Decking paint

[haiqu]

Anyone know the name of the nonslip decking surface used on so many yachts these days? It's usually either beige or light blue from the pictures I've seen. Normally applied to large deck areas with strips left unpainted at the edges.

Rob

[Auzzee]

Hi Rob, I have used a product called Intergrip in the past. It was an International Paints product, so, it was expensive. I think there are a few on the market which are essentially additives to whatever paint you choose to use.

An old mate of mine Lou Marchant, used exclusively exterior gloss house paints on his boat Windfall, and it always looked good. He used to paint the deck then use a fine sieve to overlay builder's sand on the wet paint.

The problem with some of the additives is that they absorb heat. In the tropics, decks can therefore become incredibly hot and the radiant heat warms the cabin to a hideous degree.

From memory, the Intergrip is a synthetic which dissipates heat.

On my last boat I bought the rubberised cork, diamond pattern decking. That is initially expensive, but it lasts forever, is a great heat insulation, and is easy to lay.

Also I believe Wattyl makes an industrial paint for surfaces in wet area factories. I don't know its name, but I'm sure a quick call to the local agent could be of some benefit.

Best of luck and I'd be really interested to know what you eventually decide upon.
Dave

[Lexx]

Interesting topic and I look forward to all sorts of suggestions.

A friend of mine did his decks about 5 years ago and I looked at it the other day and its still looking good and about the best antislip finish I have seen. I will be doing my decks next year and will be following his advice for sure.

His method is to get high build primer, thicken it with talc powder then apply with a small textured paint roller. This forms peaks and although the peaks in the paint do sink a little it gives a nice textured non slip finish. Then paint over with your choice of paint and the jobs done. He advises masking off around sail tracks, winches, coamings and things with 25 cm masking tape for the textured coat of high build primer then taking the tape off and top coating all the way to the edges.. It gives you that nice finished look.

Lexx

[Auzzee]

Interesting regime! You would need to paint it in a cold climate I expect. The primer would 'go-off' pretty quickly..even more so with the talc. I can't imagine doing it on an exposed deck in the tropics.

[Auzzee]

This is the rubberised cork deck I laid on my previous boat. This has been directly under the tropical sun of Darwin, without coverings for eight years.

[haiqu]

Intergrip looks like the stuff I've been seeing. Just add it to whatever paint you're using. 125gm per litre at $13.90 for 150ml (dunno how many grams that might be).

Hmmmm, clean sand might be cheaper. LOL.

Rob

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by Auzzee

This is the rubberised cork deck I laid on my previous boat. This has been directly under the tropical sun of Darwin, without coverings for eight years.

Yeah, that could work on the "floating footpath." Don't have to worry about the deck rotting out under it.

Thanks for the data, I'll let you know which way I decide to go. Prolly sand, I'm a tightarse when it comes to these things.

Rob

[Lexx]

Aussie, my friends yacht is a 35 fibreglass sloop and he painted it in Port Douglas. High build primer works well here.. lots of people use it after all and because it goes off quickly is the reason it works with talc added and with a textured roller to make the non slip surface. After all we wouldn't want it to sink flat huh.

Having seen the evidence first hand, I know what I will be using next year when I redo my decks.

Lexx

[Auzzee]

^Sometimes I can be a bit phick!

I have never used any additive with hi-build, but I remember keeping a wet edge was plurry difficult.
Cheers..

[Lexx]

laughs ... don't really have to keep a wet edge with primer ... sticks well anyway ...

[mico]

High build primer works well here.. lots of people use it after all and because it goes off quickly is the reason it works with talc added and with a textured roller to make the non slip surface.

We used the same approach on small sloop we outfitted and sailed from Perth. The only difference was we used micro balloons and a child's plastacine roller that had a small diamond pattern. It took a while to perfect our technique on scrap board but when we got the timing right and the hi build had gone spongy and skinned, one continuous roll across from one side to the other we got an almost perfect tread pattern

We were tickled pink when after spraying, no one would believe that the raised deck and coach roof had not come from a mould. Mind you we used a truck load of epoxy resin and made one hell of a mess

This year we resprayed Mico's decks and coach roof after a number of gelcoat repairs. Mico has a very fine diamond tread pattern and unfortunately some of the gelcoat repairs crossed over into the tread area.

We were all ready to repeat the same technique when I came across a 2 part silicon moulding paste called 'Siligum' by Gedeo in an arts and craft shop.

You combine the two tubs of gum together until they are a uniform purple and then use a rolling pin, roll the dough out across some good tread area.

It hardens within ten minutes and you end up with an A4 silicon sheet you can press down onto an epoxy bog and when it starts going off, simply peel off to leave perfect tread All for $34 AU

Oh I love a bargain!

Fair winds,


Mico

[haiqu]

Sounds a bit like Sugru. Thanks for the tip!

Rob

[Santana26]

Hi... I am new to the group and might as well jump right in.

I am currently restoring a Santana 26 and I am going to try "Evercoat Skid-No-More" I haven't found any bad reviews for it yet. West Marine sells it for $70 gal. and Ace Hardware sells it for $39, go figure... It covers about 60 to 80 sq. ft. to the gal. (also available in qts.) Directions state that you may not get a uniform coat the first go and will require a second coat after 8 hours cure. It has beads of rubber mixed in and you apply by pouring and brushing in one direction to a uniform coat. It is tintable, (comes out of the can 'basic gray'), but the tint is very expensive, I looked up the ingredients and they are just basic artist colors with a lot of filler, so I am just going to go to the art store and buy a large tube of titaintium white and some umber to give a nice sand color.

So there is my two-cents worth... I have no idea how long it will last in a marine environment but somewhere I read 3 years at least... I guess I will have to let you know after I have tried it...

[Capt. Paul West]

This is a great post. I'm testing out some ideas and watching this post closely. I ran across a guy that found some stuff from CA (he's contacting me about the supplier) that sells a rubberized granule that mixes with your paint. It's been on his decks for a lot of years and says it's still in good shape.

I'll post here when I get the information.

[Brent Swain]

I have always used beach sand on oil based enamel, no problems. The nice thing about sand is it is too hard to wear down; and cheap. Shaking it onto wet paint with a salt shaker gives you an even spread. Rough at first, each subsequent coat makes it smoother, and easier to clean.

[Karst]

There's also the water-based acrylic called "Kiwigrip" which seems popular on some cruising forums. Have not used it, but have seen comments to the effect that it is tricky to apply in hot weather because it dries quickly.
My concern would be that a water based acrylic may be a bit soft in hot regions, and, if you choose a white (or light) colour, dirt would not wash off as easily as it would from hard surface paints like enamels.
But then it is very easy to touch up with minimal preparation, a big advantage.