Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

I'm about to glass in the floor of my boat and I'm trying to think ahead of how I can get some no slip texture to it. My plan is to lay some csm, then some woven mat. Finally I'm going to either use a Rustoleum marine paint to paint the deck, or this new Valspar exterior paint I've been researching. I've seen some people add sand to the paint as it dries to get some texture, but I don't know how well that works.

You guys that have done something like this, what did you do and what were the results?

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

I found ablative deck paint is a beach to clean, the muck sticks like stink.
I wish I had left it with the original gelcoat now.
Paint is just not tough enough for floors or deck.
My deck is painted with interdeck by interluxe, I haven't put it back in the water yet and it needs repainting already.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

jonesg said:

I found ablative deck paint is a beach to clean, the muck sticks like stink.
I wish I had left it with the original gelcoat now.
Paint is just not tough enough for floors or deck.
My deck is painted with interdeck by interluxe, I haven't put it back in the water yet and it needs repainting already.

Click to expand...

I do not think that word means that which you think it means.

Ablative paint is paint that is designed to slough off or slowly wear away. Most bottom paints are ablative. The ablative process continuously provides a fresh surface of biocide/lubricant to prevent marine growth from growing/sticking.

Pirate: There are all sorts of ways to create a non-skid surface, but trying to do it with your laminate is going to be a very expensive and frustrating process. The average DIY guy just doesn't have the resources to venture down that path. I would concentrate on using a product such as Kiwi Grip or a paint like Interdeck for your non-skid. Both need to be applied carefully to get full benefit and life, but they will be much easier than trying to incorporate the texture into your laminate.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

Hmmmm non slip..... yes the sand additives in paint can be really non slip like trying to walk on sand paper (which is hard to clean too).... just go easy if you use the sand. It works and is cheap.

Durabak coating is also non slip but costs the bucks but....look at this post to see how it is and the details http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=292511

Another alternative is to sprinkle non slip additive on the wet fiberglass but once again GO EASY a little goes a long way.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

You could use something like this. A friend used it on his boat and it works great.

http://rhinohide.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=81

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

Thanks for the replies. My main goal is to keep costs down, but give me a good working surface on the deck. My CFO (wife) is really focused on keeping the costs down. (if momma ain't happy, no one's happy). But at the same time we both agree it should be done right. I'll keep doing my research and see what I come up with. I'll keep ya posted.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

I just rolled gel coat on my deck and worked out pretty well. I did a heavier textured on the sections where I need extra grip. For these parts I waited until the gel coat started to flash and then hit em with a little texture roller.



It does already seem to be getting dirty, but the bonus with going with gelcoat is that you can use some pretty heavy duty cleaners without needing to stress about hurting the material.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

SBTOM,

How much gel did you use? What was your approximate area you covered?

Terry

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

I don't know exactly how much square footage I covered, but I used right around a gallon of material, and half of a 2 oz. tube of pigment. Its a 19 foot boat and I did the whole deck, as well as the top and bottom of the hatches that aren't shown in that shot, so I would say probably about 7'x18' @ 2 coats.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

There is a product called griptex that you can add to gel coat to get a non skid texture I think it is about a 5% mix so you don't need much. I would estimate 1.5-2L of gel per coat. It would be well covered with two coats.

This is the method i'm planning on using on my deck (sometime next week) I may do the second coat with no added grip tex so the deck isn't too rough. I will apply with a disposable foam roller.

Fuzzy

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

FBPirate95 said:

Thanks for the replies. My main goal is to keep costs down, but give me a good working surface on the deck. My CFO (wife) is really focused on keeping the costs down. (if momma ain't happy, no one's happy). But at the same time we both agree it should be done right. I'll keep doing my research and see what I come up with. I'll keep ya posted.

Click to expand...

I'm looking for a low-cost anti-slip, also. So I am experimenting with the Rustoleum Marine Topside paint.

Found it for about $12/qt at Lowe's, primer about $18/qt, and the anti-slip additive about $5/half pint (can says use at 1/2 pt can per qt of paint, mixed right into the paint).

Now then, I was interested in seeing:

• If the "Battleship Gray gloss" color is what I want
• What the shine of the gloss is like
• How the anti-slip additive texture is
• What kind of solvent resistance this paint has

So I painted onto a piece of epoxied plywood--no sanding the epoxy, no primer. All applied using foam brush. Also, ignore the bubbles, those are in the epoxy because this piece of wood was a failed experiment in rapid-curing the epoxy in an oven :redface:



On the left, 2 coats as-is. Stoddard solvent paint smells just like the old Testor's model car paint you used as a kid. Leveled nicely, took at least 8 hours to dry to the touch, about 24 hours for each coat to dry enough for another coat (at least, in the garage; probably less if outdoors). Very shiny gloss, almost too much IMO, I think it will glint too much in the sun. Unfortunately, only white comes off-the-shelf in semi-gloss.

In the middle, I was trying to get a "semi-gloss" by flattening the sheen with dental silica mixed into the paint: 1st coat 5% by weight, second coat 2.5% by weight. This is way too much silica:

• Made it "murdered out" flat in sheen
• Did not level as well (too viscous)
• Is softer (can dent with fingernail)

Probably 0.5% to 1% silica by weight will be better. I will continue experimenting with that. The 2.5%+ silica did make it dry to the touch in only about 2 hours, though.

On the right is the anti-slip experiment. Here is a close-up:


I mixed together the Rustoleum Marine anti-slip additive and the paint in the ratio indicated on the can. First coat is that mixture. On the right, I did a second coat with that mixture, on the left I did the second coat with straight paint.

The two-coats of anti-slip is too abrasive, and the second coats sticks up too much and some of the particles can be brushed away. Doing the second coat with straight paint was right-on; just enough texture, not abrasive, the particles are well encapsulated.

An aside about this particular anti-slip: it is not sand, it is ground pumice. It is porous so it absorbs paint and stays in suspension very nicely. And it does not have sharp, abrasive edges like sand. Mixed straight into the paint a foam brush picked it up nicely and distributed it well. I think it would work well for me.

I am going to test these paint patches for solvent resistance (gasoline, alcohol, carb cleaner, etc) over the weekend. If they resist gas and alcohol, and I can get the sheen just right with added silica, I'm going to give this paint and anti-slip a shot.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

Rustoleum marine paint looks nice but it is a soft paint. Don't know if i would use it on the deck. We used KiwiGrip, its pretty intense stuff. Check sig for pics

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

Thanks guys. Your boats look great. Looks like I'm going to have to sit down with the wife and go over the pro's and cons of the different coverings.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck


http://rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=10
Rustoleum anti-slip additive was mentioned above.

I ordered some, along with paint, thru the Do It Best Hardware site and they give free shipping to any local Do It Best store, which includes a lot of independent stores. Also saw above the Rustoleum paint is soft, but I already ordered mine for the interior, along with the anti-slip, so I'll go ahead and use it. At some point later I'll post how it holds up.

Rustoleum is one of the least expensive coatings I've found.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

ajgraz said:

I'm looking for a low-cost anti-slip, also. So I am experimenting with the Rustoleum Marine Topside paint.

Now then, I was interested in seeing:

• If the "Battleship Gray gloss" color is what I want
• What the shine of the gloss is like
• How the anti-slip additive texture is
• What kind of solvent resistance this paint has

Click to expand...

Thanks for this post, Battleship Gray is exactly the color I'm going to use. Mine is in the workshop, but I'm pretty sure I got the flat finish. Just the sort of info I was looking for.

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

Let me jump in here almost a year later and re-hijack this thread...what can I say, I like threads that have follow-up (not enough of those, unfortunately)

I was the guy experimenting with Rustoleum Topside with the anti-slip additive for deck paint for my old fiberglass open bow.

First off, to get the lightness of shade I wanted, I had to cut the Battleship Gray with White at the ratio of 1qt grey : 3qts white. They really should make a "light gray" version of this paint, that Battleship Gray is incredibly dark.

Well, I painted a good bit of my interior and topsides with that paint (without the non-slip additive), and it has held up very nicely on gunwales, in the splashwell, on the dashboard, etc.; basically, all the "low-contact" areas.

But on the deck it held up horribly. It chipped off very easily, gasoline resistance was near nil, spots started to peel after only a few months, and by now the entire deck has to be re-coated. I will be doing something different, for sure. Either Interdeck or a true two-part polyurethane with anti-slip additive, or an Ultra Tuff or Durabak type thing.

I am happy with the Rustoleum anti-slip additive itself, though. Not too slick, not too rough, stayed suspended in the paint very nicely and distributed well using foam rollers. I would use that again in a deck coating (if I decide to paint), I just would not use that paint on a deck again!

Re: Need some advice on adding no slip texture to the deck

Hmmm, that's exactly what I'm using on my floor, only I have enamel hardener to mix in with the paint. I hope that makes the difference . . .