EVA foam decking

How are you all finding cleaning the cockpit EVA foam? Whats your method?
 
How about removal/replacement of this EVA stuff?? Has anyone had any luck getting the dirt/mold/adhesive off of the non skid on a Seadek covered swim platform?

I templated and installed myself in 2017. I strictly followed the instructions of cleaning with acetone prior to installing. It went on like a dream and looked AMAZING. I was the "talk" of the dock; everyone loved it! I am in Pittsburgh in a non covered slip, but on stands and shrink wrapped for 6-7 months of the year. I got a solid 3 years before it began lifting. It started to bubble right where everyone steps their first step to get on the boat in 2020. I procrastinated all of 2021 and didn't want to lift it up--when it got hot in the sun, it would bubble up and look like the surface of the moon (again I was the talk of the dock but not in a good way). This year when we splashed in late April it was literally blowing off in the wind.

What I was left with is scary. I've been following the instructions on the Seadek website and even called to speak to customer service (they just give you the same instructions). Soak with mineral spirits for ten minutes and then remove with acetone and a brush/rag. It's a joke. I can't get this stuff up to save my soul. I've worked two days and barely have an eighth of it "clean" --and "clean" is a relative term. There are still black marks that won't come up no matter how hard I scrub. It'll never be pristine again. My hopes now are just to get it "clean" enough that I can cover it with a new set and start this whole process all over again. UGH!

I've been searching the internet to find some removal alternatives and will be trying the mineral spirit soaked paper towel, covered with plastic, sit for multiple hours and pressure wash method next. I even bought one of those 3M adhesive remover wheels to try. If anyone has been down this road before, I'd love some advice. Otherwise, I'll update with my progress and maybe help the next person who tries this stuff and is left with a mess once it lifts. Thanks in advance.
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Sheesh...I'm going on 3 years and see no reason to believe it's going to fail anytime soon. That looks extreme.

Have you tried a power washer with a semi-aggressive tip?

FWIW - if I were in your shoes I'd waste just about zero time trying to clean that off and immediately focus on what I'm going to re-cover it with. You're just a few snaps short of covering that with plasteak, pasdeck, you name it. Leave the crap on the fiberglass....
 
Sheesh...I'm going on 3 years and see no reason to believe it's going to fail anytime soon. That looks extreme.

Have you tried a power washer with a semi-aggressive tip?

FWIW - if I were in your shoes I'd waste just about zero time trying to clean that off and immediately focus on what I'm going to re-cover it with. You're just a few snaps short of covering that with plasteak, pasdeck, you name it. Leave the crap on the fiberglass....


I like how you think! I'm going to give the pressure washer thing a try next but probably not this weekend being Mother's Day and all. We'll see how it goes.
 
How did the 3M adhesive remover wheel perform? I recently used it to remove my boot stripes and it worked great, but what I had to deal with wasn't nowhere near the mess you have.
 
Another great choice for stains is stuff called ON/OFF hull cleaner. I use it on the waterline to get that skank jersey brown stains out. Worth a shot
 
I like how you think! I'm going to give the pressure washer thing a try next but probably not this weekend being Mother's Day and all. We'll see how it goes.
Dock neighbor was in the same position on his 420 with a massive hydraulic platform. He ended up doing what you did to loosen things up then pressure washed it. The pressure washer worked well.
 
Get the majority off with whatever cleaning method you choose. If it doesn't come up, go over it with the new stuff. If you have any lifting whatsoever in the future, use Weldwood contact cement and glue it back down. I keep a small bottle on the boat just in case. I had a two inch section that began to lift several years ago. I heated it back up to take out some of the memory in the 'curl' that formed. A few coats of contact cement on each surface, let air dry, slap it down, hammer it out. It's still on there 3 years later.
 
How did the 3M adhesive remover wheel perform? I recently used it to remove my boot stripes and it worked great, but what I had to deal with wasn't nowhere near the mess you have.

I haven't tried it just yet, but I'll report back when I do.

Thank you to everyone who commented. I just love this site. When I run out of ideas, I always know where to go.
 
Get the majority off with whatever cleaning method you choose. If it doesn't come up, go over it with the new stuff. If you have any lifting whatsoever in the future, use Weldwood contact cement and glue it back down. I keep a small bottle on the boat just in case. I had a two inch section that began to lift several years ago. I heated it back up to take out some of the memory in the 'curl' that formed. A few coats of contact cement on each surface, let air dry, slap it down, hammer it out. It's still on there 3 years later.

I just did my swim platform in sea dek with wildwood and it came out great
 
About to order some of this EVA flooring for a 2003 280 Sundancer.
Plan to do the whole cockpit area and the swim platform.
Each role comes in a 94x35 inches measurement.
Does anyone know how many roles I need for this project?

Also, How did you guys cut the holes on the swim platform vent?
 
About to order some of this EVA flooring for a 2003 280 Sundancer.
Plan to do the whole cockpit area and the swim platform.
Each role comes in a 94x35 inches measurement.
Does anyone know how many roles I need for this project?

Also, How did you guys cut the holes on the swim platform vent?

I went with a company called snapin carpet (a sponsor on this site) that has the templates for many different boats. They have the 280 and it looks like this. Definitely more expensive than DIY but the fit was perfect.

SR280DA%20SP%20FD.jpg


I ended up with this. Install took an hour with contact cement. I had to get a piece made for the area by the transom door since that wasn't included. I have snap-in carpet in the cockpit and if I had to do it over again, I might have done it in foam like you're planning. Then again, I like that I can un-snap it if I need to.

upload_2022-5-8_5-43-35.png
 
How about removal/replacement of this EVA stuff?? Has anyone had any luck getting the dirt/mold/adhesive off of the non skid on a Seadek covered swim platform?

I templated and installed myself in 2017. I strictly followed the instructions of cleaning with acetone prior to installing. It went on like a dream and looked AMAZING. I was the "talk" of the dock; everyone loved it! I am in Pittsburgh in a non covered slip, but on stands and shrink wrapped for 6-7 months of the year. I got a solid 3 years before it began lifting. It started to bubble right where everyone steps their first step to get on the boat in 2020. I procrastinated all of 2021 and didn't want to lift it up--when it got hot in the sun, it would bubble up and look like the surface of the moon (again I was the talk of the dock but not in a good way). This year when we splashed in late April it was literally blowing off in the wind.

What I was left with is scary. I've been following the instructions on the Seadek website and even called to speak to customer service (they just give you the same instructions). Soak with mineral spirits for ten minutes and then remove with acetone and a brush/rag. It's a joke. I can't get this stuff up to save my soul. I've worked two days and barely have an eighth of it "clean" --and "clean" is a relative term. There are still black marks that won't come up no matter how hard I scrub. It'll never be pristine again. My hopes now are just to get it "clean" enough that I can cover it with a new set and start this whole process all over again. UGH!

I've been searching the internet to find some removal alternatives and will be trying the mineral spirit soaked paper towel, covered with plastic, sit for multiple hours and pressure wash method next. I even bought one of those 3M adhesive remover wheels to try. If anyone has been down this road before, I'd love some advice. Otherwise, I'll update with my progress and maybe help the next person who tries this stuff and is left with a mess once it lifts. Thanks in advance.
View attachment 125868 View attachment 125869 View attachment 125870

Reporting back...I covered the swim platform with a single layer of paper towels and soaked them with mineral spirits. I covered the soaked paper towels with plastic and then weighted it all down with wet towels squeezing out any air bubbles. I let it sit in the sun for an hour, it was 75 and sunny in Pittsburgh believe it or not. I removed the plastic and paper towels one section at a time. I doused it in acetone and lightly brushed. I could see it lifting. I pressure washed the rest off with my little crappy pressure washer. Then I scrubbed the whole thing with Starbrite NonSkid Deck Cleaner. There are a few stubborn spots where you can still see dark marks. But over all I feel like its gone enough that I can cover with something new. Sorry I didn't take a "during" picture. I was just too excited to get it all off.

It took me about an hour and a half once it was done "baking" for an hour. I used a gallon of odorless mineral spirits and a half gallon of acetone.

I wish someone would have told me that once I put this stuff down, the nonskid would never be the same. Not that I could ever keep the swim platform clean before there was something on it, I just wish I'd realized that I was permanently damaging it by putting this on there. I'll consider this my public service announcement.

I didn't have to try the 3M adhesive wheel. I think I'll just return that to amazon.
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It looks good to me! Honestly I'd never go back to a bare deck. It's safer with the foam and it looks better IMO. I knew the deck was at risk as soon as I laid down the first piece. Haha!
 
Reporting back...I covered the swim platform with a single layer of paper towels and soaked them with mineral spirits. I covered the soaked paper towels with plastic and then weighted it all down with wet towels squeezing out any air bubbles. I let it sit in the sun for an hour, it was 75 and sunny in Pittsburgh believe it or not. I removed the plastic and paper towels one section at a time. I doused it in acetone and lightly brushed. I could see it lifting. I pressure washed the rest off with my little crappy pressure washer. Then I scrubbed the whole thing with Starbrite NonSkid Deck Cleaner. There are a few stubborn spots where you can still see dark marks. But over all I feel like its gone enough that I can cover with something new. Sorry I didn't take a "during" picture. I was just too excited to get it all off.

It took me about an hour and a half once it was done "baking" for an hour. I used a gallon of odorless mineral spirits and a half gallon of acetone.

I wish someone would have told me that once I put this stuff down, the nonskid would never be the same. Not that I could ever keep the swim platform clean before there was something on it, I just wish I'd realized that I was permanently damaging it by putting this on there. I'll consider this my public service announcement.

I didn't have to try the 3M adhesive wheel. I think I'll just return that to amazon.
View attachment 126309

And that's why I've never done it...we went with the Infinity flooring instead and left the swim platform bare.

Do you think you could have put new EVA foam over the remains and it would have stuck?
 
And that's why I've never done it...we went with the Infinity flooring instead and left the swim platform bare.

Do you think you could have put new EVA foam over the remains and it would have stuck?

I imagine it might have stuck for a little while, but not for any amount of time. Its too expensive and too much work to re-do yearly.
 

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