How to prepare non skid for painting.

[elcappytan]

I have an older, 1981 MacGregor 25M, that I want to paint topside decks. Looks like someone along the line painted the deck with Marine Rust-Oleum. What's the best way to prepare the deck for paining?

[Bill O]

What are you going to use for non-skid paint? Did they paint over a old textured gel coat?

If it is an epoxy based paint, you will need sand off the Rustoleum to bare glass again then lay down epoxy primer before the finish coat.

My choice would be to use Kiwi-grip, then can lay it over the Rustoleum if it is still in good shape. Very little prep work will be needed and with the right technique one can vary the aggressiveness of the Kiwi-grip texture to provide the amount of non-skid needed.

Tape off well and follow the directions for the Kiwi-grip for a good looking job. Also as stated in the directions, do not do it in direct sun.

[tkeithlu]

+1 on Bill's advice. I used Kiwi Grip on the deck of an aluminum jon boat after getting my bells rung when I slipped and hit my head. You can vary how agressive it is, it's soft enough to be OK under bare feet, and it looks good.

There's an informational video at this site to get you up to speed on the stuff:

https://www.pyiinc.com/KiwiGrip/