1 of the more common projects undertaken by pontooners is removing the old carpeting. Perhaps you want to supersede information technology with a new rug, or desire to switch it out, either style, information technology'south tough job and can be very labor-intensive, not to mention the abrasive glue residue and marks that can exist left on the deck.

The reason I decided to write this guide on removing carpet from a pontoon gunkhole, as well as the actual glue (which can cause massive issues) is considering I received a few questions over the last few months, including:

"Hi Nib, what tin I utilize to become the carpet mucilage to come loose from the wooden floor of my pontoon deck? Some of the carpet won't come up up and is stuck on fast."

"Practise y'all have any tricks or tips for getting the old rug and gum off my pontoon? I've taken everything completely off the deck and am struggling to get the rug removed"

"What is the best mode to remove old glued on original carpeting from a pontoon gunkhole? I am completely re-doing my 1996 Crest Two and I am already worried about this part of the projection."

"I take 1999 party barge with an aluminum floor. How to remove boat carpeting from the aluminum floor is my challenge. The carpet is pretty bad."

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

What Tools Yous Will Need

  • Gloves to terminate blisters
  • Stanley knife or craft knife
  • Vibrating multitool with aquiver blade
  • Random orbit sander tool
  • Goo Gone adhesive glue remover
  • Rut gun tool

How to Remove Carpet from a Pontoon

Step 1: Cut the Pontoon Carpet into Smaller Strips

To prepare for the removal, firstly cutting the carpeting and carpet up into 6 to eight-inch strips. This will mean it volition be far easier to pull upwardly, even if stuck on fast with glue.

I utilise a craft knife or Stanley knife to do this, which I assume you lot volition already accept in your tool box. Press the blade into the rug and start to draw lines up and down the rug to create the strips that you are going to pull upwardly.

This will be then much easier than trying to pull upwards the carpet in one become and volition also hateful information technology'south easier to go the carpet off the deck, and in theory should lead to less ripping which tin exit nasty glue marks on the flooring.

Footstep 2: Pull the Carpeting Strips Up

You now need to pull the carpet up, and with my boat I used my knife to get a little leverage nether each strip before pulling upwardly slowly. I do advise you pull as slowly equally yous tin, as this will aid you to reduce the corporeality of ripped carpet and fibres that can remain on the deck floor – but you are going to get some remaining, information technology's just a fact of life unfortunately.

Carpet Glue sticking to the deck

It's annoying, but will happen most 100% of the fourth dimension. Image credit: unknown

Please Apply a Carpet Scraper Tool

If the carpet strips are still really hard to get upwards and are stuck on fast, and then there is a tool solution which I recommend y'all utilise. Information technology's a vibrating multitool with a scraper blade like this one that yous can buy on Amazon.

I use the Rockwell production and swear by it. If y'all have cut the carpet into strips, then yous can utilize this tool to get underneath a section and then piece of work through the whole of the deck until you lot have all the rug removed.

How to Remove Carpet Glue from Your Pontoon

Now to removing the carpet gum and left-over pieces of fiber and carpet that will invariably still be there.

It'southward important here to recognise that there are two methods here. Yous can combine the 2, merely I am going to start off with my preferred method and why.

Method i: Use a Floor Sander Tool

To go the remaining glue and torn carpet off the pontoon deck floor, you lot should use a tool. It will dramatically cut down the effort in time you are going to be spending when compared to a more than transmission approach which I will come onto in method two.

At that place are industrial level type tools that will practice the job very quickly, simply they price 100s of dollars, although it is possible to hire them.

If instead, yous want to do things for yourself cheaply, then I would recommend a floor sander tool. There is one that I recommend and used on my ain projection which is the Bosch Random Orbit Sander on Amazon – the Bosch brand is great, trust me.

In fact, y'all could use this flooring sander to even remove the whole carpet rather than cutting strips into information technology using a knife. I imagine that if you use a 30-dust caput directly onto the carpet that could piece of work quite well, then switch over to a 100 to 120 grit head to remove anything left over and leave a smoother cease.

Method two: Employ an Adhesive Mucilage Remover

If you don't become the desired results, then y'all could complement the above method with an adhesive mucilage remover.

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

Y'all will need to brand sure that everything dries out completely before you fifty-fifty consider putting down and gluing new carpet to the deck. If you don't permit information technology dry out, so any new glue probably won't stick properly – so brand certain your woods floor is dry and smooth before laying new carpet on top.

So what product should yous use?

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

My choice here would be to buy a couple of bottles of Goo Gone Pro-Ability.

Yous are going to need that much in club to get rid of any stubborn mucilage marks on your pontoon floor. There's a YouTube video below which gives a very cursory overview on how to exercise this function.

Handy Hint: If yous are going to be laying new rug on the same mean solar day, brand sure that the deck is completely rinsed and stale before laying downward the new carpet. Otherwise, the new glue isn't going to concur well and you could have massive regrets. In fact, don't even do information technology on the same day!

How to Remove Boat Carpet from Aluminum

Removing boat rug from aluminum is infinitely easier than doing it from woods and then I am non going to do a stepped approach hither, every bit all you need to do is follow the guide higher up.

Information technology'due south essentially the same steps, but you might exist able to pull all the rug off in one piece so endeavour that start before you go to the trouble of cut strips into the carpet.

You tin can then use a adept sharp scraper and estrus gun (here's one on Amazon). Heat up the carpet, and then start to lift off by hand and with the help of a scraper.

Once you lot accept lifted up as much of the carpet every bit you lot can, use a sander or grinder to get rid of any patches of glue. Sand the entire deck area for a smooth surface.

As with wooden flooring, some minor fiber pieces could still remain. Only just take a while with your grinder or sander and you will soon be able to get information technology make clean and smooth.

Useful FAQs & Potential Issues

Whilst the methods outlined above will work the majority of the time when removing the glue and carpet from your deck, there might exist some curve assurance you demand to exist aware of. I have tried to answer those below.

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

Despite your best efforts, some of the advice given in this guide to removing carpet from a pontoon boat might nevertheless exit you with wooden decking that you don't like the look of.

Information technology also might not requite you lot a smooth surface to work with for the new carpet and glue, or you might discover the mucilage doesn't stick as well as you want. You have a number of options bachelor to you.

Other boat owners I know have unfastened the onetime woods and flipped the deck over to use the underside for the top. It gave them a much smoother surface to work with. This was a larger project plain and did mean that he had to relocate some drill holes and exercise some re-wiring, simply for him it worked well.

For the all-time results, I would recommend ownership new wood as you can never truly completely dry woods out. If you remove the old wood, and install new wood, your carpet or vinyl volition stay down longer. Older wood can retain moisture which will perhaps affect how well the new glue works.

Another consideration is that if you are laying vinyl downwards onto existing forest where yous have stripped rug and glue off, and so vinyl can show upward any imperfections. Which is another skillful reason for replacing the forest completely.

What If You Accept Flat-Headed Through Bolts?

Some pontoon boat rug will take flat-headed through bolts which secure the carpet to the deck. These can be very hard to go out, only y'all can practice it.

At that place's a great online guide which I recommend you lot take a look at which will requite you a stepped process on how to remove flat-headed screws and bolts. Yous can read that on the Craftsman Blog.

What Products Not to Utilise to Remove Carpeting Glue

Whilst looking into this topic, I hopped onto a lot of boating forums to see what other owners are recommending for removing glue from their deck. One tip that commonly popped up was to use something called MEK (also known as methyl ethyl ketone and butanone).

It will work, merely it's an extremely chancy cancer-causing agent. I would never apply that on a pontoon boat as information technology will soak into the wood and yous will never go it out. My kids will never sit there if it had been used.

Then, if you do hear or read this advice online, please ignore it completely!

How practice I replace my pontoon boat carpet

I've put together an extensive guide on how you can exercise the carpet replacement project yourself. Click hither 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 feel went after taking my advice, or with previous projects that they have washed. Hither's a selection of those comments.

"I don't know how we got and then lucky, only our glue was pretty much gone. The carpet pulled right up actually quick like y'all said it would. But I recall the previous possessor had used a h2o-based glue, and so it was gone with no need to remove it. We just replaced our carpet and it looks bully. The worst part for us was taking everything apart and unwiring."

"I take a carmine neck solution to removing your carpeting which I used terminal year. Get a section loose and lifted up, hook information technology into a tow rope, and the pull it conspicuously off with your truck, but make sure you go slowly! Information technology left loads of rips, and next time I will be using your guide."

"To remove carpeting glue, I've used denatured alcohol which worked okay after sitting for a few minutes, then tried carb cleaner which worked a little improve. I then I tried a heat gun (on a dry separate surface area of course) and that seemed to piece of work the all-time, but certainly not also as the guide in a higher place."

"I genuinely recommend that people just remove the plywood and commencement over with new wooden flooring. If y'all change the decking you won't regret it for the coin, but it is a larger task admittedly"

"I've done it also. The flooring sander is the merely way to go. Information technology will do a good chore. But definitely wearable gloves every bit you can get terrible blisters afterwards an hour or so of working on the rug removal."

I use a very different arroyo to pulling the carpet up. All you exercise is fit a paddle zipper to the end of your drill, get one of the edges of the carpeting up, and then try to go a slice of the carpet caught up in the drill bit before pulling up."

Conclusion

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

Handy Hint: Want to know what's best, carpet or vinyl? Run into my views on the pontoon carpet versus vinyl argument so mutual with pontoon gunkhole owners.