Kiwi Grip Experiences

[SV THIRD DAY]

It's time to get rid of the Algrip/Walnut shell deck covering on our aircraft landing size deck. The orginal teak was covered with glass and is in great shape. I'm looking at some quality time with a heat gun and generator (working while on a mooring) to remove the old and prep for Kiwi Grip.

Any tips or advice to share would be much appreciated from those that have worked with Kiwi Grip.

[salticrak]

I have it on my cat, it is easy to apply and the best bit is that it is waterbased. Use a trowel to spread it out a bit. Good stuff methinks.

[Target9000]

We've had good results with KG. I would advise testing a bit to find the right level of aggressiveness before doing the whole deck. See if you can visit other boats with kiwigrip to understand how it will feel. More aggressive is better grip but harder to keep clean.

Our biggest advice is to try to wait for perfect conditions. We had some dry to fast in the hot sun and made some mistakes.

Our blog has more details if you care to look:
Kiwigrip on deck | Sundowner Sails Again
and
Kiwigrip for breakfast anyone? | Sundowner Sails Again

Good luck!

[SV THIRD DAY]

Good info and photos!

[Tscott8201]

Target9000 is right on point here. I covered the entire deck of my center console sport fisher and I really like it. As noted above, the more aggressive the texture the harder it is to keep clean. It's not horrible, you just get dingy spot in the high traffic areas, much like gel coat. Work in the cool parts of the day as it will set up really quickly if it is too warm, this is especially important with larger areas. Kiwi Grip is great because it can cover up a lot of sins. I used it after I replaced the deck on my center console. I had patches of the original molded gel coat texture where the deck was still solid and could be saved. I used KG to blend all these areas together and now you can't even tell I had to cut out the deck. My biggest piece of advice is to know when to stop. The more you roll, the more aggressive the texture becomes. If your finicky like me you have to just roll it out and walk away otherwise you end up with a really aggressive texture that can be tough on the feet.

Tom

[HansSolo]

We have also had a good experience with kiwi grip. Best advice I received while doing it was to pull the tape immediately! Kiwi grip starts to dry quickly and if you wait too long the edges end up jagged. Also when it dry's it forms a waxy surface that needs to be washed off (about a week after you put it on). Other than that its straightforward. I used a paint brush to slop it on and evened it out with the loopy roller.
I agree, it is hard to keep clean though.

[SV THIRD DAY]

HOLY SMOKES....seeing that makes me want to hire you to do it...ha ha ha.
Now I'm all excited about how nice the deck can look.

[Driftwoods]

That was the exact 2 words I thought! Holy smokes. That's one fine job there.

[Cheechako]

It's a bit "rubbery" and seems to hold dirt quite well. Kinda like latex.... you need to pull the tape soon or some Kiwi might stretch along with the tape. The good news is I guess it would be easy to add more later when it gets too dirty to clean.

[Samantha ann]

Lived the KG!

[Gelfling]

I will +1 KG! 3 years in and it looks like I just applied it. I went with an agressive grip and it is great for walking around while at sail. If you feel you need to go to one knee to tie a cleat or stow an anchor....you may not want those areas to be so thick. Easy as pie to apply and will apply over most anything. Mine went right over the factory nonskid...but it was a bit this after 30 years.

[Hartley30]

Hi All,

All I hear is good things with the one problem of keeping it clean. I have just brought my yacht and the deck needs some attention; the guy who owned Jimmy's Ghost before me had started a few patches with the 2 pack paint and the grit which you sprinkle on.

Should I scrap his work and head down the road of Kiwi Grip do you think? Also the whole deck needs a coat of paint, do you paint the deck first then apply the Kiwi Grip or just apply the KG over the existing paint and touch up the paint inbetween tpo make it pretty again?

Cheers,

Simon