Non Skid Deck

[Oswego John]

In the near future, I plan to partially redeck one of my Tys. Does anyone know how to make the surface non-skid, something like a golf ball finish? Is there a mold available?

I know about sand paint and about adding abrasives to finish paint. I would like to have the gel coat finished non skid, the way it was done in the factory.

Thanks,
O J

[Duncan]

In the near future, I plan to partially redeck one of my Tys. Does anyone know how to make the surface non-skid, something like a golf ball finish? Is there a mold available?

I know about sand paint and about adding abrasives to finish paint. I would like to have the gel coat finished non skid, the way it was done in the factory.

Thanks,
O J

You can make a mold from the existing non-skid. The method is described in Henry Hinckley's book, pages 108-112.
Basically, you wax the existing non-skid, tape it off, and brush on gelcoat. This gelcoat becomes the mold. When the gelcoat has cured, but is still tacky, apply fiberglass cloth and resin to build up a backing on it (about 3/16" thick) to make it sturdy enough.

Then you brush gelcoat on the area where you want non-skid, and use the mold (waxed, again) to make the pattern on it.

I can photocopy the pages if you'd like, but it's a great book to buy, too, with lots of good advice.

[camroll]

Take a look at Kiwi Grip http://www.kiwigrip.com/ This some amazing stuff. I redid all my nonskid with it last year. It was easy to work with and looks and performs great.

Russ

[Russell]

I second the Kiwi Grip suggestion, best non skid product out there by far.

[bhartley]

I would NEVER use anything again after doing a boat with Kiwi Grip this week. (As a woman I am, however, leaving open the option to change my mind whenever I want in the future....) Before opting for Kiwi Grip, I spoke with multiple people who used KG on working boats that took lots of abuse and they swore by its durability (my main concern). Spread with a paint brush and rolled out. Rolled the entire area with LIGHT pressure to get a nice fine stipple. The process was made easier by working with 2 people, working in a large indoor area and having rolling scaffolding! I know people have done it with their boat IN the water, but I am not sure the results would be the same!

They have reformulated the cream (2012) to be less yellow and I am, personally, very happy with the color. It can be colored, but using a stock color should make it easier to redo areas in the future as needed.

I will add, as a reminder, that prep is everything. Spend extra time fairing and fixing any issues with your decks first. Since I had several recored areas, I also primed the entire deck first to encourage more even color coverage in one coat. I also used 3M 233+ (bright green) tape. Having painted with "good" blue tape in the past, I can highly recommend the 233+ for a much, much cleaner paint line. McMaster Carr carriers a wide variety of widths. They call it Performance Plus Green Performance Plus Green which makes it harder to find!

The other plus on priming the entire deck first was it allowed me to find the two spots that were improperly taped. Once cleat base was exposed and one corner hadn't been rounded. The working time on Kiwi Grip is very short so stopping to fix taping errors is tough. Even if noone else might have noticed, it would have made me crazy to have had that corner square with the rest were round. Taping took 4+ hours.

Coverage: I used 1 1/2 quarts (their cans are metric but I am going English here) on the cabin top, seahood, hatch, seats and stern deck. With the primer first, one coat covered very well with no ghosting. I used 1/2 a gallon to do the decks. I could have ordered 3 quarts, but there was a question on whether on coat would be adequate (which it was). Painting took 4 hours but should have taken closer to 2 1/2 had it not been for visitors wanting to talk!

My husband was so pleased with the color and finish that he plans to use it on his 13' Whaler.

Bly

[Marc Theriault]

OJ,

You could find what you search here:

http://www.gibcoflexmold.com/


I had the same idea for my project boat, i bought from them a roll of mat and at the end i didn't use it, mostly because i was advice against it for a big project.

Marc

[S/V Necessity]

I've used Kiwi Grip as well, and you can get a wide range of textures, primarily by varying the amount of pressure on the roller, and the amount of product used. You can also thin the material slightly if I remember correctly. With some experimentation (and perhaps guidance from the US importer, who is great to work with) I think you might be able to get very close to what you want.