For those with white Kiwigrip.....

[kito]

Just wondering if it's a pain to keep clean. I have a gallon of white that I was going to mix with a quart of grey hoping to get a light grey color. Well my unopened 3 month old quart of grey has dried into silly putty. It must have been on the store shelf for years. I was going to apply it this weekend and was thinking of just going white now. Any regrets going with just white?

 

[rardiH36]

Just wondering if it's a pain to keep clean. I have a gallon of white that I was going to mix with a quart of grey hoping to get a light grey color. Well my unopened 3 month old quart of grey has dried into silly putty. It must have been on the store shelf for years. I was going to apply it this weekend and was thinking of just going white now. Any regrets going with just white?

Hello Kito:

First a disclaimer. I have not used KiwiGrip.

But over the years, I have painted/stained many thousands and thousands of square feet of just about everything made of wood, metal, plastic, FRP and with all types of water based, oil based, lacquer based, xylene based, epoxy based, two-part polyurethane based, shellac based, etc.

My DIY non-skid deck restore experience -- along the lines of your question -- was about 8 years ago. In my case however, I used 2-part Perfection polyurethane mixed with some flattening agent to kill the gloss. Interlux's most pale grey was much too dark. So I chose instead Mediterranean White as the base. I wanted to achieve a very pale gray. The deck color of the new Catalina 36 in the slip next to me was my inspiration. Against the instructions, I nonetheless mixed into the Mediterranean White some black coloring paste pigment which was in the fiberglass resin section of a local store. Just a few drops turned the 1/2 quart of white Perfection into a very subtle gray. The first coat however had too much of gray/blue look. So for the second coat, besides the black, I added a few drops of brown paste pigment. This killed the blue tint. The color was just right to my eye. Eight years on, the Perfection paint is still firmly adhered to the original non-skid deck. So my experiment was a success. Today, the deck looks not much different than the day I painted. Attached is a picture of the outcome ... taken about 5 years after the project.

Returning to your can of white Kiwi Grip. Up to you to investigate on your own, but I would think the same concept would apply. Looking on line, I see that KiwiGrip clean-up is with soap and water. So it is a water based paint. You should be able to find water-based paste pigment paste at your local paint store. Probably just a smidgen of pigment(s), will achieve a very light pastel. I can't imagine that such a small amount would affect the durability of the paint.

But, once again, do you own research before deciding.

 

[kito]

Thanks Rardi. That's the grey I am looking for. The Kiwigrip grey per their color charts looked too dark. Kiwigrip is tintable. Maybe my Ace hardware down the road can tint it for me.

 

[SailormanDan]

I think I'd want a little something to both cut the glare off the flat surfaces and give some contrast to show where it's non-skid and not. I think the rough surface is hard enough to keep clean, let alone a pure white surface.
Hopefully you have luck finding a simple fix.

 

[topcat0399]

We used the light blue kiwi grip - the more you work kiwi grip with the special roller as you apply it the rougher the texture.

On the areas that we worked the product a little too much it does collect a lot of dirt that won't just spray or wipe off. Using a scrub brush and soap and water and elbow grease gets the dirt up though.

Once you open that can of kiwi grip - it begins to set right away. If you have product left over - pour that into a smaller container to eliminate as much air as possible and seal damn tight. If you leave it in its original can it will dry up on you in no time - no matter how tight you pound that lid back on.

Its tough stuff and stays put provided you did good prep work. If you don't it will flake off. Its not hard at all to get too rough a texture that is hard on your skin.

 

[kito]

I just got back from a visit with the "helpful hardware man" at Ace. At first he said he could not tint my white Kiwigrip but remembered they still had their old paint tinting machine in storage. He took me back there and squirted some black in a cup. He didn't want to squirt it in my can since it was expensive. I will experiment tonight mixing it myself at home to get the color I am looking for.

 

[rardiH36]

Go real easy with adding the tint. Can get darker than you want before you know it. (Been there more than once!). Remember that water based paints often will dry a shade darker than when wet. Brush a thin layer on a piece of wood or cardboard and use a hair drier or heat gun to quickly dry to see the outcome.

 

[kito]

I ended up using all the black tint and it's pretty darn close to what Rardi has only a tad lighter. I have a sample drying in the sun to see how it looks when dried. I think I will be pleased. It's supposed to be sunny with a high of 62 this weekend. It may be the perfect time to finally get my deck painted I already got it masked off. Any tips on getting into the tight areas where the 4" roller can't get too?

 

[topcat0399]

I just used a brush - doesn't give the same texture of course but at least its the same color...

 

[CloudDiver]

I used grey Kiwi Grip on my C22 decks, rolled just a few months ago. They only make one shade of grey and it was not near as dark as I would have liked. There are pics in my resto thread on the C22 forum. Its a very light grey, almost blueish... I think that color is what you are looking for in the first place.

 

[kito]

CD, I believe you are right. My dried up quart of grey is pretty much the shade I tinted my gallon of white. I like the light grey since it will still give some contrast from the white deck and cut down glare plus should be just a bit cooler in the sun over a darker grey.

 

[CloudDiver]

Kito... about the washability; Hawk mentioned that after he coated his decks and it cured there is a kind of waxy residue. It washes off after a few scrub downs with soap and then then it has better grip and feel under bare foot. I'm trying to get all my final deck hardware and crib boards bedded/installed so I can finally pressure wash my decks.

 

[kito]

I finished up the Kiwigrip project last weekend. Not as good as I was hoping for but overall I am pleased. For those who may have this project on their "to do" list, do yourself a big favor and make sure you have a buddy to help, especially if you have large uninterrupted areas to paint like my H30. Even at 58 degrees, I can only do 3 foot sections before it started to set up. This caused overlap areas. If you have multiple masked off sections then doing it solo is fine. On large areas you need one to trowel it out while another rolls it without interruptions. Anyway, a good tip for using Kiwigrip on the seats in the cockpit, use a standard semi smooth roller and let it set for a few minutes and run the roller over it again. It leaves it smooth to sit on but has a texture that will still grip.
Ummmm.....I just had a thought, maybe when applying Kiwigrip to large areas by yourself, don't use a notched trowel but just roll it on heavy and just keep going......oh well.

 

[SailormanDan]

Thanks for the update .