Are you happy with Kiwi Grip?

[bhartley]

KiwiGrip is a JOY to apply and it washes up with water. It continues to cure over two weeks to the maximum durability.

Prep is very straight forward. Clean, clean, clean.

Take your time taping. I would recommend doing the round corners FIRST. Make sure that the tape is consistently applied (ie. shortest sides go down first and then long sides. Flip the end of the tape under (well clear of the end) to make it easier to pull up.

Do not apply in the direct sun. It dries too fast. We used a 2" chip brush to apply the goop thickly and then rolled with the small rollers. Do not buy the big ones (8") it is too hard to work with.

Easiest to have one person goop while the other rolls. It takes a little bit to decide the texture, more rolling less rough. I did my companion way hatch first (a few days before) which gave me a chance to check my technique. Do one area and then IMMEDIATELY pull the tape. We put a very large, flattened cardboard box on the cabin top to drop the goopy tape on. This worked very well. Take your gloves off to pull up the tape. It washes off of your hands and it is hopeless with latex gloves!

I was very happy with the coverage with one coat (although as previously mentioned don't count on KG to cover ridges or uneven transitions). If you're going to do 2 coats, you may want to use a standard short nap roller on the first coat.

Socks after 2 days (maybe it was 24 hours I can't remember now...). Then you're good to go. I am thrilled with the finish. Yes, I have used grit/paint and Interdeck. No, I will not go back. I used 1/2 gallon of beige and < 1 qt of white to do the entire 25D.

The grip/texture is great on ours and you can still clean it with a sponge or paper towels without it being shreaded. The sand paint requires a brush in my opinion.

Bly

[Ron M.]

Working under cover is preferable.........make sure you have enough room and light. Direct sunlight can cause drying issues. Windblown debris, insects can be a pain.
It's always smart to use a respirator with the proper cartridge. Set up a couple of fans to help with ventilation.

[Oswego John]

I am mulling over why someone would want to add sand to Kiwi Grip. Here is a product that had evolved through intensive R&D, had been tested and retested under various conditions, had the formulae tweaked and retweaked to make it the best it can be for use by the boating fraternity (sorority too :>) and someone says to add sand to it. For me, it does not compute.

We have read Bly mention the fact that she was thrilled by the product both with the ease of application and how the finished project turned out. Personally, I listen and respect what she tells us of her practical experiences. I don't recall her mention of adding sand or anything else to the Kiwi Grip. I take it that it has been already perfected for its intended use.

Don't try to fix it if it ain't broke.
O J

[bhartley]

Definitively didn't add ANYTHING to the KiwiGrip -- I didn't even tint it. Opened the can, glopped it on, loopy-goopy rollered it, pulled up the tape and washed the brush and roller with water. The 2-part primer I used was FAR more stressful than the KiwiGrip!

[S/V Necessity]

We put Kiwi Grip on our boat several years ago and are very happy with it. Bhartley does not exxagerate in saying it is a joy to apply. It really does work like the importer (Willy with Pachena) claims. Here are some tips/things to say we have based on our experience.

1) practice / experiement with it. You can really acheive a wide range of textures by varying pressure on the roller and the amount of material used.
2) understand that it "dries" first, and then later begins to adhere to the substrate. This is why you can walk on it in socks relatively soon, but it's still not adheared to the substrate. It will stick down, it just takes a few days.
3) Pull the tape off ASAP, do not wait
4) If you do leave the tape on too long and pull it, you may need to do touch up. Retape the area and a small paintbrush can make a perfect repair.
5) We liked to have one person apply the material, while another worked the roller.
6) This product was REALLY easy to work with, I would reccomend a DIY approach be considererd for this one.
7) Willy at Pachina was really great to deal with, and was helpful.
8) We have not noticed any fading, however I think a call to Willy would put this issue to rest. He was very forthcoming.