Maravia Urethane Coating Instructions

For PVC Boats (Maravia, Aire, Odyssee, Star, Zodiac, Maxxon etc…

If you are coating an older used boat it is very important to clean and prep the fabric correctly or the urethane may not properly adhere to the fabric. A simple rule to make any raft repair very permanent: spend 80% of your efforts on preparing the surface and 20% on the repair and you will have a good solid repair. All repairs should be performed in a well ventilated shaded area within a temperature range of 65 to 80 degrees. The warmer the temperature the quicker the urethane will start to set up.

Materials Required

1. Chemical resistant or latex style gloves.
2.  Activated charcoal filtered respirator mask.
3. Ivory Dish Washing Soap
4. Inflatable Boat Cleaner.
5. Poly scrub brush (We also use a thin Scotch Brite Pad for stubborn stains and frame marks on older boats).
6. Water source and hose with sprayer nozzle.
7. Maravia Coat (2 part urethane) and tint if a color is desired.
8. Shallow mixing pan and poly spreader for mixing urethane (the bottom 2 ½" off a 1 gallon plastic milk jug will work fine).
9. MEK (methyl ethyl ketone).
10. Masking tape.
11. Non permanent marking pen or pencil.
12. Old bed sheet or cheesecloth (something that is lint free, old sheets work well) torn into 12"x12" approximate squares.
13. Small foam trim paint roller and 2" or 3" inexpensive china bristle brush.

Check For Leaks

1. If the area to be coated is air holding it cannot have any leaks. If air is leaking out of the raft it will bubble the urethane as it is being applied.
2. Mix dishwashing hand soap (Ivory works well) with an equal amount of water. Sponge onto inflated area to be coated. Any leak will show up as pile of bubbles and must be repaired before coating the boat.
3. If the boat is leak free spray off any soap residual then proceed to cleaning.

Clean Boat

1. Inflatable Boat Cleaner (IBC) is the best way to clean dirt, frame marks, stains or oxidization off most raft materials. Always test cleaners and chemicals on a small obscure area before applying to the complete boat.
2. Spray a 3’ to 4’ area of the boat with IBC.
3. Lightly scrub the fabric with a poly scrub brush to evenly spread the IBC and work it into the fabric.
4. Let the IBC set on the fabric for a few minutes and then lightly mist with water and vigorously scrub the fabric with a poly scrub brush. You may have to mist the area with more IBC or water to keep it moist.
5. Spray the fabric off with clean water. Additional scrubbing is usually required to clean all the IBC off the fabric as water is being applied.
6. Really dirty fabrics may require this step to be repeated or to use a thin Scotch Brite pad applied to the poly brush surface. Always test an obscure area before using the Scotch Brite pad as it may dull glossy fabrics.
7. Keep repeating this process until the area to be coated is very clean and then proceed to surface preparation.

Surface Preparation

1. It is very important to perform this step in a shaded well ventilated area. I cannot stress good ventilation and the use of a charcoal activated respirator enough as MEK vapors can make a person very sick. MEK is a very strong solvent and can attack some PVC’s very quickly so take great care to not let it puddle on the fabric or to overly rub the fabric to the point of removing too much of the fabric coating. MEK will usually remove color from the fabric which will be evident by the sheet turning the color of the raft fabric. When color is very saturated on the sheet you may be removing too much coating off the fabric. Either do not rub so hard or reduce the amount of solvent on the sheet. Before proceeding make certain you test a small area to assess how MEK will react with the material you are working with.
2. Tear or cut up old washed sheet to make 6 to 12 cloths (old sheets or cheesecloth works best as they have very little lint) and have a metal container present to discard used solvent dampened rags into.
3. Mark the outline of the area to be coated with a non permanent pen or marker.
4. Put on the activated charcoal respirator mask and rubber gloves.
5. Fold a 12"x12" square of sheet in half and then half again. Thoroughly saturate the folded cloth with MEK, rub boat vigorously, color should appear on the cloth and the raft fabric should soften as you are scrubbing. Take care to not remove too much coating.
6. As the cloth becomes colored it will not clean very well as it has become saturated with fabric coating. Using a new cloth frequently or fold to a fresh surface will help speed up the cleaning process
7. Once the area to be coated is prepared and free of lint you are ready to proceed with coating the fabric.

Apply Coating

1. Tape off the area to be coated with a high quality masking tape if you desire to have a defined line where the coating ends. This will also help avoid the urethane running onto adjoining areas of fabric.
2. Pour equal amounts from both cans into shallow container and mix thoroughly with a poly spreader
3. Add tint to the urethane if a color is desired. It is best to add small amounts of tint and mix it thoroughly into the urethane until you achieve the desired color. Add no more than 20% tint by volume to the mixed urethane.
4. Pour the urethane into a paint roller pan and use a small 4" trim roller apply the urethane to the fabric.
5. As soon as the urethane has set up to touch apply a 2nd coat and then as that coat sets apply a 3rd coat.
6. Remove the tape immediately after applying the 3rd coat.
7. The boat must sit inflated until the urethane is thoroughly dry. Urethane can take up to 7 days at 70 plus degrees to fully cure and may wrinkle if rolled up before curing for around 14 days.
8. 303 Protectant may be applied after the urethane is cured to keep the surfaces from sticking together if the boat is to be rolled up.