New Carpet - Help :)

I removed all the carpet out of my 82 and I am almost ready to recarpet. But I assume, I need to remove the rubber from the old carpet that is still stuck to the floor? Correct?

What is the best way to do this? I have scraped on it, but it is a slow process and parts of the boat where water wasnt present there is a large build up the rubber backing and I cant barely scrape it. ie. under the closed bow.

Any advice on what solvent or do I just need to scrape.

Thanks
jason

Jason:

On the stubborn areas, I think a solvent is fine. Acetone, MEK and lacquer thinner will not attack cured polyester or epoxy resins. Just be carefull of the fumes and fire hazard you will be creating. Do small areas at a time with plenty of ventilation. Fans should be kept a good distance away (So the motor will not ignite fumes...just in case). You should also wear chemical resistant gloves to keep the gooey mesh off your hands (and solvent). Avoid flooding the area with solvent because it will eat away the bilge paint if it runs into the bilge. MEK and Lacque thinner would be better than acetone as they do not evaporate away as quickly as Acetone. TJ has a point that if the fiberglass is cracked or pourous, and the solvent gets underneath, it will attack the foam...but if you have this problem, then you have a water problem anyway.

Sorry so wordy, but another meathod would be a wire wheel in a drill motor. Careful use of a belt or orbital sander MIGHT even work. Experiment and see what works best for you.

I've used a scraper, not a razer sharp one, but one with enough edge to it.

I would suggest that you remove the pylon before you start as well as the engine cover. I actually cut a couple of slits in the carpet so that it would go over the engine and layed the floor as one piece of carpet with no seams any where.

I actually using a 6' wide piece of carpet that is about 24' in length.


I did not want to use the rubber seal that originally formed the 2 pieces of at the side and floor of the boat. It layed out pretty nice and I cut it to fit, but I am getting wrinkles on the gunnels of the boat.

This is probably why they didnt lay it all in 1 piece. But, I think it looks a lot better. Any advice, I havent glued it down yet, just test fitting.

thanks, and by the way, I replaced the floor so, the interior, engine cover, but NOT the pylon are out of the boat.

I don't think you will be able to get the wrinkles out if you leave it as all one piece floor and sides. You will have to cut pie shaped pieces out of the sides so it can lay flat, remember the sides are curved and the floor is flat.

I think the rubber moulding is no more than typical/standard carpet/vinyl flooring transition used in non-marine applications. You should be able to find it at flooring stores. At least this is the case with my '93 SN.

The moulding is glued down. 3M weatherstrip adhesive works well. Wipe the rubber surface to be glued with acetone prior to glueing.

One of the moulding is designed to have the carpet tucked in. The otherside is designed to have the moulding overlap adjacent floor material (i.e. carpet or nothing in your case). If the moulding is at the base of the perimeter of the floor at the base of the sides, then the part that is designed ot overlap simply abuts the sides and overlaps nothing.

Hope this helps.