Suggestions for non skid deck paint

[Steve Laume]

The paint chip is a chunk of my cockpit sole. I don't need more than a quart of non-skid/paint and I'd like to have it tinted the same color as the old non-skid.

I asked at the local Home Depot and they said that they won't tint any paint that you're not buying from them. So now I'm going to ask the folks at our local Ace Hardware and Sherwin Williams.

-Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

Cathy, the only time I have run into an issue with tinting a quart of paint is when I had a client that was mixing to different manufactures to get the exact white she wanted! There was so little pigment that the paint store wasn't sure if they could do it in a quart. I turned out that they were able to and the lady was actually happy with the results.

Got to someone other than HD and you might get the kind of service that you would expect from a good, old, local, hardware or paint store, (because they are) Steve.

[Gary H]

I have just finished applying Kiwi Grip to all the non-skid on my CD22D. It is an excellent product and I would use it again - and, as in anything, I am sure that the results would be more professional the second time around.

I thought I would share my experience so others might not make the same mistakes as I.

-Follow the instructions about not applying in direct sunlight. I had a small window of time to work on this and it was a partly cloudy day. The sun broke through in the middle of the job. This stuff dries instantly when the sun hits it. You will then have problems removing the tape successfully and the finish will be a bit flakey. Fortunately, it is easy to re-apply directly over your first attempt.

-Remove tape immediately after painting while the substance is still very wet. Once it starts to dry, you will not get a clean line.

-My finished surface has a very aggresive texture. I am sure that I will have scraped knees when pulling up my mooring line. I could not figure out a way to conrol the texture. I applied the non-skid in 4 separate sections on different days. I believe the texture become more aggressive in the later applications. I can only guess that the spaces on the special roller opened up with each cleaning/drying. I cleaned the rollers under a garden hose - perhaps, I should not have done that.

-I purchased the white Kiwi-Grip as I did not find any of their colors right for me. I brought it to the local Ace Hardware and gave him a color swatch. He used 2oz of color and the result is MUCH lighter than what I was shooting for. What I wound up with was an off-white which was not what I was I looking for. Howver, it will look ok.

-On a positive note- Crazing in your old non-skid does not seem to need any special attention. The Kiwi-Grip fills in the cracks without leaving any trace of them.

I would be interested to hear from others who may have had a different experience.