Can I cover my non-skid on my fiberglass boat with epoxy and more fiberglass?

Question

I just bought a boat and need to repaint the whole thing, the people who owned it before me put a horrible job of non-skid over the original glassed in non-skid. They used marine paint and sand... so thats two layers of non-skid to deal with. I was wondering if I could just cover the whole mess with fiberglass and start fresh instead of the chipping and grinding?

Answer 1

You could, but it affects weight and performance. I think you would be more satisfied to get a disc grinder and prep the area first, then do the non-skid. Every time I tried a shortcut on my boat I always seemed to need to redo it.

Answer 2

You have to grind down until you have a stable base. It sounds like the people did a hack job just to sell the boat. You can try to avoid it, but delamination will probably be an issue later.

It's best (cheaper in the long run, too) to deal with the problem now. You can give Jabsco a shot to remove the non skid.

Sorry.

Answer 3

You have a GRP (polyester and fiberglass) boat then certainly a gelcoat (polyester with wax and colour pigment) then a coat of marine paint and you want to cover it with ... epoxy and fiberglass? I am sorry but you will be heading for problems. I would say that your best move is to remove the old paint and cover it with gelcoat in the colour of your choice, that you have mixed up with microballoons to give a non-skid surface. You may also do the same with polyurethane instead of gelcoat.