Make A Fiberglass Mold Of Your Gelcoat Nonskid For Repair!

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[@blcouch]

This five year old video that I just discovered is going to help me on my Whaler floor that I am currently working on. Thank you.

[@jeremyrainman]

Ooh, this is an excellent topic. My gelcoat top has a non-skid tiny-pyramid texture and some areas I might want to fix someday soon, I was honestly at a loss as to how to do this properly. THANK YOU.

[@ahandymanishere]

I really like your delivery on your videos

[@chrischristoforou7245]

Thanks I was trying to find the panel to make the repairs and now thanks to you I can make one myself

[@kimyoung230]

What a great idea! I need to do this on my boat. I have some small areas near my shrouds where epoxy dripped onto the non skid. I expect that I will damage the non-skid in removing the epoxy. but now I have a method for repairing the non-skid! Thank you for the video! :-)

[@charrasssss]

Great job, good and informative. Thanks for share your knowledge!

[@chasingwaves11]

Thank you !! This is going to work out awesome on my 13ft Boston Whaler!!!

[@TheAlbrowniv]

love it! I've seen those non-skid repair kit$. wow! thanks for the tip!

[@geoffstein3896]

You're the man Andy 👍

[@ivanosores75]

I'm going to use this technique very soon.

[@jimmiller4951]

You are my go to guy. Thank you for doing what you do.Question , How do I make non skid on a swim platform that I am building ?. Perhaps you have a video ?.

[@Professor1974]

Always wondering how its done.!!! Awesome.!!!!

[@jrob325]

What type of gelcoat did you use? Finishing or Laminating? Also, what did you use to "laminate" the chopped strands! Thanks you for posting videos. You have been most helpful!

[@g.lausin8521]

Thank for this video, this is going to make my next project look great (I hope). I am cutting out a really ugly (and useless) bulge of hardware out from my foredeck and will be taking that opportunity to install mounting hardware for a roller furler. Accessing this area of the boat is not possible without creating an access hole. But when I do, it is going to leave a 4"x4" hole. My deck is textured so I want to use this method to finish the job. Since I will be glassing the hole (using the techniques from one of your other videos) I want to keep the texture flush with the rest of the foredeck. How best to accomplish this type of repair? Oh, does the gelcoat you are using with or without wax? Thank you very much.

[@rehabcatalinamartin6718]

Awesome...as always.

[@BAHBAMA]

How would you repair a large area with the non-skid mold. e.g. boston whaler floor?

[@rickludwin5691]

Great video! very helpful. Would laminating resin work just as well as the gelcoat for the first layer over PVA?

[@TableRockDiverDougB]

I love this vid and have watched it many times. One thing I'm curious about is, are you mixing wax in to cure the gel coat too? I'm assuming if you don't put the wax in then by putting the resin and chop strand followed by a coat of PVA is how your getting it cured?

[@joefish1498]

May I ask how old, and or, worn was the nonskid you used to make your mold? I can't wait to try this as I have several areas of spider cracks in the surface layer of my deck and have been reluctant to repair them due to the non skid pattern.. My pattern looks identical to yours but its 16 years old and has been scrubbed a lot with things like soft scrub and other mild abrasives. I worry about how the mold will release. Any advice?

[@ranierrentas4818]

Would you paint over an existing molded nonskid on your boat? if so, what paint would you use ans how would you apply it?

[@theislandpackrat]

That's great.

[@belizedivingventuresllc1353]

Love it Wow

[@gregm.846]

Hi....I didn't find your first name so I'll just say howdy.. I have a question about using panels like this one you just created as a nonskid surface for a steel hull boat with a steel deck. It had Treadmaster before but it is becoming prohibitively expensive and I really don't want to use roll on granules because of appearance. I have watched a lot of your vids (thanks btw) and I think your input would be of value. I have talked to the pattern outfit you mentioned and received samples from them as well. To give you an idea of what I need in terms of quantity this deck has roughly 25@3'x4' panels and at $150/panel Treadmaster is beyond my budget. Thanks for your great work.....I actually keep a library of your vids on my drive for reference. Greg

[@zv3000]

soo, ok my first time ever working with gelcoat. i was giving catalyst with the gelcoat, and i know you need to catalyze it for other jobs but in this case you don't add to the gelcoat directly ?since you are laminating with catalyzed resin on top of the gelcoat ? (i know i very likely won't get this answered but worth a shot)

[@bizzybone485]

Andy, I’m on the fence about grinding a factory non skid off a casting platform because ...well it’s the ugly 80s tan color that was popular. I could easily use pumice and scatter but scratching my head if I could make a mold of the existing before I sand it all off and print it into new Gelcoat with a light off white. It’s a pretty large casting deck broken into three sections. Thoughts?

[@twinssail]

Should you apply wax to the surface before applying the PVA? Or strip off the wax before adding the PVA?

[@CraigAPayne]

Andy - GREAT videos, thank you! Just a quick question... Do you add catalyst to the gelcoat when you're making your mold?

[@firstmkb]

Yes, or it would stay liquid instead of partially cure.

[@justlittlebe]

thanks 👏👏👏👏👏💯🇧🇷

[@shaneklower9968]

hi Mate were do you get the Patent

[@gilb5710]

Can you list the names of the chemicals etc you used?

[@WillN2Go1]

If you put a spot light (Just an LED spot, nothing fancy.) outside that door to rake along your work surface and then make your exposure just a bit darker, the texture will read on video. And if you ever need a narrow spot. Just make a tube of black paper and tape it around the LED bulb. And the reason you want to put the light some distance away is the inverse square law. You're light level will remain almost the same across your whole work surface. You might also do this by blocking the upper 3/4 of that window. (Before I was a teacher, kayaker, boat fixer, and sailor I did photography)

[@xrm1996]

REALLY fantastic video! I'm going to use this immediately to eliminate some bolt holes in my swim platform and am wondering if this method is also effective at repairing these thin gel coat cracks radiating from screw holes that mount some of the deck hardware on my boat. Supposedly these were formed because the factory needed to countersink these holes and didn't. Do you think this method would repair/fill those gelcoat cracks?

[@boatworkstoday]

+xrm1996 This will work, but only after the cracks are addressed.. If there's cracks in the gel, most likely there's cracks in the surface layers of glass... Im guessing the holes that were pre-drilled were undersized and and screws expanded the glass causing the cracking...

[@Bakanelli]

@@boatworkstoday haven’t think of it before that holes need to be larger that the diameter of the screw because of it’s expansion! Randy do you think laying epoxy over cured polly could cause problems in long term cos of (possible?) different expansion rates between polly and epoxy? Thanks 🙂⛵⛵⛵

[@invisablefisherman5680]

Was the white gel coat used to fill the holes in the non skid “Waxed gel coat” or “non waxed” gel coat? Was the black casting gel coat used to create the mold made of “non waxed”gel coat or “waxed gel” coat. Thank You.

[@mymobile5014]

Is the PVA he uses the same PVA glue that you get in art shops?

[@chrisbarklem2627]

I followed the instruction and made several non-slip gelcoat and fiberglass molds. They work as the video shows, but they do not perform the way that I expected. The gelcoat placed in the repair bleeds slightly around the repair area and the pattern ends up being 0.5-1mm above the patterned (non-repaired) surface. What is the solution for finishing the work? is the pattern just a guide to cutting and sanding the pattern down 0.5-1mm to make it flush with the non-repair patterned surface? Should I be using next to no excess gelcoat to reduce as much as possible the bleeding? Can you give me a hint please. OR perhaps include that crutial step in your video?

[@adam8642]

Hi, great videos as always. I don't know why you you sprayed pva over the back of the resin/glass that you laminated on to make the mould. Can you explain please? ( I don't mean the original pva coat you used as a release agent).

[@jamesfrizzell3628]

I believed he used polyester resin to laminate the chop strand to the black gel coat. PVA creates an air barrier over the polyester resin to allow it to fully cure. Without an air barrier, it remains tacky.

[@ToshiyukiStudios]

How well would a flat mould work on a curved surface? Old Boston Whalers have a curved non-skid interior and I have a spot Ill need to repair. Any thoughts?

[@camarocraig7060]

Toshiyuki Studios use a true 2 component soft polyurethane pour material

[@sansoonyachtpainting8696]

Hi Andy, The black gel coat you used in the video did you add paint to make it black? Gel coat is white. Thanks Zeyad

[@jamesfrizzell3628]

Gelcoat comes in many colors...www.jamestowndistributors.com/product/product-detail/1522

[@mtompsonVFX]

Thanks for the video(s)! Just a quick question, can you recommend any makes of PVA and then a ratio mix if you are watering down? many thanks

[@boatworkstoday]

Pretty much any brand of PVA will get the job done (Evercoat is one brand that comes to mind). I would not recommend diluting the PVA as it may mess with it's ability to form a skin. It's pretty thin to begin with (slightly thicker than water) so there shouldn't be a need to water it down :-) Hope this helps!

[@aDogNamedGromit]

@@boatworkstoday I am working on a friends Contessa. I want to make a mold of the deck pattern. I would use the existing deck as the pattern. I see discoloration of the master part there. Does that all come off with the PVA? I would use the existing deck to make that pattern. I don't want to ruin the deck or glue itself down. OMG Also can I use the pattern with Resin and Fairing filler instead of Gel coat. I think the PVA would not let it stick to that (I don't know that for sure either.) Thanks an old Supporter of yours in Canada. Rick Marmei

[@mojosailingcat]

How did using the deck as the mold work out?

[@jeffs9530]

Seems like I remember you used sugar water on another video on texture match templet to keep it from sticking.

[@stefanodimartino6518]

I watched your video last night and today I was at Home Depot getting a fluorescent light cover for my garage and realized that they have the same pyramid pattern, I wonder if you could use the light cover to make a mould. It is acrylic so it should pop right off! Do you think it would work or is it to thin?

[@maddogmaz1576]

I dont see why it wouldnt

[@firstmkb]

Those are super thin and fragile - look at the collection of broken ones always in the stack. Polyurethane should hold it down to something solid like plywood, then let the PVA release the gelcoat.

[@jamesschofield662]

what can be used to spray the pva if I dont have a paint sprayer? Something like Preval?

[@CorwynGC]

A Spray bottle will do.

[@marceltromp1454]

Can I get a small piece of this Beneteau deck 1990 mold so I can print it into my damaged deck. Is any for sale ?

[@gilb5710]

Did you spray PVA after fiberglassing? How did you get the PVA off the final mold?

[@jamesfrizzell3628]

I believe he's spraying PVA after laminating the chop strand because he's using polyester resin, not epoxy. Polyester resin won't cure without an air barrier created by the PVA. PVA is water soluble so it should wash off the final mold easily.

[@andreuzee9455]

How would you suggest applying the PVA besides spraying

[@boatworkstoday]

+Andre Uzee For this type of application, spraying really the best way. If that's not an option, you could also apply a few light coats of a carnuba paste wax. It would serve the same purpose as the pva. Personally I'm more comfortable using the PVA (I've never had anything stick!). Hope this helps!

[@christopherpaige4553]

Can I use a spray bottle for this or does it have to be a pneumatic sprayer?

[@joefish1498]

When you pulled the mold off I see a large irregularly shaped white spot different in color than the rest of the hatch. My assumption was there is only pva between the hatch and gel coat. Can you please explain.?

[@maddogmaz1576]

Its PVA that peeled off the bottom. It just washes off

[@BruceNdc]

I have a small non-skid area on my coach roof that needs to be repaired, but it is on a curved surface. I tried using a two-part "rubber" mold without good results. How can a mold be made using your method for a curved surface on the boat? Could I make the non-skid mold from a flat surface and heat it to bend it into shape without losing the pattern? Thanks! Bruce

[@boatworkstoday]

+Bruce T Maybe make the mold a foot or so behind the area you need to repair? The mold and part will carry the curvature ;-) Hope this helps!

[@deniseweathers9807]

This is conceptual, but for WIW. Clean the whole area to be covered. Find enough auto door rubber from a scrap yard, and with grade school rubber glue, form a perimiter of the area you want to duplicate. Reinforce outer side with duct tape in case glue lets go. Find some 1/2" mesh or lighter and cut enough to fill the area. Pour in the area a thin film of plaster of paris. Partially dry, put in your mesh. Fill in the remaining plaster up to the edge of the rubber dams. Let dry. You now have a cast of the area. Notes: The plaster will only press against the dams for a minute or less until it dries. You don't need the plaster too thick with the reinforcement. The weight of the plaster will be heavy, but nothing the designers of the boat had not already considered(under weight of man). This forms the negative of the area, you'll need to follow other methods to lift out the positive pattern. You can test this process on a corner to weed out the bugs.

[@johnking7902]

The original printed non skid that you took the mold from, Does it come in rolls or something? How is that original printed, textured non skid made?

[@boatworkstoday]

+John King It's typically part of the original mold when the manufacturer is casting the deck of the boat (depending on the pattern). Some are applied after the fact, but in that case it's more of a sand texture that is sprayed on :-)

[@johnking7902]

Thank you

[@HenriqueSilva-ow6qy]

Eu não entendo nada do que ele fala

[@josephpergola8303]

At 4:22 did you mix up the times of glass and pva application? Or did you not show another application of pva on top of the glass? Did you spray or brush pva onto the glass? I did not see that part. I only saw the application of pva on the hatch itself to prevent the gelcoatfro sticking. Sorry I'm such a noob

[@jamiemehl7053]

sir what does pva stand for

[@jamesfrizzell3628]

polyvinyl acetate

[@ssmith4045]

@@jamesfrizzell3628 acetate is the glue alcohol is the release agent

[@lucasspaniard8430]

Awesome thank you! Also I would like to know more about the 5 donkeys that gave this video a thumbs down lol!

[@boatworkstoday]

I like to think they were just confused :-)

[@Johnbass37]

I hope for your sake that the original piece wasn't a copyrighted product.

[@boatworkstoday]

+Johnbass37 It's just a standard hatch cover from my boat ;-)

[@russellcole3549]

Don't bad-mouth some company, Dude. That is not cool. Show your stuff bu don't say their stuff is overpriced.

[@boatworkstoday]

I didn't bad mouth any company or say that they stuff was over-priced (in fact I believe I said that they make a great product). All I did was try to show a more cost effective way to accomplish a similar result :-)

[@jaywinters2483]

He's not bad mouthing anybody. Don't get self righteous.

[@tenplus1025]

BoatworksToday I’m glad you show these vids. Paying a company to do what I can do is asinine! I repaired my ranger for 50$. The fiberglass shop wanted 500$! Thanks for bad mouthing😂

[@tenplus1025]

BoatworksToday is there anyway I can send you pics of where my trolling motor beat a gouge into my hull? I am wondering if I should use resin to fill in the gouge and match the flake, or something else. Dude you are the man!!!