Painting over SeaDek

[jwnall]

For reasons that are not particularly important, I have a section of SeaDek which I cannot get up. So I want to just paint over it, since the rest of the deck is going to be painted. Just wanted to see if anyone says that I really, really, absolutely should not do that! Lots of experts on this forum, among which I am not one. So good advice will be appreciated.



John

 

[Comodave]

I would not paint over it. Why can’t you get it off? Since you are going to be painting the deck anyway you could use some pretty aggressive actions to get it off. What have you tried to get it off?

 

[catalinajack]

This is from the SeaDek FAQs.

"SeaDek is designed for a semi-permanent installation, but can be removed. The best method is to use a plastic putty knife to get under one corner, then grip and pull off. If the PE/EVA seems to be sticking and tearing, apply small amounts of acetone to the PSA and continue lifting with the putty knife. You may want to enlist another set of hands to assist. Once the entire pad is removed, there will be a small amount of PSA left on the surface. Soak with mineral spirits for 10 minutes, scrape with the plastic putty knife and a rag. Once the PSA has been removed, use acetone to remove the mineral spirits."

I would not paint over it. Why can’t you get it off? Since you are going to be painting the deck anyway you could use some pretty aggressive actions to get it off. What have you tried to get it off?

 

[Mark P]

I have Seadek on my entire flooring of my boat (no carpet). While it is hard to see on this pic, the SeaDek mat that is at top of picture (on left side) is "delaminating" from the floor. SeaDek tells me it is heat damage, or just poor installation. I will be replacing this section shortly. Another reason not to paint over it.

 

[Mako]

Mark I really like that grey color. Nice!

 

[Mark P]

Mako thx. The cost of doing this boat with SeaDek was about $2k, so I girding up for the shock of replacing one piece. The parts are cheap, but labor is expensive. I may try a DYI?

 

[Coastal Cruiser]

We installed SeaDek on the swim platforms on 2 boats. It came out beautifully and we never had any issues with delamination.
You can do the install, not that hard. Follow the instructions carefully and you should have no problems.

 

[Dougcole]

John, you absolutely should not paint over it. It will come off, maybe not in one piece, but it would be a terrible surface to paint over.


The decks on your boat under the seadek are not in good shape cosmetically. The boat had a different deck covering (not seadek) on it when I bought it in 2005. I took it all off in about 2009. It was very tough to get the glue residue off after the pads were removed. I pretty much had to grind it all off.



After the pads were off I repaired a large area where the core was wet on the stb side deck.



I considered painting the decks with Kiwi Grip or something along those lines, but the top skin which was under the pads had so much crazing in it that I was concerned about how it would turn out. I think it would have required tons of fairing and even more sanding. It was too big of a job for the time I had for it, and would not have been financially wise to pay to have it done considering the value of the boat.


So I laid out where I wanted the seadek panels then ground/faired/painted the areas between the panels. Then I made templates for the other areas, cut the seadek and laid it on. I intentionally used it because it does not use a super aggressive epoxy based glue. I knew it wouldn't last forever and didn't want to face the same mess as before when it came time to replace it.



It turned out great and looked good for 7 or 8 years. My advice is to go with seadek again. It's $150 for a 40"x80" sheet.