Your Thoughts On Repainting Decks

Anyone with a 70's and later Marshall Californian had trouble keeping deck paint on their boat? *Bright Sides doesn't seem to adhere well either and lifts off in short order. I've talked to several other 38' and 42' owners who have the same problem.

I'm hearing another solution is having decks spray painted with pickup bedliner treatment? *Any thoughts or experience with this problem.

mine have been repainted by the PO.* He used interthane I'm told, but I have no proof of that.* It was Interlux, at least I know.* The paint is about 10 years old and has held up*quite well.* There are a few scuff marks on the high points of the non skid but not many.

I painted the non skid on my old Trojan with decent results using Petit Easy Poxy.* Prepping* non skid is a B*$#%.* It really can't be sanded, as you only hit the high points.* I ended up using silica sand and a stainless brush and scrubbing the heck out of it.** If it has ever had silicone over spray or even wax it is* really hard to clean to the point that paint will stick.

I like the idea of truck bed liner, I have seen similar products that can be rolled on.* I think I would check with an industrial paint distributor.

Sounds like there is silicon on the deck that is causing the paint to release, and getting to the bottom of that would seem to be high priority before attempting to repaint. *I have used Easy Poxy with good results, although it lasts only about 2 years before recoating is needed if you want it to look nice. *Were it me, I would get the old paint off and use a silicon solvent to scrub the deck down. *Then, Awlgrip with matting agent and non skid. *This is, as noted, a 10 year finish and works very well.

I have also lined the anchor well with truck bed liner and it is a very robust finish. *I am not sure I would lay it over a deck just because I am not sure how you would deal with re-coating when needed. *The stuff is incredibly tough and might last longer than you do, but it is pretty industrial.


-- Edited by Delfin on Tuesday 7th of June 2011 10:17:26 PM

I did all of my decks with the truckbed material - Durabak I think.

Prep is pretty important, and the stuff sticks like mad and is waterproof. The only problem I had was the color faded/changed from the UV.

It goes on quite thick and since there is alot of rubber in it, makes for a nice mildly springy surface. There is no problem with it being textured enough for non skid.

Since the product I used was a polyurethane base, I just recoated the deck surface with Brightside (Interlux). This holds the color great and is easy to touch up or recoat when necessary. I have been getting 3 years out of a recoat on the main decks with the most traffic. I get 5 on the upper decks. It is pretty easy to recoat when needed.

Sorry; just so I am clear on this. You are putting Brightside over the truck bed finish? Thanks

No, Californians have a non skid texture molded into the walk areas and top of the trunk cabin and top of the aft cabin deck of the tri cabin models. *

The factory paints these areas with a colored (blue, tan, etc.) paint product like Brightsides, which unfortunately in this case begins to blister and peel off after about two summers of sitting in the sun. *Removing it to get back down to the non skid surface is a bugger. *I've taken it down and repainted many time since it was new and always, the same result. *So I'm looking for something a little more durable. *

Another Californian owner, that I know, had his non skid areas coated with spray on truck bed linner. *It's very durable, but I'm not sure how this look over the long term

chc wrote:
Sorry; just so I am clear on this. You are putting Brightside over the truck bed finish? Thanks

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*Yes, due to the fading of the truck bed finish.

I did all of my decks with the truckbed material - Durabak I think.

Prep is pretty important, and the stuff sticks like mad and is waterproof. The only problem I had was the color faded/changed from the UV.

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I went to the Durabak website and they have several different products now and good color selection. Did you use the UV rated product or was it not available at the time you did your decks? Supposedly the UV rated product won't fade.(If that is true, this sounds pretty good.) Other than removing the old paint, how did you prep your decks?

I got a few samples of the Durabak mailed to me. The surface seemed a bit rough to me, maybe too rough for the bare foot. How did yours turn out?

It's bshanafelt that used it. I haven't tried it yet, but what he says is it works great. Will let you know if I end up using it

I did buy the UV rated material.* It went on as a light grey, but within 3 weeks had faded to a rather odd light green - the admiral was not pleased.

Fortunatly, since the Durabak is a poly base, there was no compatibility problem to top coat it with Brightside(also a polyurethane).

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Concerning the finish of the surface, it is definately non slip by texture, there are rubber grits that are in the Durabak, which you have to constantly stir up to keep in suspension as you are applying the product.

The Brightside paint is a semi-gloss and would be very slick without the texture of the durabak underneath it.

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A friend of mine used a product called Kiwigrip on the decks of his Trojan 32. Looks & feels good, but it has only been in place a month or so. Prep & application looked to be pretty straightforward. I'm planning to give it a try next Spring. Sorry I don't have much info on it; link, etc. I'll see what I can find.

chc wrote:A friend of mine used a product called Kiwigrip on the decks of his Trojan 32. Looks & feels good, but it has only been in place a month or so. Prep & application looked to be pretty straightforward. I'm planning to give it a try next Spring. Sorry I don't have much info on it; link, etc. I'll see what I can find.

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*I used it on my last sail boat and was very happy with it.* I had it on for over a year before I sold the boat.*I used a pressure washer on the painted surfaces with no problems.

There is a slight (and it is slight) learning curve.* The amount of pressure you put on the roller affects the depth of the pattern in the paint and that in turn affects the coarseness of the finish.* So take a piece of old ply wood and get a feel for the different application pressures.*

Also do not apply in direct sun light.* It is not the sun but it is the heat build up on the surface.* Here in NC the early morning was the best time to apply it during the summer time.* Remove the masking tape when it is still wet.* This makes for very nice clean edges.

Mistakes are easy to repair.* Just let it dry and take sand paper to it to knock off the surface and then wipe it down and repaint.

For the most part just follow the instructions and you will be happy.

Good luck.