I am upgrading the main traveler and just removed the teak block that was the riser for the port end of the old traveler. It was a pain to remove (starboard riser was easy) partly because it was re-bedded with silicon sometime in the past. I did damage to the surface under it with the tools. You can see the result is pretty ugly:
The gel coat and nonskid pattern are damaged, and there is still plenty of silicon left on the surface. Only a small outboard part of this mess will be covered by the new Garhauer riser. I believe that Mainsail has said (in his article on bedding with butyl tape) that the only way to remove silicon bedding completely is by sanding it off. I have two requests for advice:
1. Are there any new ideas/products/procedures anyone has used successfully to remove silicon bedding?
2. What's available in small quantity to use to refinish the gel coat? I am pretty well up on how to reproduce the nonskid pattern, although I haven't attempted such a repair yet.
Thanks!
Peter
Just for the record, my boat is in generally great shape. This would be the only really ugly spot on the decks:
The gel coat and nonskid pattern are damaged, and there is still plenty of silicon left on the surface. Only a small outboard part of this mess will be covered by the new Garhauer riser. I believe that Mainsail has said (in his article on bedding with butyl tape) that the only way to remove silicon bedding completely is by sanding it off. I have two requests for advice:
1. Are there any new ideas/products/procedures anyone has used successfully to remove silicon bedding?
2. What's available in small quantity to use to refinish the gel coat? I am pretty well up on how to reproduce the nonskid pattern, although I haven't attempted such a repair yet.
Thanks!
Peter
Just for the record, my boat is in generally great shape. This would be the only really ugly spot on the decks: