One of the more common projects undertaken by pontooners is removing the old carpeting. Maybe you lot want to replace it with a new carpet, or desire to switch it out, either way, it's tough job and tin exist very labor-intensive, not to mention the annoying glue remainder and marks that can be left on the deck.

The reason I decided to write this guide on removing carpet from a pontoon boat, also equally the actual glue (which can cause massive bug) is because I received a few questions over the last few months, including:

"Hello Beak, what can I apply to become the carpeting glue to come loose from the wooden flooring of my pontoon deck? Some of the carpet won't come upward and is stuck on fast."

"Do you lot take whatsoever tricks or tips for getting the one-time carpet and glue off my pontoon? I've taken everything completely off the deck and am struggling to become the carpet removed"

"What is the best fashion to remove sometime glued on original carpeting from a pontoon boat? I am completely re-doing my 1996 Crest Ii and I am already worried about this part of the project."

"I have 1999 party barge with an aluminum floor. How to remove gunkhole carpet from the aluminum floor is my challenge. The rug is pretty bad."

With those questions in mind, I am going to accost removing gum and carpeting from a wooden pontoon floor, and an aluminum floor, then read on to find out how you do it, what yous need, hacks and tips, and also advice from other pontooners that I trust.

What Tools You Volition Need

  • Gloves to stop blisters
  • Stanley knife or craft knife
  • Vibrating multitool with oscillating blade
  • Random orbit sander tool
  • Goo Gone agglutinative glue remover
  • Rut gun tool

How to Remove Rug from a Pontoon

Step i: Cut the Pontoon Carpet into Smaller Strips

To set for the removal, firstly cut the carpet and carpet up into six to viii-inch strips. This will mean it volition be far easier to pull up, even if stuck on fast with mucilage.

I employ a arts and crafts pocketknife or Stanley pocketknife to do this, which I assume yous will already have in your tool box. Press the blade into the carpet and start to describe lines up and down the carpet to create the strips that yous are going to pull up.

This will be so much easier than trying to pull up the rug in one go and volition also mean information technology'southward easier to become the carpet off the deck, and in theory should atomic number 82 to less ripping which can leave nasty mucilage marks on the flooring.

Step 2: Pull the Carpet Strips Up

You lot now demand to pull the carpet upwardly, and with my boat I used my pocketknife to get a little leverage nether each strip before pulling up slowly. I do propose y'all pull as slowly as you can, equally this will aid you to reduce the amount of ripped carpet and fibres that tin can remain on the deck flooring – but you are going to go some remaining, information technology'south just a fact of life unfortunately.

Carpet Glue sticking to the deck

It's abrasive, but will happen virtually 100% of the time. Image credit: unknown

Please Utilise a Rug Scraper Tool

If the carpet strips are however really hard to get up and are stuck on fast, then there is a tool solution which I recommend yous use. It's a vibrating multitool with a scraper blade like this one that you tin can buy on Amazon.

I use the Rockwell product and swear by it. If you accept cut the carpet into strips, and so yous can use this tool to get underneath a section and then work through the whole of the deck until you take all the carpet removed.

How to Remove Carpet Glue from Your Pontoon

Now to removing the carpet glue and left-over pieces of fiber and rug that will invariably even so be there.

Information technology'due south important here to recognise that in that location are ii methods here. Y'all can combine the ii, only I am going to showtime off with my preferred method and why.

Method ane: Utilize a Floor Sander Tool

To become the remaining glue and torn carpet off the pontoon deck floor, y'all should use a tool. Information technology will dramatically cut down the try in time you lot are going to exist spending when compared to a more manual approach which I will come up onto in method 2.

There are industrial level type tools that will do the job very quickly, just they toll 100s of dollars, although it is possible to hire them.

If instead, y'all want to exercise things for yourself cheaply, then I would recommend a floor sander tool. There is one that I recommend and used on my own project which is the Bosch Random Orbit Sander on Amazon – the Bosch make is great, trust me.

In fact, you could apply this floor sander to fifty-fifty remove the whole carpet rather than cutting strips into information technology using a pocketknife. I imagine that if you use a 30-grit head straight onto the carpet that could work quite well, and so switch over to a 100 to 120 dust head to remove anything left over and leave a smoother finish.

Method 2: Use an Adhesive Glue Remover

If you lot don't get the desired results, and then you could complement the above method with an adhesive glue remover.

But, before y'all consider this, let me brand things very articulate: many of these types of products will soak into the wood, and forestall glue from sticking when you come to putting down new flooring.

Y'all will need to make sure that everything dries out completely before you fifty-fifty consider putting downwards and gluing new carpet to the deck. If y'all don't let information technology dry, then any new glue probably won't stick properly – and then make sure your wood floor is dry out and smooth before laying new carpet on top.

And then what product should you use?

It needs to be solvent-based product or you're probably not going to go all the quondam remaining glue up. If you lot pick other solvent-based adhesives that are non meant for marine carpet you lot will destroy the dorsum of any new rug you are planning on using.

My pick here would be to buy a couple of bottles of Goo Gone Pro-Power.

You are going to demand that much in order to get rid of any stubborn glue marks on your pontoon floor. There'south a YouTube video below which gives a very brief overview on how to exercise this part.

Handy Hint: If you are going to be laying new carpet on the same day, make certain that the deck is completely rinsed and dried before laying downward the new carpet. Otherwise, the new glue isn't going to agree well and you could have massive regrets. In fact, don't even do it on the same twenty-four hours!

How to Remove Boat Carpet from Aluminum

Removing gunkhole carpet from aluminum is infinitely easier than doing it from wood so I am non going to do a stepped approach here, as all you demand to do is follow the guide above.

It's substantially the same steps, but yous might exist able to pull all the carpeting off in 1 piece and then effort that first before you go to the trouble of cutting strips into the carpet.

Y'all can so utilize a expert sharp scraper and heat gun (here'south ane on Amazon). Rut up the carpeting, and and so start to lift off by mitt and with the help of a scraper.

Once yous accept lifted upward as much of the carpet equally you tin can, utilize a sander or grinder to get rid of any patches of glue. Sand the entire deck expanse for a smooth surface.

Equally with wooden flooring, some small fiber pieces could still remain. Simply only take a while with your grinder or sander and you will presently be able to get it clean and smooth.

Useful FAQs & Potential Issues

Whilst the methods outlined to a higher place volition work the majority of the time when removing the mucilage and rug from your deck, there might be some bend balls y'all demand to exist enlightened of. I have tried to answer those below.

Not Happy with How the Wood Looks or New Mucilage Non Sticking?

Despite your best efforts, some of the advice given in this guide to removing carpeting from a pontoon boat might nevertheless leave you with wooden decking that y'all don't like the await of.

Information technology also might not give you lot a smoothen surface to work with for the new carpeting and glue, or yous might notice the glue doesn't stick every bit well as yous want. You have a number of options available to you lot.

Other boat owners I know take unfastened the old forest and flipped the deck over to apply the underside for the height. Information technology gave them a much smoother surface to work with. This was a larger project obviously and did hateful that he had to relocate some drill holes and do some re-wiring, but for him information technology worked well.

For the best results, I would recommend buying new forest every bit you lot can never truly completely dry woods out. If you remove the old woods, and install new wood, your carpet or vinyl will stay down longer. Older wood tin retain moisture which will possibly affect how well the new glue works.

Another consideration is that if yous are laying vinyl down onto existing woods where you take stripped carpet and glue off, then vinyl can prove up any imperfections. Which is some other good reason for replacing the wood completely.

What If Y'all Have Flat-Headed Through Bolts?

Some pontoon gunkhole rug will have flat-headed through bolts which secure the carpet to the deck. These tin be very hard to get out, but yous can do information technology.

There's a bang-up online guide which I recommend you accept a look at which volition give you lot a stepped process on how to remove flat-headed screws and bolts. You tin can read that on the Craftsman Blog.

What Products Non to Utilise to Remove Carpet Glue

Whilst looking into this topic, I hopped onto a lot of boating forums to come across what other owners are recommending for removing glue from their deck. I tip that commonly popped upwards was to apply something chosen MEK (also known every bit methyl ethyl ketone and butanone).

Information technology will work, but it'due south an extremely chancy cancer-causing agent. I would never use that on a pontoon boat every bit it will soak into the wood and you will never go it out. My kids volition never sit down there if it had been used.

So, if you lot do hear or read this advice online, please ignore information technology completely!

How practise I replace my pontoon boat carpeting

I've put together an extensive guide on how you can do the rug replacement projection yourself. Click here to read the rug replacement guide.

Comments from Boat Owners

To supplement this pontoon carpet removal guide, I also spoke to other boat owners to see how their experience went subsequently taking my advice, or with previous projects that they take done. Here's a selection of those comments.

"I don't know how we got so lucky, but our glue was pretty much gone. The carpet pulled right upward really quick like y'all said information technology would. Just I think the previous owner had used a water-based gum, and so it was gone with no need to remove it. Nosotros merely replaced our rug and information technology looks great. The worst function for us was taking everything apart and unwiring."

"I have a blood-red neck solution to removing your carpeting which I used concluding twelvemonth. Get a section loose and lifted up, hook information technology into a tow rope, and the pull it conspicuously off with your truck, simply make sure y'all go slowly! Information technology left loads of rips, and next time I volition be using your guide."

"To remove carpet gum, I've used denatured booze which worked okay after sitting for a few minutes, then tried carb cleaner which worked a fiddling better. I and then I tried a heat gun (on a dry separate expanse of course) and that seemed to work the best, but certainly not also as the guide above."

"I genuinely recommend that people only remove the plywood and start over with new wooden floor. If you lot change the decking you lot won't regret it for the money, merely it is a larger task admittedly"

"I've done it also. The flooring sander is the only way to go. Information technology will do a proficient job. But definitely wear gloves as you can get terrible blisters after an hour or and then of working on the rug removal."

I apply a very different approach to pulling the carpeting up. All y'all do is fit a paddle attachment to the end of your drill, go one of the edges of the carpet up, then attempt to get a piece of the carpet defenseless up in the drill bit earlier pulling upwardly."

Decision

I hope this guide has helped you in cleaning up and removing the glue and carpet from the flooring of your pontoon gunkhole. As with all guides on Pontoonopedia, I welcome whatsoever feedback from other boat owners who might disagree, desire to contribute, or only say thanks. You can exercise that via the usual channels.

Handy Hint: Want to know what's all-time, carpeting or vinyl? Encounter my views on the pontoon rug versus vinyl statement so common with pontoon boat owners.