Gel coat showing through black in non-skid

I have three areas in the nonskid that are showing black in the channels at the bottom of the nonskid pattern. I would have expected it to wear through on the top of the pattern. How can I restore?

Good question Taylor...I too have the same problem and have tried all kinds of cunning plans but still no luck in solving the problem, so I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has got the answer.

Will do. Will mix gel coat a little thin so it will run down into the pattern well. Curious about the black color. Is this a base coat of some sort?

Hey James,
I have several patches of this black colour, all in the grooves rather than the ridges of the non-skid panels and strangely enough they are not in areas where you would expect the gelcoat to wear through due to mechanical abrasion..i.e. wear from foot traffic or ropes chafing etc. I initially assumed they were some sort of surface deposit that could be removed and, as I mentioned earlier, I tried all kinds of solvents and cleaners with no success. Having eventually dug out a magnifying glass to take a very close look, I am now of the opinion that the patches are the layer beneath the gelcoat and I had the same question....why would the colour be black? I think Haydon's suggestion is probably the only way to de-emphasise the black patches, but of course even a perfect colour match with the original Island Packet gelcoat will look different due to light exposure of the rest of the boat over years in the sun. My only problem now is that I live in Australia and having tried to order some gelcoat on-line I find that the company does not deliver worldwide. I will get them to deliver to my brother in Vancouver and I will pick it up when I visit in February. Let us know how it goes with your own treatment of the problem so I know if it works before ordering!!

Thanks for sharing. I will post when I made a test spot repair.

Taylor7000 - I have this issue on my boat.  Were you able to test / repair?

Hey Henry,
I ordered a colour match gelcoat repair paste and painted it onto the non-skid areas where it was showing black through the coating... not really a solution to the problem and I still have no credible answer as to why the problem should have occurred in the first place i.e. why there should be black appearing beneath the gelcoat. Please post an explanation if you find the answer!!!

Hey Loblolly,

Did the repair paste improve the appearance?

Spoke with a surveyor recently - apparently no answer as to "why". But the surveyor was clear that the issue is cosmetic only. Clean and reapply gelcoat as Hayden suggests seems to be the consensus. Hence was wondering if folks had success with that approach.

Hey Henry,
The gelcoat did improve the appearance but didn’t completely cover the black stains, although I only applied one coat and it was perhaps a bit thicker than ideal.... I may now go back and add another coat that is a bit thinner and see how that works. I think the gelcoat solution is the right one but would suggest two or three thin coats rather than one or two thick ones

Well, I hate to say it but I have not gotten to it.  To much going on.  We cut our cruising short and returned home due to Covid.  Then Hurricane Sally.  We have made all our home, dock, and boat repairs and I am ready to pick this up again.  I have some gel coat left over from the hull cosmetics and am going to try to tint it to match the deck shade.  I got to be pretty good with the hull.  Gel coat is easier than I expected.  The trick is progressively finer wet sanding until the gloss is restored with compound.  I stopped with 1000 grit then compounded and waxed with excellent results.  Also be very slow and methodical with the tinting adjustments.  More later.

 

Great to hear... I'll give the thinner gelcoat a try. Thanks!