Trouble cleaning "non skid" decking

flapbreaker

My "non skid" diamond patterned deck area's seem to get stained and I can't get them clean with a soap and brush. I've been thinking about maybe painting them with some kind of product but am afraid that that might be a mistake. Is there any product out there that will clean it? It seems as thought the diamond surface is a little porous unlike the gelcoat so I think that is why it's staining.

Da Nag · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 2:22 pm Post subject:

Just cleaned the non-skid on Pee Wee a couple weeks ago...it had sat for years without being touched. Plenty of stains...

TyBoo first mentioned it here, and he's right...Barkeeper's Friend is great stuff for getting stains out of gelcoat. I lightly wet the non-skid, then dumped the Barkeeper's Friend on it in an amount necessary to make it pasty. The 16 year old non-skid cleaned up perfectly - looks like new. I used an old toothbrush to clean the grooves, it went very quickly.

You will need to wax any surface you clean with this stuff afterwards - it will strip any existing wax right off.

BEFORE

AFTER

thataway · Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 2:46 pm Post subject:

Bar keepers friend contains oxylic acid and is good at removing stains. We use it occasionally. There are also some non skid deck waxes. These will help fill the pores of the gel coat and prevent staining. One of the ones we like is "Woody Wax" non skid wax.

flapbreaker · Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:12 am Post subject:

Wow Da Nag, does that stuff work on people too? Looks great! I'll have to give both products a try.

Stanley-J · Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 7:27 am Post subject:

where are the products sold?

Knotty C · Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 11:51 pm Post subject:

Something I've used to clean scuffs and marks on our boat is the Mr. Clean erasers. They look like white sponges and all you do is get them wet with plain water and rub the area that needs to be cleaned. I cleaned up our hatch covers and all the little marks you get on the gel coat as well as the white wood inside the boat. I keep a couple on the boat at all times.

They work great at home too getting marks off the walls and such. They come in two different kinds, one is just the white sponge (which is the one I prefer) and the other has a blue pad on one side.

TyBoo · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 12:28 am Post subject:

AstoriaDave · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 7:04 am Post subject:

bongo · Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:43 pm Post subject: Cleanning non slip

One wee detail:

I was having the same problem with normal mud and stuff; that is when I was using a brush. Then I simply used a rag and it worked much better. I think the bristles jump over or don't fit in the groves, but the rag does.

John