Starburst cracks in deck

[IOLANI]

I've got probably a dozen or so of these in my deck ranging from nickel size to the size of a coaster. What would be the best way to address them before they lead to something more serious without having to respray the whole deck with Imron?

 

[Pascal]

That s moisture under the non skid and possibly the gel coat. You have to chip off the loose paint and gel coat if it goes that far, fill/fair with thickened epoxy and then paint it had a ton of these on mine

 

[IOLANI]

That s moisture under the non skid and possibly the gel coat. You have to chip off the loose paint and gel coat if it goes that far, fill/fair with thickened epoxy and then paint it had a ton of these on mine

That's my worry that it will get into the gelcoat. Is it possible to roll and tip with Imron to match? How do I replicate the non-skid ?

 

[Pascal]

I had a lot of these on my foredeck and took out a lot of paint flakes and gel coat. After epoxy is ended up using Kiwi Grip instead. Once moisture gets in the cracks you have to chip the loose stuff.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Do it right and grind those out and fill. Then sand off all of the non-skid and get it done professionally. I just saw a non-skid job done by the yard where I store. They have a special gun to shoot it with. It looks factory. Just like when it rolled out the door at Hatteras.

I have seen so many crappy non-skid jobs that are splotchy and uneven and that Kiwi looks like truck bed liner. Do yourself a favor and give that boat what it deserves.

 

[Sadey]

Stewardship, it’s what I try to think of when doing an upgrade or repair.

 

[IOLANI]

I’m all for doing it right but wouldn’t right be fresh Imron with non skid ?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I’m all for doing it right but wouldn’t right be fresh Imron with non skid ?

Yes. That is what I'm saying.

 

[rwaldrop13]

Just chiming in on the non-skid. As an old Coastie, we did our own non-skid, and with a little careful prep, care and patience you can make it look like factory. We watched the weather forecast looking for 4-5 days of clear dry weather. We sanded down to bare metal, primed and painted with 2-3 coats of Imron. Yes, your tax dollars paid for Imron - We also maintained buoys from New London to Cape May and up the Hudson to Albany year round. Anyway, we bought playground sand, and spread it on plastic sheets to dry out. While the sand dried out we laid out our taping for zoned non-skid, following the curve of the stern, for example, and taping off smooth areas around deck fixtures, and allowing tracks for rain to run off to the scuppers. Once that was done, we rolled out wet paint - Imron but only partially thinned - then used flour sifters to spread the sand over the wet paint. We let it dry for at least 24 hours then carefully swept it with soft brooms and shop-vacced the loose sand. Then we'd pull our tape strips. After that we would roll 3-4 more coats of Imron -regular thinned proportions- over the whole deck. Voila. I met some Navy shipriders that were 20+ year careerists that asked who did our non-skid. Bottom line, care and patience. I think it would work on a Hat just like it worked on a 1942 vintage Cactus-class buoy tender.

 

[bigbill]

those look like old screw holes that are starting to show. if you dont grind them out and glass them they will return.

 

[bostonhatteras]

Non skid is probably the most difficult aspect of painting a boat an owner can attempt. Laying down the granules evenly is tough. I've done it and would again but its not for the faint of heart. I did try spraying awlgrip griptex but it needs highly specialized spray equipment with big air like over 20 cfm continuous. My biggest is 16cfm. My method was using awlgrip griptex coarse in a rectangluar box that is able to be held in the hand with two layers of fine mesh window screen, the screen being separated by about one inch. yes, the two layers of screen made a difference over one. I would walk over the still tacky paint that was sprayed onto the deck and hit the side of the box with a small hammer sifting the granules onto the deck. Air tool blow off the excess and roll the deck with a mohair 1/4" nap roller with flattened paint of the same color. It will take a lot of paint and multiple coats but it looks more than acceptable, not factory, but the price difference is not comparable. Spraying more paint onto the broadcast granules didn't adequately cover them. Imron likely isn't what you think it is anymore. Imron is just a name now and is mainly a waterborne product. The old imron was the leading paint by far but voc laws spelled out its demise. Look elsewhere for catalyzed urethanes. I used PPG delfleet evolution FDGH, as close to the old imron as you'll get I believe and much less expensive than awlgrip or any 'marine' brand. A ready to spray gallon is likely around $550-600. lots of peripheral things too with catalyzed paint like ratio cups, wash thinner, respirators (that cover your eyes too) tons of tape and masking etc I agree with Bill those look like old holes that the filler has shrunk. use a catalyzed filler, not one that dries by evaporation of solvent.

 

[IOLANI]

Thanks for all the replies. Whenever possible I like to do the work myself but this one may be too far out of my wheelhouse. I will likely solicit some estimates from the yard where I keep her on the hard during the winter. Maybe I can work it so I save some $$ by doing some or most of the prep work.

I agree that the one picture looks like an old screw hole but that photo was taken somewhere along the center of the gunwale on the port side so unlikely a screw would have been there unless it was used during original construction.