What’s Your Favorite Non-Skid Deck Paint These Days?

[Chotu]

The world of non-skid is always changing.

I did most of my decks in 2-part linear polyurethane, using cabosil to home brew a texture. Worked great.

I have the deckhouse roof to get some paint on. I’d like to do something easier, faster and less toxic.

What are you using?

Note: it has to come in the most brilliant white imaginable because its primary job is deflecting heat loads off the deckhouse roof.

[Bill O]

Kiwigrip. Very easy to apply the water based product.

Redoing some deck panels to refresh them after ~10 yrs. The pastel colors are good to reduce deck heat.

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by Chotu

The world of non-skid is always changing.

I did most of my decks in 2-part linear polyurethane, using cabosil to home brew a texture. Worked great.

I have the deckhouse roof to get some paint on. I’d like to do something easier, faster and less toxic.

What are you using?

Note: it has to come in the most brilliant white imaginable because its primary job is deflecting heat loads off the deckhouse roof.

Chotu, I'd love to hear more. How did you get the texture? With a special roller? Does it hold up? I'm looking for a home brew solution that resembles Kiwigrip (which is not available here).

My current non-skid is a water-based non-skid paint for tennis courts. It's OK, but not very grippy. The advantage is that it's cheap, easy to apply and can be retouched if needed. I normally recoat every 3 years.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Bill O

Kiwigrip. Very easy to apply the water based product.

Redoing some deck panels to refresh them after ~10 yrs. The pastel colors are good to reduce deck heat.

Really? I’m surprised that you like that stuff. I have evaluated it. I did some test panels. It was too wispy. The peaks were sharp and tall. Seems like it would tear your bare feet apart.

Have a better technique than I did to keep it low and rounded rather than looking like cake frosting?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Copacabana

Chotu, I'd love to hear more. How did you get the texture? With a special roller? Does it hold up? I'm looking for a home brew solution that resembles Kiwigrip (which is not available here).

My current non-skid is a water-based non-skid paint for tennis courts. It's OK, but not very grippy. The advantage is that it's cheap, easy to apply and can be retouched if needed. I normally recoat every 3 years.

It’s actually very simple to get the texture. Just dump colloidal silica into some paint that you like.

That’s all there is to it. Keep adding it until you find a texture that you enjoy. Try it on a test panel or a piece of plywood or something at first. Once you are reliably mixing the right texture, you can just roll it right on the boat.

If you do it right, it looks just like sand. But it’s not as sharp as sand. It doesn’t have squared edges. It has a more of a rounded look.

Maybe there is no other alternative except to do what I already did? I was hoping for something really easy. And low on the toxicity scale of things.

[rslifkin]

The Kiwigrip instructions do mention that you can control how aggressive the texture is by your application technique. I've got some samples of it sitting here and I can confirm their white is very white. And texture wise, it's pretty similar to the factory molded nonskid on my boat (although maybe a little more aggressive). Some of the color samples were rolled with a more aggressive texture than others.

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by Chotu

It’s actually very simple to get the texture. Just dump colloidal silica into some paint that you like.

That’s all there is to it. Keep adding it until you find a texture that you enjoy. Try it on a test panel or a piece of plywood or something at first. Once you are reliably mixing the right texture, you can just roll it right on the boat.

If you do it right, it looks just like sand. But it’s not as sharp as sand. It doesn’t have squared edges. It has a more of a rounded look.

Maybe there is no other alternative except to do what I already did? I was hoping for something really easy. And low on the toxicity scale of things.

Thanks Chotu! So you can use a regular roller to get a textured surface? I'm going to try this next time I paint the deck.

[trashpad]

Hello,

I am a Kiwi fan. Just did my F-44 Cat with it. We did not want the 30 grit sandpaper level texture. There are several ways to get different textures with it but found outside temp and amount of sunlight was a major factor. The hotter and sunnier the day, the harder it was to keep from forming the sharp peaks. I found on the hot days thinning the Kiwi down with water and then stop rolling (hard part for me) as soon as you have good coverage we were able to get a nice non-skid that does not take a layer of skin off.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Copacabana

Thanks Chotu! So you can use a regular roller to get a textured surface? I'm going to try this next time I paint the deck.

It depends on the paint you are using. Match the roller to the paint. Most rollers will fall apart in about 30 seconds in two-part linear polyurethane paint. If you are using that, you’re going to need to use a more robust phenolic resin type of roller. Basically, the central tube will be made of plastic in the correct roller. They are typically sold as epoxy resin rollers.

But the roller does not make the texture in this technique. The texture is pretty much made by the amount of cabosil that you put in. The more you put in, the higher the peaks get. I mean, I think that’s all they do at Kiwi grip anyway. They just use some type of paint and then they thicken it up. It’s not all that proprietary of a thing. They just are selling it and not really telling you what they make of from. Basically, you can do it at home with any paint at all.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by trashpad

Hello,

I am a Kiwi fan. Just did my F-44 Cat with it. We did not want the 30 grit sandpaper level texture. There are several ways to get different textures with it but found outside temp and amount of sunlight was a major factor. The hotter and sunnier the day, the harder it was to keep from forming the sharp peaks. I found on the hot days thinning the Kiwi down with water and then stop rolling (hard part for me) as soon as you have good coverage we were able to get a nice non-skid that does not take a layer of skin off.

That came out pretty smooth looking. All of my work has been in Florida, so that’s probably why I had different results.

Based on all the facts in this thread though, maybe I should just find a different paint that’s not as toxic as two-part linear polyurethane and then thicken that up with cabosil.

What I am even more interested in with these pictures is that white coating you have on your hatch covers. What is that? Looks great for keeping too much sunshine out.

[trashpad]

I got them from Outland Hatch Covers. They work great, easy to use, and Outland has fantastic support. I plan to get ones made for the big cabin windows this spring. I mainly got them to protect the glass on the new hatches I just installed.

[s/v Jedi]

I’m using GripTex now but would try SoftSand if starting over.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I’m using GripTex now but would try SoftSand if starting over.

Oh yeah! I forgot all about the little rubber particles. That’s a good one. Not as rough on the lungs as colloidal silica. Mixed with a fairly easy-going, but durable paint, this might be a good way to go.

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by Copacabana

...My current non-skid is a water-based non-skid paint for tennis courts. It's OK, but not very grippy. The advantage is that it's cheap, easy to apply and can be retouched if needed. I normally recoat every 3 years.

We did similar using deck (the house-deck type) paint from whatever that big US DIY store was called - there's one in St Thomas USVI - Walmart maybe?
That, mixed with fine sand - off the beach behind St Thomas' airport (thoroughly washed) - remains the best deck paint we've ever found.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

We did similar using deck (the house-deck type) paint from whatever that big US DIY store was called - there's one in St Thomas USVI - Walmart maybe?
That, mixed with fine sand - off the beach behind St Thomas' airport (thoroughly washed) - remains the best deck paint we've ever found.

That’s actually a really good idea too. I am still amazed that the junk outdoor paint that I bought to do my dagger boards temporarily, five years ago, is still in perfect condition. It was applied without primer, over unsanded epoxy, by someone who had never painted anything before. So it’s a little splotchy looking. But the paint itself? Looks like the day it was applied. It’s mindbending how good that paint is from the hardware store.