Painting Non-Skid - Recommendations?

[Cheechako]

If your diamond pattern non skid is the deep agressive kind, it might be fine after you paint. The little "tits" that stick up wont hold any paint anyway. Paint nice and thin... you are just trying to even out the color right? You can "kill" the paint by adding a liquid I forget the name of.... ask the supplier... this will make it more flat instead of shiny and not slippery. If you want more aggressive non-skid, the finer Awlgrip product that goes in the paint is nice. re treadmaster above:I did the decks of my Hans Christian with Treadmaster. I would never ever do that again. It was a huge job, messy, very expensive and very hard on bare feet. If wanting to redo a deck, I would definitely use one of the new products like Kiwi Coat. Far easier, and less expensive.

[sneuman]

The KiwiGrip looks intriguing. Anyone have personal experience with it?

[Cheechako]

Both it and the Durabak were reviewed in an earlier thread.. maybe someone can find that thread. They are just Roll on products, easy repair etc.. I removed the teak decks from my HC 38, boy do I wish these were avail then.....

[Christian Van H]

Durabak: Cote-L Distribution Company

[DHHong Kong]

Forget the TBS unless you want to replace it every 12 months. We used it for the transom steps, aft crosswalk and front catwalk on our cat in Hong Kong, admittedly in a hot, humid atmosphere but the light grey colour has turned brown in large patches, unfortuneately not even uniform discolouration so seems they have a process problem.
The French manufacturer has been quite responsive, says the light grey colour "could" be a problem material (damn nice of them to tell us now) and has offered to replace it but, as it is down with Sikaflex there is a lot of work to do just to get it up and re-prepare the surfaces, let alone look at doing it again in another year. I am going to look at Kiwigrip.
Paul

[sandinmytea]

My Kiwigrip experience:

Bought my first sailboat, a 25 foot C&C. The gelcoat was done-for and I was certain the deck fittings leaked like crazy, not to mention some balsa core deck replacement *ugh*. I got to sanding, prepping and painting. When the time came to zero-in on non-skid, I was wary of the more expensive options, and of things like treadmaster which get poor reviews. I was going to go with Interdeck, but kept thinking that there ought to be a product out there like Herculiner (sp?) like what they use in truck beds. Then I found Kiwigrip.

Without much to compare it to, I can say the following:

It works. For non-skid properties I give it a 7/10. I haven't slipped nor has anyone else all summer, despite some decently vigorous sailing. The aforementioned sailor friend thinks it could be better, and I have taken that to heart. For those who are looking for the very best traction, another product may be better, but I have not had a single problem with it on a dry deck. With bare feet and a wet deck, it doesn't seem to be as good as I would like, but it still performs. Compared to rolled gelcoat, I feel as though I get the same results, or perhaps better. I do think that rolled gelcoat would be a more durable option, and only time will tell about the overall durability of Kiwigrip. One good thing, is that if you are wearing boat shoes, you get incredible traction. I suppose that should be expected of ANY non-skid while wearing shoes, but I think this stuff works great with my surf shoes on and a spray-wetted deck. No mishaps *knock on wood*.

For ease of application, I give it a 10/10. I had no trouble with any part of the process. It seems to stick fine onto the paint I layered it onto (after roughing it significantly). I put one heavy coat of it with a notched trowel, as recommended, and then rolled it. It tacked up reasonably fast. You have to tape off your lines prior, and remove the tape before the gel dries. It was a breeze. Definitely something any good DIYer could do.

I chose grey since I didn't want glare, but also didn't want a hot deck. I definitely feel like the deck doesn't get hot at all. Keep in mind I am in New England though, and its been mild this summer. Strangely, it looked really, really light grey in the can, and after application it stayed too light for a while. It took nearly 2 weeks for it to get to its moderate grey color. It also got progressively more grippy during that time. I have no idea why, but I remember there was a blurb on the can that warned of this. None of it was a problem, because I still had to paint the topsides after, and the boat didn't go into the water for another 1 1/2 weeks.

Good product, worth a try if you're willing to hazard it. If I had went with Interdeck I think I would have been nearly as satisfied. If Interdeck turns out to cling to the Kiwigrip, I think I would have the best of both worlds. I might try that on a limited basis next season and see if I can get results.

[neelie]

Sandinmytea: Thanks for the advice re: Kiwi Grip. I'll be using it.

Paul/DH-HKG : thanks for your feedback on TBS - you've saved me a bundle of dosh. Its so easy to get conned by nice web site presentations.

[DHHong Kong]

Hi Neelie, they say that the darker grey TBS may work better yet they also indicate that the accelerated UV deterioration in the tropics will result in 30% less service life than in a more temperate climate, e.g. France where they claim 10 years. I don't see how a slight change in color could take it from one year to seven.
I am trying for a refund rather than replacement and will also pursue the Kiwigrip alternative later in the year. Let us know how you get on with it.
Cheers!

[anotherT34C]

I used white interdeck mixed 50% with off-white. Just the right texture (for me). Not too coarse, but still has that sandpaper feel.

I rolled it over a non-skid pattern of raised bumps. Took an afternoon.

I only rolled on one coat because the color matched, and I might want to roll on another coat if it starts to wear thin in a few years.

[winterbuoy]

I am in the process of doing my complete deck with Kiwigrip and I have to tell you, this stuff really rocks. I am also using the grey color and the boat so far looks like new. The distributor is a guy named Willy Stiggelbout and he helped me over the phone and emails about applying this stuff. I would recommend it highly and no I have nothing to do with the company, just real happy. Buy it.

[Fishman_Tx]

Anyone ever seen this stuff?
Durabak Company; Truck Bed, Marine, Boat Ship Industrial & Workplace Non-Skid Coatings.
http://durabakcompany.com/docs/boatworks.pdf

[neelie]

How dark a grey can one have before it becomes too hot to walk on under a hot summer sun?

Is the KiwiGrip standard Grey (Grey, (near Pantone 427)) too hot to walk or sit on?

Or should I just go for white?

Thanks

[bstreep]

In Bradenton, any color other than white will be significantly hotter than white.

[winterbuoy]

It's pretty light colored and you can walk on it no problem, stays real clean you know, just hose it off. Don't know about white as we had a grey deck to start with so we went with that. I did not use their special roller to apply just a big stain brush and then kind of tapped it out to what I liked. I had real problems with the roller as it drys very quickly and was way to aggressive for me. The good thing is it washes up with water and does not smell. Don't spill it on anything cause man this stuff is real tuff and if it dries, your won't get it off. But that's a good thing also.

[Joli]

Sorry, sand off the diamonds and refinish with Awcraft 2000 and grit. Lotta work but you have a very nice boat and it would be a shame to just slap paint over the existing non-skid.

I've found the best way to remove the non-skid is with a slow speed buffer turning an 8" soft pad and 16 or 24 grit. Very quick but quite dusty. Paint over your current non skid will be slippery as other have said.