Project Lowrider – Entry #2: Grind Time

By Matthew Grimsley – Outlaw Land & Flight Co.

Some jobs look small until you get into them.
Boat rehab ain’t one of them.

Lowrider’s non-skid was in rough shape—cracked, spidered, blistered in spots, and flaking around every screw hole like it had been laid by a blindfolded woodpecker. So we started grinding. And grinding. And grinding.

Deck Work: Old Gelcoat, Spider Cracks & Screw Hole Mayhem

• Step One: Grinding Down Old Non-Skid
  We hit every bad patch with the grinder and flap disc, revealing the honeycomb core underneath. Every area with delam or failed adhesion got chewed down until we hit clean, dry glass. No sense in painting over cancer.

• Step Two: Spider Cracks & Cross Marks
  Anywhere the deck had started to fracture from flex or impact, we ran the Dremel deep into the cracks to open them up. Crosses mark each repair point. These will be faired smooth before primer to avoid any ghosting through the topcoat later.

• Step Three: Hole Patrol
  Whoever rigged this trim before must’ve had a phobia of loose parts—there were screw holes every 2 inches in some spots. Every one gets filled and faired Outlaw-style. No shortcuts here. This boat is going to be sealed tighter than a bank vault.

What’s Next:

• Fairing the entire top cap smooth

• Sanding and prepping every repair

• Rolling on TotalProtect primer

• Then: gelcoat the entire topside white, followed by KiwiGrip or TotalTread non-skid in a clean modern pattern

Every step matters in a job like this. You skip one, and it shows forever. But when you do it right, it holds.

This ain’t just a cosmetic refresh—it’s a resurrection.
This girl’s going back to work.

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Stay tuned for the next update where we lay down fairing compound, block sand everything flat, and get her ready to take on her new color.
– Matthew