Hypalon and Acetone

[charlie.magen]

My dinghie's air deck got sticky, too. I bought another thin mat of PVC in the same colour, cropped it plus 10 cm and simply laid it over the deck. Like new now!
If the boat itself will get sticky (what will be after > 5 years) may be glueing a mat over the parts is a solution.

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by djousset

Anyone know how aggressive you can get with abrasives like scotchbrite pads or very light sandpaper?

We have a Hypalon Mercury, and as Thin has just pointed out you have a PVC dinghy (and Thin is a Chemical Engineer with lots of experience in chemical factories -- I think his opinion is very sound). But, to this question. We clean ours with SoftScrub and a Scotchbrite pad. Both are slightly abrasive, and do a very effective job of cleaning it. Very mild "scuffing" to the surface, but the net improvement is really good. It might even have a moderate effect on removing the stickiness without bringing more to the surface. I wouldn't hesitate to try them on yours.

[Gpryce]

I had the PVC interior of a Jeep get sticky and found that a paste of baking soda and water worked to remove the stickiness.

[I14]

It is possible to formulate a water-based paint with plasticized migration resistance using a special ingredient in the backbone of the polymer. Whether the paints on test were based on such a polymer is likely not advertised but might be interesting to see if such a claim is made. Often such polymers turn up in textile coatings where they have to withstand drycleaning solvents and they are soft and pliable too but probably too soft for this application but not difficult to harden

[djousset]

Thanks all for the tips. I am armed with a scotchbrite pad, soft scrub, Barkeepers friend and lots of elbow grease. Looking forward to bringing this thing back from the edge, I'll let you know how it goes!

[charlie.magen]

Originally Posted by charlie.magen

My dinghie's air deck got sticky, too. I bought another thin mat of PVC in the same colour, cropped it plus 10 cm and simply laid it over the deck. Like new now!
If the boat itself will get sticky (what will be after > 5 years) may be glueing a mat over the parts is a solution.

BTW, after some years of stickyness the original material hardened out and got leaky. PVC...
Hypalon is much more durable from UV and does not loose it's plasticizers like that.

Good luck!

[djousset]

Update as promised: She's done, and although not perfect it's far better than how it started. It took hours to thoroughly scrub it (no harsh chemicals used). Rolled on two thinner coats in ideal conditions. Not sticky at the moment and hopefully the MDR will hold it at bay for the season!

[Wotname]

Thanks for the update and hope it holds up well for you.

[gulfislandfred]

Well Played!

[pau-hana]

That looks awesome!