We have removed the teak decking from our WS42 Ketch, Harmony, and are now confronted with removing the bedding compound that remains.  If anyone has done this, what did you use to remove the bedding compound from the deck?

After removing the decking, which was less of a chore than anticipated, I have residual bedding compound in various stages of life.  Some areas peels up like old tape.  Other areas are relatively fresh.  The old areas are stained brown from water flowing under the teak.  Additionally, there is a black caulk all around the edges.

I have used an oscillating scraper to some initial success.  I have also used a 3/8" chisel to remove the residue from the areas where the anti-skid pattern is absent.

I have used the Boat-Life degreaser/remover to limited success:  it does remove the black caulk after an excessive amount of elbow grease.  I have also used Xylene, which is about 85% of the Boat-Life product, but the results have not been great, either.

My plan is to remove the bedding compound residue, and use the existing anti-skid patterns as a guide to applying Kiwi-Grip.  However, I do need to repair gel-coat cracks and faire the numerous screw holes.  (Heck, they are only small holes....)

So, I would appreciate any counsel or real-life success stories.  I do not want to grind away the existing anti-skid in order to prepare a proper surface.  Thanks!

Fair Winds from Doug on WS42 Harmony

Don, thanks for your reply!  On Harmony, we have 7 dorado boxes that had to be rebuilt.  I, too, encountered that pink compound.  I was able to remove that a paint scraper and acetone.

However, what was under the teak deck was slightly different.  Some was dried up and literally peeled up.  However, other residue is more like 5200, although thankfully is not 5200. While this stuff peels up with a sharp chisel on a smooth surfaces, the amount that is spread over the "diamond" anti-skid pattern is more challenging.

Anyway, I will try lacquer thinner to see if it dissolves or softens the residue enough to scour off with an strong abrasive pad.  BTW, I just sourced a great supply of "elbow grease" in gallon containers online:  I hope it isn't out of date!!!

Thanks again for your thoughts!

Doug

i removed most of the teak from my deck over the past couple of years.  the bedding compound had failed, so that water had penetrated between the teak and the deck and into several screw holes soaking some of the plywood core inside the deck lamination.  the bedding either stuck to the teak or to the deck.  i sanded the bedding off the teak and used toluol (toluene) to soften the rubber bedding that stuck to the gelcoat..i then used a fiberous wheel in a drill to abrade  most, but not all, of the softened bedding.  i used a thin diamond multi-tool attachment to remove the rest.

toluol is a solvent that you can smell when you use contact cement.  i have used it for over 30 years to soften and destroy rubber, mostly in the roofing trade.  it takes a while to work. if you apply it to rubber, the rubber will eventually (several minutes) sort of curdle up and go soft and loose its tenacity.  toluol evaporates rapidly similar to acetone, so you may need to keep applying it to the surface. i found a supply at a paint shop. 

i tried a fiberous wheel (similar to a wire wheel, but made of tough plastic fibers) in a grinder, but found that too difficult to handle.  the drill was satisfactory.

the diamond multi-tool attachment disk that i used, was made for cutting ceramic tiles or concrete. it is about 2.5" in diameter and perhaps 1/16" thick with the perimeter encrusted with industrial diamonds.  by holding it in my gloved hand, at an angle of about 45 degrees to the deck, i was able to remove the last of the bedding stuck in the crevices and tiny cracks of the nonskid surface. i used this both in the fore and aft and athwartships directions. this also abraded the gelcoat somewhat providing a certain amount of tooth for whatever gets applied next.

in places where there was no non-skid, the cracking in the gelcoat was so deep that i ground down as much as 1/4" and then patched  with laminated fiberglass.

i drilled out the screw holes a little and filled them with west system's g-flex.epoxy. g-flex cures in damp conditions, such as was found in the plywood core.

i recycled as much of the teak as i could and glued it down with g-flex without fasteners, ...but that's another story.

boating is fun...  james

doug

be sure to use use some care with the toluene.  read the safety label.  

i think you are on the right track in not wanting to destroy the gelcoat.  it is probably the best defence against water penetration into the laminate.

in order to deal with the fine hair cracks between the peaks of the non-skid, i coated the entire surface with warm epoxy immediately before applying the g-flex.   hopefully this penetrated the cracks and sealed them..

i suspect that the reason for the more significant cracking in the no-non-skid areas is that the nonskid has forced a much finer cracking pattern. (some can be seen only with a lens.)  instead of having closely spaced fine cracks the no-non-skid area has fewer, but larger cracks.  these larger cracks have allowed more water penetration leading to more degradation in the laminate and lifting of the edges of the cracks.  my boat (W28) was built in 1978.

some time ago, i removed the headliner from inside the boat and found internal leaks out in the field of the laminate.  these were from tiny pin holes in the final fiberglass layer below the plywood core.  several small, wart like, piles of residue clung to the fiberglass like stalactites.. these were easily soluble in water and had an aroma similar to tar.  my conclusion was that water penetrating the deck through screw holes had dissolved some resin from the laminate, the plywood and the plywood glue and found its way out leaving the solute behind.

i too, found that the bow area was least affected.  most of the teak on the bow came up in chisel chip sized pieces pulling considerable non-ski along with it.  i ground the rest of the  non-skid off, made new sheets of non-skid and epoxied them to the deck.  

the side deck teak was easy to remove.  there was a layer of mud in places where failure was complete.

thank you for bringing my attention to a moisture meter. i should get one, but somehow i don't think it would give accurate readings through the top of the deck.  from the top down my deck is about 3/8" fiberglass, 1/2" plywood and then a single final layer of very course woven cloth.  readings from inside the boat would probably provide some useful information on the moisture still in the plywood core. 

james

greetings doug

i did the bow on my boat before i found the usefulness of the multi-tool.  i suspect it is the same as what you call an oscillating tool.

thank you for bringing kiwigrip to my attention.  i looked it up and perhaps it will be a suitable product to refinish my cabin top.

i removed and replaced my port side cap rail last winter, including replacement of the bolts holding the deck and hull together.  the multi-tool really paid for itself on that job. the starboard side will have to wait a while.  i did the whole job single handed.  even made a tool to hold the countersunk philips heads of the bolts while i unscrewed the nuts from inside. 

this has been a pleasant conversation, doug.  good luck with the rest of the project.

james