Gel coat showing through black in non-skid

I have three areas in the nonskid that are showing black in the channels at the bottom of the nonskid pattern. I would have expected it to wear through on the top of the pattern. How can I restore?

Good question Taylor...I too have the same problem and have tried all kinds of cunning plans but still no luck in solving the problem, so I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has got the answer.

James:
If you can not clean this out with a brush and standard boat cleaner, then it must not be mold or mildew. Then if you can determine that the gelcoat is missing in these grooves then you can re-coat the area with new gelcoat. Simply paint it.

Gelcoat color can be bought after reading this post about it:

www.ipyoa.com/forum/65-fiberglass-repair...t-colors-and-repairs

I hope this will help.

Hayden

Will do. Will mix gel coat a little thin so it will run down into the pattern well. Curious about the black color. Is this a base coat of some sort?

Hey James,
I have several patches of this black colour, all in the grooves rather than the ridges of the non-skid panels and strangely enough they are not in areas where you would expect the gelcoat to wear through due to mechanical abrasion..i.e. wear from foot traffic or ropes chafing etc. I initially assumed they were some sort of surface deposit that could be removed and, as I mentioned earlier, I tried all kinds of solvents and cleaners with no success. Having eventually dug out a magnifying glass to take a very close look, I am now of the opinion that the patches are the layer beneath the gelcoat and I had the same question....why would the colour be black? I think Haydon's suggestion is probably the only way to de-emphasise the black patches, but of course even a perfect colour match with the original Island Packet gelcoat will look different due to light exposure of the rest of the boat over years in the sun. My only problem now is that I live in Australia and having tried to order some gelcoat on-line I find that the company does not deliver worldwide. I will get them to deliver to my brother in Vancouver and I will pick it up when I visit in February. Let us know how it goes with your own treatment of the problem so I know if it works before ordering!!

Thanks for sharing. I will post when I made a test spot repair.