Fabric gone, wood up
- Thread starter Sylvain
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I am curious why you did not put insulation behind the wood slats? I am contemplating doing something similar to my quarter berth and v-berth, but I thought I would stick in some 1" isulation (probably closed cell, painted white).
Jim,
I wanted to have air movement behind the wood. The last thing I wanted after removing the fabric was more mold. Even closed cell foam would have trapped moisture between the hull and the foam. Sprayed urethane foam is a solution but I didn't need to go through the expense and the process.
It's noisier but it's clean.
Once I got the bits of foam that were left on the hull, I used a grinder with a layered sandpaper wheel (Dewalt 60 grit) to give some adhesion surface for the epoxy. The battens are 1/2 in. plywood hot glued to the hull and glassed in using 10 once fiberglass "tape".
It's primed with Kilz 2 latex primer. This stuff sticks to everything. Then I painted with Bear semi-gloss acrylic. I could have left it with the primer but I have the paint anyway.
There's a belief among boaters that all paint has to be boat paint. Inside the cabin, Latex/acrylic paints are a much better mold resistant coating than alkyd/oil paints.
It's primed with Kilz 2 latex primer. This stuff sticks to everything. Then I painted with Bear semi-gloss acrylic. I could have left it with the primer but I have the paint anyway.
There's a belief among boaters that all paint has to be boat paint. Inside the cabin, Latex/acrylic paints are a much better mold resistant coating than alkyd/oil paints.
Agreed. I did the same prep (tear off, sand, mold proof paint, epoxy 1/2" exterior plywood strips) but used Zinsser Permawhite Mold-Mildewproof(similar to Kilz-2). I then had something solid to attach the red cedar tongue and groove slats to. It came out well. I did not get a set of pictures of the finished product (will do later). I tinted it to the same color as Kiwigrip Cream.
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On this note... I'm in the phase where I like the wood slats but don't want to do start that type of project just yet. If the fabric has to stay for now, how best to ensure it stays clean without damaging it?
- I own a Bissel Little Green which is nice for upholstery and carpet spots (pets). It's just a stationary brush with sprayer and vacuum. I'm not sure if it would be too harsh and fuzz/pull the fabric. Is spray and pat-dry the only way to go?
- After cleaning the dirt out, I've seen people still say use a hydrogen peroxide solution or mild bleach solution to ensure the mildew that may be in the fabric is totally dead.
- If either of the above discolor (my carpet is already a little discolored from age), I have painted other fabric (automotive seats and door panel carpeting) with inexpensive Duplicolor Fabric Paint to my satisfaction. This assumes I haven't ruined the foam behind the fabric in my first two steps.
My fabric was very dirty and had stains from chain plate leaks. I used 3 steps- first I scrubbed it with a strong mix of an oxyclean type cleaner, then I went with a strong mix of hydrogen peroxide (I too read about the dead cells...). Finally I scrubbed it with carpet stain cleaner. For each step I used enough liquid to wash away the "dirt"- I had a big sponge on hand to clean up the dirty water that ran down/out. It turned out great- a little lighter in color but that is probably just from 31 years of dirt and grime being gone.
My bet is that your Bissel machine would work ok... Our plan B was to rent a small carpet steamer if the 3 step approach did not do the trick. The boat smells better as well. Ed H.
I use a putty knife. I am working on an invention which is basically a hollow-handled putty knife with a vacuum-cleaner attachment on the end of the handle. You could make such a device yourself (gotta love duct tape). Otherwise, it is only a mess of hard work. The fortunate thing is that both the dried blue and the shredding foam leave only very heavy dust that drops before much of it becomes airborne; so though one should wear a dust mask there really isn't the hazard that grinding fiberglass would have, for example.
Sylvain-- question
What did you screw the slats to, against the hull? Were there lath sticks there already; or did you add some?
What did you screw the slats to, against the hull? Were there lath sticks there already; or did you add some?
More details:
I used 1 inch strips of 1/2 inch plywood.
I used a hot glue gun to make them stick to the hull and then used epoxy and 10 once 3 inch fiberglass "tape" to secure the them to the hull.
I used #6 stainless steel screws to attach the finished wood strips. I had two drills: one with a depth stopped countersink bit and one with a Philips #3 bit.
I used 1 inch strips of 1/2 inch plywood.
I used a hot glue gun to make them stick to the hull and then used epoxy and 10 once 3 inch fiberglass "tape" to secure the them to the hull.
I used #6 stainless steel screws to attach the finished wood strips. I had two drills: one with a depth stopped countersink bit and one with a Philips #3 bit.
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