American flooring budget mat install

[justgary]

2 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

WTH is "rabbit backing"?  Does it have a name like Peter??

Ask Mr. McGregor.

[Eagleboy99]

Wascally wabbits...

[Fman]

10 hours ago, justgary said:

Since you posted again and I missed this thread on the first go-round, I'll recommend that you try E-6000 adhesive to stick it to HDPE.  It's in a silver tube at hardware stores and even WM.  It might just work.

Could you still remove it after using this product?  One of the nice features of deckadence is ability to remove and clean.

[Fman]

10 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

WTH is "rabbit backing"?  Does it have a name like Peter??

Lol, that is what they call it.  It is basically a thin layer of a rubber film that helps adhere to the fiberglass floor of the boat.  I was pleasantly surprised even without this added to the mat it had not really been an issue with movement.  I will take the $350 price tag compared to $1400 for a genuine "deckadence" floor mat.  They are the exact same products.

[Whitecap]

Anyone break the code on what product to fuse the captain’s floor section to the rest of the pool mat?  Maybe fiberglass resin with a little thickener in it (like the silica that is sold?)

im reading that just taping them together only hold for 3/4 of the season.  Anyone have luck attaching the sections together yet? 

 

[Eagleboy99]

https://www.permabond.com/materials_bonded/bond-polyethylene-hdpe-ldpe/ or 3M Transfer tape (double-sided without the foam backing tape)

[justgary]

35 minutes ago, Fman said:

Could you still remove it after using this product?  One of the nice features of deckadence is ability to remove and clean.

I guess I'm confused.  @67King was interested in sticking it to HDPE.  You were interested in sticking the mat to more mat, I think.

In any event, I just put some glue on the end of a sheet of HDPE as a test.  I'll report back soon on whether it sticks.

[Eagleboy99]

“Aside from velcro, time is the most mysterious substance in the universe. You can't see it or touch it, yet a plumber can charge you upwards of seventy-five dollars per hour for it, without necessarily fixing anything.”

― Dave Barry

[Fman]

1 hour ago, justgary said:

I guess I'm confused.  @67King was interested in sticking it to HDPE.  You were interested in sticking the mat to more mat, I think.

In any event, I just put some glue on the end of a sheet of HDPE as a test.  I'll report back soon on whether it sticks.

I thought he was referring to sticking the mat to floor of the boat to avoid movement (what the rabbit backing does).

Anyway, I do need to glue the captain/main section seam together.  This will be a tough task, almost need something to chemically fuse them together.  I tried a test piece with a 3M adhesive product at home depot and it failed the pull test.

[justgary]

3 minutes ago, Fman said:

I thought he was referring to sticking the mat to floor of the boat to avoid movement (what the rabbit backing does).

Anyway, I do need to glue the captain/main section seam together.  This will be a tough task, almost need something to chemically fuse them together.  I tried a test piece with a 3M adhesive product at home depot and it failed the pull test.

Hmmmm.  So it didn't chemically bond to HDPE, but it did have decent surface tension.  Good enough for a potentially long-term temporary hold....

The only stuff that will chemically dissolve HDPE is fairly nasty, so roughing the surface to get a mechanical bond then cleaning it well with some strong solvent would help before you go at it with your favorite goop.  This may be a case where CA glue works very well.

[Whitecap]

@Fman

yep, I hearing the same thing.  Getting that seam to stick (sticking the captain’s section of the mat, to the rest of the mat section) is going to be tricky.  (Once again, connecting the extra needed mat to the main body of the mat.  Not connecting the mat to the floor of the boat.  You won’t need to do that. Apparently.). 

Every mending solution offered up, according to the other discussions, has failed.  Someone mentioned maybe experimenting with jbweld.  (I was thinking using some old fiberglass resin, hardener and some silica I have laying around in the garage.  I was thinking of spreading a peanut butter consistency strip down the center of some duct tape,  then place the duct tape down the seam of the floor-side mat.)  Im betting that would make a permanent bond that no one could ever see or feel. 

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Whitecap

[formulaben]

13 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

WTH is "rabbit backing"?  Does it have a name like Peter??

The non-slip material that is on the underside of Deckadence brand flooring.

[justgary]

32 minutes ago, Whitecap said:

@Fman

yep, I hearing the same thing.  Getting that seam to stick (sticking the captain’s section of the mat, to the rest of the mat section) is going to be tricky.  (Once again, connecting the extra needed mat to the main body of the mat.  Not connecting the mat to the floor of the boat.  You won’t need to do that. Apparently.). 

Every mending solution offered up, according to the other discussions, has failed.  Someone mentioned maybe experimenting with jbweld.  (I was thinking using some old fiberglass resin, hardener and some silica I have laying around in the garage.  I was thinking of spreading a peanut butter consistency strip down the center of some duct tape,  then place the duct tape down the seam of the floor-side mat.)  Im betting that would make a permanent bond that no one could ever see or feel. 

 

To bond the mat to itself, try acetone first, and if it doesn't work, try MEK.  The bottle of hardener for your polyester resin will probably do it, since that is MEK peroxide.  Should only take a few drops if you can get them where you need them.

[Brichter14]

I had this in my nautique, you actually sew it together using dental floss. No joke. Use a clear drying adhesive once it is sewed together to vanish the seam.

[Eagleboy99]

43 minutes ago, Brichter14 said:

I had this in my nautique, you actually sew it together using dental floss. No joke. Use a clear drying adhesive once it is sewed together to vanish the seam.

Great idea.  Marine Goo (trade name) would be the stuff to seal the seam.

[Whitecap]

2 hours ago, Brichter14 said:

I had this in my nautique, you actually sew it together using dental floss. No joke. Use a clear drying adhesive once it is sewed together to vanish the seam.

Man.... my head just exploded.  I never would have thought of that.  Is there anyone that has pics or video how to’s on this technique?  I don’t want to invest the money on the mat until I know how I’m going to solve the seam problem.  Also, what clear drying adhesive did you use.  Did you sew the floor side of the mat and then seal up the floor side, or did you sew and seal up the sky side of the mat? 

@Eagleboy99

looks like you were right. At the very end of the video, the decadence website mentions Marine Goop by name.  If decadence is nothing but a pool mat, why not capitalize on their research on the product.

 

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Whitecap

[Eagleboy99]

Speaking of dental floss, I use it to truss up a turkey  to keep the stuffing inside.  Some brands add a nice little bit of minty freshness. 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Eagleboy99

[Whitecap]

Found it.  Interesting techniques that decadence guys are using to adhere seams of mat together.

Another seam technique from decadence- ,different from the above video, is this:

Also, it looks like a “snap” (see what I did there) to add female snaps to the pool mats and have them form fit into your existing male snaps on your boat floor.

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Whitecap

[Lance B. Johnson]

Fman- Thanks for sharing this!  The carpet in my 2011 is horrible.

Having worked with this stuff do you think there is a way to put snaps in it?  In my case I could use the factory snaps that are already on the floor.

Really excited for this to be one of my winter projects.

[MaliBlue]

This could be the ticket for my boat as well. I am curious, it appears no-one is treating the edges, either for fraying (which I guess it does not do) or for aesthetic appearances. Is everyone just leaving the edges raw? 

[malibudog]

Three years in, no fraying in the slightest.  Mat fits snugly up against base where floor meets wall.  Mat has enough weight that it has never moved around.  Disclaimer - I used original Decadence with a non slip backing, but I think the weight of it is mainly what keeps it in place.  

[formulaben]

2 hours ago, MaliBlue said:

This could be the ticket for my boat as well. I am curious, it appears no-one is treating the edges, either for fraying (which I guess it does not do) or for aesthetic appearances. Is everyone just leaving the edges raw? 

I cut the edges "proud", so at a slight angle so the top sticks out just slightly more than the very bottom.  Here is a picture of a corner cut that fit quite well.  It fits against the seat rail and doesn't move around a whole lot, but I'm still thinking about adding a couple snaps or velcro in the lounge corners and walk-thru. 

[Whitecap]

@Lance B. Johnson

look at the video above your post.  It shows you how to put snaps in.  Just set up the female snaps over the existing male ones in the floor. 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Whitecap

[MaliBlue]

5 hours ago, malibudog said:

Three years in, no fraying in the slightest.  Mat fits snugly up against base where floor meets wall.  Mat has enough weight that it has never moved around.  Disclaimer - I used original Decadence with a non slip backing, but I think the weight of it is mainly what keeps it in place.  

@malibudogThanks for the feedback and pic @formulaben

Edited September 17, 2019 by MaliBlue

[jtryon]

does this stuff trap hair easily?  i thought i had heard that in the past, that dog and longer human hair get trapped in the fibers pretty easily and it needs to be cleaned often.