Deck paint

[Sastevenson]

Hello all,


I am interested in repainting my deck and wanted some advice from you professionals out there. My oday has the basket weave texture for the pathways however it does not provide much slip protection. My thought was to paint the entire deck and top area with a topcoat paint and then do the paths with some non slip paint from west marine. Does anyone have any more cost effective ways or better ideas.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Brian S]

The two best options I have heard for renewing non-skid are to paint with either Interlux Interdeck http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/diy/products/finishes/interdeck.aspx, or Kiwigrip http://kiwigrip.co. Interdeck seems to go on most uniformly with a roller, and using a brush to stipple in around fittings. Keeping a stirrer in the pan to stir before each roll helps keep the grit in suspension and makes for a more even application. Kiwigrip is a more rubbery material that is applied with a special roller to give the rough texture.

If your gelcoat still looks good, and the non-skid still has texture, ie. it's not worn off, you may get good results with Aurora Sure Step, which is a non-skid cleaning and protecting system. It helps protect against dirt, but also makes for a grippier feeling.

I have also heard that Poli-Glow acrylic coating, while making a great shine on topsides, also provides a grippy as opposed to slippery finish. Further to this, I just saw that they make Poli-Grit, which is intended for non-skid areas. There is plenty of info on Poli-glow on this and other sailboat sites. From what I gather, it is a very good product with excellent customer support. If your non-skid still looks good, but has just worn so that you don't have much texture (I guess the gel coat has good color and hasn't worn OFF) then the Poli-Grit might be a very good option to renew the luster and texture of non-skid.

My disclaimer, I have not used any of these products, but I have read rave reviews from those who have.

Hope this helps,
Brian

 

[Brian S]

Further to my above post, I have used Woody Wax on my non-skid, and I think it provides, at best, only transient protection to non-skid. Since I still have so much Woody Wax left, I may wait until next season to try out Aurora Sure Step.

Brian

 

[Sastevenson]

Brian,

Thank you for all of your information. My non-slip (by that I mean the basket-weave texture) is still in good condition however I wanted to do an entire deck re-painting due to some screw holes I patched etc. Additionally I do not like the color of the non-slip area. It is an ugly grey color and I would like to repaint the deck white with a little different off-white color of non slip. Would it be best to paint the entire deck with just a top-coat paint and then use one of the products you listed for the non-slip areas or should I paint the entire deck with one of the products listed?

What are your thoughts?

-Scott

 

[Brian S]

Scott, I'm no expert on painting boats... but, from what I've seen of folks restoring other boats, here's what I think. If the non-skid texture is still good, you could just try painting over top of it. If you want to refresh the non-skid, I think you'd want to sand down the gelcoat non-skid fairly smooth, then go with your choice of non-skid paint.

Interlux says the Interdeck is a polyester resin. So, I'd probably paint around the non-skid areas with Brightsides one part polyurethane. Before I'd go doing all that, I'd call Interlux, and see what they recommend as a primer, and if it would be ok to paint over the Brightsides with Inderdeck. Because I'd probably paint the smooth areas first, with "sloppy" edges, and then tape off the smooth really well to make a nice crisp edge for the non-skid.

To each his own... My Boston Whaler Harpoon is all "sand" colored interior, and I thought I wouldn't care for the grey non-skid on the 192, but I find I like the grey just fine. I do not care for boats with sky blue non-skid, but that's just me...

Brian

 

[Erieau]

good results with Kiwigrip...

Here's what I did with my Mariner (and it worked great):

-Scrubbed topsides with TSP and dish soap (got rid of grime and old wax in one swoop) with a green Scotchbrite pad
-rinse rinse rinse
-after drying, a gentle sanding with 220 on the "non" non-skid areas (y'dig?)
-no taping, painted "non" non-skid areas with Topsides, overlapping a little (1/2"?) into non-skid areas
-tape off non-skid, spread/roll-on Kiwigrip (hot day? better work fast!). I used a 2" wall scraper to spread the goo (it's like a gel) around evenly but thinly, then the stippling roller to texture it up.
-pull off tape before Kiwigrip starts to set up (like, within 3 minutes) otherwise it peels off like plastic sandwich wrap (no adhesion until cure)

Awesome results, I'm very happy with it. Grippy as all get out, and crisp non-skid edges.