Thought you might find this interesting. Part II Molded in Gelcoat Non-skid decks. There are three types of molded - in gelcoat non-skid decks, diamond weave, “fabric weave” and “stippled”. Only the stippled type can be completely replaced because the stippling is produced by use of a roller. Although they can be repaired, molded-in non-skid cannot be easily replaced in its entirety, because the liquid gelcoat had been laid up onto a female mold when the boat was made. However, if there is a crack or bad gouge in molded non-skid, it can be repaired in an undetectable manner, as follows: a)Assess the areas to be repaired and mark the area to with a marker pencil. b)Thoroughly clean a small area of undamaged non-skid and apply silicone-based mold release agent. This area should be larger than the largest area to be repaired. c)Then apply silastic mold-making material (that has been mixed with catalyst and de-aerated) to the undamaged area a making sure that the total area is greater than the area to be repaired. A stiff backing of wood to the mold may be advisable in the area is fairly large. d)Allow the silastic material to completely cure (overnight?) then gently peel it away and trim the edges. e)Go to the area to be repaired and grind out the damaged area, down to the underlying laminate, if there is surface cracking. Then “feather-edge” the damaged area, wipe out the area with acetone on some clean paper towel. Blow out any dust. f)Mix up some gelcoat to match color of the surrounding clean non-skid. [Note: for hints on color matching see the permanent posting Fiberglass Trilogy II in gelcoat and plastics forum of www.sailboatowners.com . Take out a SMALL amount of this color-matched material, add catalyst and brush into the area to be repaired. This is to provide a “key”. To the rest, add Cab-O-Sil to thicken to a paste that has the consistency of icing sugar (not too thick, not too runny). Mix in catalyst to an amount sufficient to make the repair. Apply thickened gelcoat to the repair. g)Apply the silastic female mold, allow the underlying gelcoat to cure, then remove the mold. h)Gently dremel and sand (400 grit) the edge of the repair to make it blend in. i) For best results, clean and “dewax” the whole surrounding deck area, mask the surrounding smooth gelcoat areas and spray liquid color-matched gelcoat over both the repair and the whole deck panel. All of materials for the repair, including the silastic mold-making material can be obtained directly from TAP Plastics of California (www.tapplastics.com) where detailed instructions on use of silastic mold making are also available. This will later be posted (when Phil has time) on permanent file in the yellow section above. Thanks Jim Willis