Tacky (sticky) head liner?

[Sea Dreaming]

The head liner in our boat looks pretty new, but as I was opening a hatch I touched it and it was tacky / sticky! There isn't anywhere that I snt sticky! I tried cleaning it with krud kutter, dish soap and water and acetone. I'm stumped! What the heck is this stuff? Glue over spay? (It's not glued on) bug bomb residue?

Any ideas about what the sticky is, or how to get rid of it appreciated!

[JPA Cate]

SD, a pic might help.

However, it seems to me like a put up with it till there's time and $$ to replace it sort of situation. Don't get tied into working rather than cruising. You can work on the boat lots of places, but where many and varied materials are available is better. For instance, maybe zee, in Mazatlan, could help you guys work something out.

Sometimes, people just cover 1/4" plywood panels with the vinyl fabric of their choice, using s/s staples and a staple gun, and pop them up with industrial grade velcro. Also, can glue in wood strips and screw into the strips.

Finally, it is an option to remove it entirely. Clean and paint, and then: Buy some teak channel to varnish nicely, then cover the wires, and you'll only see the wires where they exit the channel. You'd want to undo the wires, and put fiche lines on them, screw the channels into the overhead, then pull the wires back through and re-connect. This gives you more ready access to all the nuts on the inside like for the hand rails and the jib tracks, which can be convenient. It is a little "agricultural", but our Insatiable I was done that way, and the white latex paint we used kept the interior bright, important on a flush deck boat. If you want, you can replace the nuts with acorn nuts, and that gives a somewhat more finished appearance, or you can cover those long nut runs with varnished timber, too (rout the holes in it for them).

Ann

[Sea Dreaming]

Hi Ann,

Thank you for responding. There is nothing to see really! It's just plain old bright white headliner. I think it's just stretched between the battens across the ceiling. The coach ceiling is curved. I don't think there is any kind of backing. It's just oddly sticky!

[JPA Cate]

If it isn't actually dirty, the stickiness may be due to the plasticizers coming out of it, if it is pvc cloth. In that case, try lacquer thinner or acetone to remove the sticky stuff, it will "melt" the surface layer, but you may be able to get to a smooth surface. Start somewhere out of the way: it will be a big job to do, and best done wearing protective gear. I wouldn't do it, myself. Replace with some plan that suits you.

If it's pvc and you try to sand the sticky stuff off, it will scratch the pvc and may not remove the sticky.

Ann