removing old contact cement

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LordNelson

LordNelson

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Sep 20, 2006
367
Oday 20 Seneca Lake
i pulled out the old vinyl cabin liner on the interior of my oday 20. the fiberglass is covered with old contact cement, some areas of which are still tacky. any suggestions on what will remove this stuff? i know it would be best to remove the cement, but if i primed it, could i paint over it?
 
Joe11688

Joe11688

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Jan 24, 2005
4,881
Oday 222 Dighton, Ma.
Contact cement

I would check out the label on a can of contact cement and find out what will cut it. They have a new type of "Goo-Gone" that is made up of citrus that may cut this stuff. Working in an enclosed area with chemicals can be hazardous to your health and protective eye gear and a respirator is needed. Acetone would probably remove it, but this stuff is very dangerous to inhale and highly flammable. I would never use it in a confined area unless I was trying to clean a small area. If this was the case, I would take every precaution and open up all hatches and have a large fan in the cockpit aimed toward the cabin. There has to be something a little safer than using that stuff. Also, you could talk to someone who does Formica counter tops and get some info off them. Whatever you use, be careful and don't take any chances on ruining your health. Good luck. Joe
 
LordNelson

LordNelson

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Sep 20, 2006
367
Oday 20 Seneca Lake
what about indoor/outdoor carpet

i was thinking of just leaving the old contact cement and gluing indoor/outdoor carpet to the wall. my wife is worried that it will just cause a mildew problem. have you had any experience with mildew and indoor outdoor carpet on the walls?
 
Joe11688

Joe11688

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Jan 24, 2005
4,881
Oday 222 Dighton, Ma.
Carpet

I think that I would leave the old contact cement on if I was going to cover it with carpet. It will make a better surface for the carpet to adhere to. It will save you a lot of work too. I don't know too much about the mildew fighting properties of this carpet, but it's safe to say that most synthetics will prevent mildew more than cotton. Indoor/outdoor carpet would have to be really wet in order to get serious mildew, and I don't see that happening in your cabin. It could happen in the bilge, but not on the cabin wall above the water line of the boat. I remember talking to Rudy years ago about what kind of paint that they used in the bilge and I'm pretty sure that he said something about a rubber based type paint. It probably has a lot of the insulating qualities that prevent condensation. Before you make your choice of what to put on the walls, why don't you give Rudy a call and ask him? I'm sure that he could answer any questions that you may have. Tell him that you talked to me. I like the fabric in my cabin, but I don't particularly like it near my galley area. It has a tendency to get dirty from the stove. Also, there's always a chance that it could catch on fire. I use a stove-top oven quite a bit and this thing can generate a lot of heat. All it takes is the wind blowing a loose flammable item in the cabin on or near the stove or oven when it's going and I'd have a fire. I've raised my stove about 6" when I re-worked my galley cabinet and installed my new stainless steel sink. So things are a little closer than they were before. I'm planning on doing something to the fabric over the stove but I haven't decided what to do yet. That will be another project this fall. Right now, I want to be out on my boat trolling for Stripers. Joe
 
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