I need to remove the very aggressive non-skid on the decks of my Marstrom Tboat...it's eating through my knuckles, drysuit, trapeze belts etc etc.

I've tried hitting is with a random disc sander with 50 grit, but after about 1 min, the deck has "sanded" the sandpaper smooth.

It's been suggested I use a belt sander instead of the disc sander, but I'd like a few more opinions before buying the belt setup.

don't buy... rent!

I'm currently got a mig welding machine for a week for $30 with the faceshield from Sunbelt equipment rentals.

I'd be warry of a belt sander on a Marstrom if you go to far, it could get costly to repair.

Exactly my concern...is there any other approach to get this horrible stuff off my decks?

Mike.

Is it a non-skid additive to in a painted surface? If so try some fiberglass safe paint remover.

try deisel fuel to remove the sticky stuff from fiberglass

Doug Ramsey

I think I was that suggested the belt sander. I used one on the stern of my 6.0 - previous owner had abused the boat such that the stern had some pretty serious structural cracking (looooong, but funny, story!). It still took a bit of work to get through the gel coat. However, it would be difficult to sand and NOT get through the gel coat using the belt sander. I would only do this if you plan on refinishing this area later.

How about filling in the bumps with more gel-coat? Just a thought.
Al

you could use some low density filler in a thin layer then sand that down flush to the skid surface.

Added weight and you'd have to repaint too

the problem with this is that you must sand the gel to get anything to stick to it. if you do not, things will not stick. just take your time and sand it off with a good 6"ro sander and some 60 to 80 grit paper.

The reason the non skid is so tough to remove is due to the epoxy paint used. (while I think you are making a mistake) The best you will do is to grind it off... refair the decks and repaint. I have no idea how you will stay on the boat though.

Good luck mark

I forgot to mention, you could always use an angle grinder

Is the non-skid from the factory? Or is this something the former owner put on?
Sounds like someone might of put a coat or resin or poly/epoxy paint on and dusted it with sand while it was still wet. Why not leave it if you can? Take some 120 wet/dry and just take some of the “tooth” off of it? I have seen more boats ruined by disk and belt sanders in the hands of inexperienced people than from any other cause. It is risky enough with some one who has a lot of experience, for someone with little or no experience it usually ends in disaster. They usually end up sanding thru the gel coat and weakening the underlying glass. Your Tornado has very thin skins as it is; to attack it with course sandpaper on a disk/belt sander is a recipe for disaster.

Bob

What about a steel scraper to knock off the tops of the jagged edges? I have one from Woodworkers supply that is a finish scraper, and a paint scraper from Home Depot that just eats material.

Yes, the boat was recently repainted by the previous owner (an Olymipic campaigner here in the US) and the sand is in the paint layer, not the underlying gelcoat. I've sailed many tornado's and this one is the only one with such highly abrasive decks. The stuff is way way more than necessary stay on the boat. Most other boats I've sailed have a matte or semi-gloss type finish on the decks with a strip of non-skid along the outer gunwales for trapping. Always been fine for traction (butt on deck wise). Ive been on keelboat where you're standing on the decks...they don't have such aggressive non-skid as this boat has, and they need it!

Will try some scrapers and try a paint stripper in a small area as a test.

Mike.

Ok, I did a test with some paint stripper from Interlux that specifically said it was safe for gelcoat/fiberglass. This stuff seems to do the trick on the non-skid. After about 10 min I was able to scrape the surface down with a putty knife.

Will do the entire deck once I've got a free weekend. It'll need to be re-painted where the non-skid was...I'm thinking of masking off the same areas, just a little wider at the edges, and hitting it with a contrasting color (a deep blue or dark grey for example). Apparently Interlux makes a non-abrasive non-skid additive for top decks...anyone know something about about it?

Mike.

that's great news!

Why not take the path of least resistance and apply some non-skid material over the old one that is more to your liking?? Us lazy guys think this way.

The interlux nonskid is a good match for the original Marstrom nonskid. It reminds me of ~150 grit sandpaper thats been painted.