Epoxy painting boat floor

seagull369

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 15, 2002
Messages
39
I'd like to rip up the ratty blue carpet on the floor of my boat and use some sort of anti-skid epoxy paint. Was wondering if anyone has recommendations on what I could use beyond that rustoleum garage floor stuff (I dont need that much).

I was toying with the idea of using some epoxy resin- kind that comes w/ the tube of catalyst & is used generally used with the glass cloth- to do the job, but am not sure if that'd really work. Maybe add anti skid material in with tint (would like it to be white) & wood flour and stir well?? Not sure if that'd end up adhering well or be able to resist UV rays even.

Maybe I should just truck on over to Benjamin Moore?
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Epoxy painting boat floor

i've been using oil based rustoleum with little sand, for years.
 

Moody Blue

Captain
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May 24, 2004
Messages
3,136
Re: Epoxy painting boat floor

I'm in the same situation. Looking for an alternative to carpet.
Been looking for awhile but have not come up with anything that seems suitable.

I did just find a 2-part epoxy product from Quikrete that looks really good. It is intended as a garage floor covering, is oil and gas resistant and is tintable in one of 64 colors and dries to a semi-gloss finish. There is even an anti-slip product that can be added. Being epoxy, it must be tough as nails.

I emailed tech support at Quikrete about applying it onto fiberglass as a floor covering. Their reply was that it is intended for concrete only and that I should contact a local marine supplier for a suitable product.

Now, epoxy is epoxy I thought. Epoxy SHOULD stick to pretty much anything, shouldn't it?

The stuff costs $90 and claims to cover 250 sq ft. Debating whether to spend the money on an experiment.
 

240sx4u

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
80
Re: Epoxy painting boat floor

I'm in the same situation. Looking for an alternative to carpet.
Been looking for awhile but have not come up with anything that seems suitable.

I did just find a 2-part epoxy product from Quikrete that looks really good. It is intended as a garage floor covering, is oil and gas resistant and is tintable in one of 64 colors and dries to a semi-gloss finish. There is even an anti-slip product that can be added. Being epoxy, it must be tough as nails.

I emailed tech support at Quikrete about applying it onto fiberglass as a floor covering. Their reply was that it is intended for concrete only and that I should contact a local marine supplier for a suitable product.

Now, epoxy is epoxy I thought. Epoxy SHOULD stick to pretty much anything, shouldn't it?

The stuff costs $90 and claims to cover 250 sq ft. Debating whether to spend the money on an experiment.

Many concrete products are designed to be applied to a porous surface, such as... concrete. They "grip" the pores and would probably not last long.

What about spray-on bedliner? Stuff sticks to ANYTHING!

Evan
 

seagull369

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 15, 2002
Messages
39
Re: Epoxy painting boat floor

Thank you all for your contributions on this post...

I checked with a local paint supplier and they said they would make me up 2 gallons (1 part epoxy, 1 part catalyst, 50-50 ratio) of what I wanted for ~$100. I would just have to add the non-skid stuff once I do the mixing, which is only a few bucks. Not bad really considering the cost of that Rustoleum garage floor stuff (which I was considering using & is only a few quarts) is ~$50.

The shop did mention that not all epoxies (or ones that claim to be) are the same. They said that Rustoleum stuff wouldnt hold up for a marine enviro.
and after seeing the label which mentioned 'WATER based' it was hard to think that it would. I dont know about you folks, but I doubt the good, quality epoxies Ive seen in auto paint and body fillers have anything to do with water in their composition. Also those so called "1 part" epoxies sold, where no mixing (or even stirring) is required, are highly suspect to me in terms of durability as well.

I'm tempted to go cheap with this, but I'd hate to go thru prep work/ painting and then just a few months later have to scrape off what has begun flaking off just to do it all over again the right way.
 

boatboy999

Recruit
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
5
Re: Epoxy painting boat floor

After my total boat re-build I was going to re-carpet, but decided that as the woodwork was so clean, I would paint for now.... the glassfiber I put on the floor had a little weave texture on it so I bought West Marine enamel, mixed a color I was happy with (their colors are limited), I went with a pale gray and I bought anti slip additive to add to the paint to put in walk areas. What I found was that before I put any antislip down, when doing 'sea trials' was that the enamel is not slippery at all... the consensus of folk who have got wet and walked around in the boat is it's fine as it is..... wet vinyl is more of a hazard!. So I never used the anti slip additive (32 bucks worth of shelf decoration now!)and I'm just going to 'see how it goes'.. but it's pretty hard wearing and is easy to apply and touch up (I haven't needed to yet). It's a breeze to clean up with, just wipe down. Up to you!
 

wca_tim

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
1,708
Re: Epoxy painting boat floor

I've just finished putting a coat of two part epoxy primer down over the new deck (after spending a significant amount of time filling, evening things out). I'm going to roll out one of the rubberized deck coating materials that designed for this and for water park play areas, etc... I'll rough the primer up and lay it down with a roller tomrrow or the next day and will let you know how it goes... I think it's goign to be well under $100 for my interior, but will have to see.
 

Coors

Captain
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
3,367
Re: Epoxy painting boat floor

MAS epoxy, sold in most discount boat stores (at least here).
 
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