurry

definitely will use a bristle brush and get spray bottle to ease with removing glue residue.

 

[drewkaree]

It doesn't sound like the mineral spirits is working all that well, is that the case?

If the acetone and gelcoat is concerning, you can also try Xylene, but I dunno if it's readily available in your area. Goof Off WILL work, but it feels like it leaves a residue. That SHOULD be easy to remove with a stripping wash of Dawn soap, but that residue would concern me regarding adhesion, and you're already fighting with all the leftovers in the non-skid pattern. If you can't find white scotch brite pads in your area, Amazon is always there, and I've heard the blue pads are similar to the white one. The "grit" of scotch brite pads has the white as the finest, similar to 1000 grit, and the gray is ~800. I wouldn't go any coarser than that, and DEFINITELY not the green pads. As odd as it sounds, you may have better luck with the scotch brite pads than that brush. You're essentially taking bunches of toothpicks (the bristles) to the surface, vs the scotch brite with a larger and connected area to help. It'll also somewhat hold some of the adhesive remover that you choose, so you won't have to spray/apply as much, and you'll also get some of the adhesive to stick to the fibers of the scotch brite.

I buy Scotch Brite pads by the box, and they should run about $20-25. If you've got a drill handy, you could also search amazon for an attachment for the scotch brite pads, to help the process along, and save your arms and shoulders.

 

[Joatmon]

I removed and replaced the pad on the stern deck. I used NAPA 6040 reducer that I have had for over 15 years. It worked great. I placed a towel over the leftover adhesive and then poured the reducer on the towel to allow it to soak. After two minutes I removed the towel and used a plastic scraper and it came right off. I did have to wipe off a few adhesive boggers with the soaked towel. I was concerned about using Acetone because it does melt resin, but no damage the to gel coat with the 6040. Once scraped cleaned and dried from evaporation the deck was ready for the new foam.

The reducer contains Acetone, Ethyl Acetate, Toluene, Butoxyethanol and Naphtha. All the bad $hit.

I thought it will surely be outlawed by now. I checked and it is available at NAPA (except CA) but very expensive. $65/gal. You may be able to find another type of enamel paint reduce that would work.

 

[Robconn]

It doesn't sound like the mineral spirits is working all that well, is that the case?

If the acetone and gelcoat is concerning, you can also try Xylene, but I dunno if it's readily available in your area. Goof Off WILL work, but it feels like it leaves a residue. That SHOULD be easy to remove with a stripping wash of Dawn soap, but that residue would concern me regarding adhesion, and you're already fighting with all the leftovers in the non-skid pattern. If you can't find white scotch brite pads in your area, Amazon is always there, and I've heard the blue pads are similar to the white one. The "grit" of scotch brite pads has the white as the finest, similar to 1000 grit, and the gray is ~800. I wouldn't go any coarser than that, and DEFINITELY not the green pads. As odd as it sounds, you may have better luck with the scotch brite pads than that brush. You're essentially taking bunches of toothpicks (the bristles) to the surface, vs the scotch brite with a larger and connected area to help. It'll also somewhat hold some of the adhesive remover that you choose, so you won't have to spray/apply as much, and you'll also get some of the adhesive to stick to the fibers of the scotch brite.

I buy Scotch Brite pads by the box, and they should run about $20-25. If you've got a drill handy, you could also search amazon for an attachment for the scotch brite pads, to help the process along, and save your arms and shoulders.

referring to the pics so far, the left side I left towels directly on the no skid surface, while on the right side, which looks rougher, the seadek was in place when I set paper towels directly on seadeck. I would say the mineral spirits worked as expected. My issue was the all the remaining glue residue remaining in the low spots of the non-skid section. So Will’s video did not address this specific issue. But will return to boat this week and now with advice from here will have a plan to Finnish project. I’ll keep you posted. The flat surfaces came out clean.

 

[Robconn]

Update: spoke to the service manager at marina. He said use acetone.In his opinion, only thing that will take off adhesive. Which I had plenty on hand preparing for this project. His advice came with caution. No more than 15 minutes per area. Secondly, use white clothes as acetone will leave pigments from color of towels imbedded in boat surface. So far, I got further using acetone, then using mineral spirits. Just a lot of elbow grease. I appreciate all recommendations and know it comes from your experience and sound logic.
I purchased the replacement mats. But I think I will just replace the two mats for now. Otherwise, it will cut into boating season. And the other mats are like new.

 

[Robconn]

Acetone worked for me to remove residue to add the new stuff.

Edit*
Use acetone at your own risk, had a member let me know it could soften gel coat using it to remove the adhesive! I replaced my swim deck seadek 5 years ago and haven’t noticed any issues, that’s my own anecdotal experience though! I wouldn’t leave an acetone soaked rag on the adhesive, I just would splash it on and rub it off, it evaporates fairly quickly.

That the plan today. I noticed how it removed adhesive along with elbow grease.

 

[Joatmon]

I would use caution using straight acetone. Based on my experience building a fiberglass boat acetone will dissolve polyester resin. Ok not really dissolve but could distort the gel coat finish. I used acetone as a resin thinner and to remove leftover resin on my tools.

 

[Robconn]

FYI: Marine Mat corporate does not recommend using thier adheasive mats on the Swim Platform, Im assumign for the same reason of failure. Of course that does stop the known Mat vender from recommending and only offering it. I wonder if SeaDeck also makes the same recommendation?

I know the seadeck is a fairly new product, within the last 15+ years. I could be wrong, please correct me, but I would hope boat manufacturers would skip the non skid only for purposes of using seadeck or other alternative brands. Before seadeck and other brands like it were commercially available, im sure non skid was the norm.

 

[Robconn]

2 hours later….