Deck paint suggestions

boatpoker said:

Put Kiwi on my decks last September and it does everything you say but I will not use it again as after only a few weeks it looks years old and holds dirt like nothing I've ever seen and is impossible to get clean. I've heard about the Woody Wax thing but after spending that kind of money on a deck paint I don't think I should have to wax it.

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Mine does hold dirt in the more textured areas. I use a stiff bristled brush on a broom handle with a little soap and water about once a month to make it look like new again.

Ted

boatpoker said:

Put Kiwi on my decks last September and it does everything you say but I will not use it again as after only a few weeks it looks years old and holds dirt like nothing I've ever seen and is impossible to get clean. I've heard about the Woody Wax thing but after spending that kind of money on a deck paint I don't think I should have to wax it.

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I agree that it does hold dirt more than a 2part poly with non-skid. IMO the cost is not much. Also we wash our boats every 1 to 2 weeks, scrubbing the decks with a medium stiffness brush. We are almost always barefoot or wearing flipflops. There isn't much dirt down here, just the white coral stone dust.

I could imagine in the Pacific Northwest (I'm from Oregon) it would be a little harder. Clay mud and slime mold from the dank weather. But up there everybody has steel/aluminum boats with adhesive "sandpaper" non-skid and they wear boots. So geographic location could be a factor in your non-skid application.

Applied kiwigrip a few weeks ago on the aft deck of my Gulf Star 36 MKII I'm restoring. I posted pics on the other thread: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/gulf-star-36mk-reef-monkey-project-29367.html

Panacea said:

I agree that it does hold dirt more than a 2part poly with non-skid. IMO the cost is not much. Also we wash our boats every 1 to 2 weeks, scrubbing the decks with a medium stiffness brush. We are almost always barefoot or wearing flipflops. There isn't much dirt down here, just the white coral stone dust.

I could imagine in the Pacific Northwest (I'm from Oregon) it would be a little harder. Clay mud and slime mold from the dank weather. But up there everybody has steel/aluminum boats with adhesive "sandpaper" non-skid and they wear boots. So geographic location could be a factor in your non-skid application.

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I consider $200US/gal. expensive.

We are currently cruising the Bahamas and Sharon is outside scrubbing the deck again (weekly) .... I can hear her grumbling it just looks dirty all the time. The name of our boat is DIRT FREE, ironic huh?

I applied it with a tight foam roller so there is little texture to hold the dirt. When we get back to Florida in Late spring we will overcoat it with something else.

Glad it works for you but we are not happy with it.

O C Diver,
No, we are not talking about the same product. Reread my first post...I used Awlgrip on my swim platform.

We've been usin' cheaper than dirt exterior water-based house paint for the 16 years we've owned our boat. Easy touch-up as the Kalifornia sun blends it right in. Bein' water-based, clean-up is a snap.

What about truck bed liner paint?

I've used Kiwi Grip for years, with consistently good results. It's best feature is that you can touch up wear areas and the margins fade into the existing surface. Drys very hard. Great product.

Nomad Willy said:

We use Interlux Brightside Poly.

Should have put a small bit of anti-skid in or on it.

The light tan is Bright Side in all three pics. Same as the darker reddish tan on the cabin sides. The white deck in the first pic is old ?? but it's BS now. The green is gone. The cabin side is "Sundowner Buff". It has some red in it. It gets lots of compliments.

In the cabin I use "deck and patio" latex. Excellent wear resistance.

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Very nice photos.
I totally agree on Brightside, have been using it for twenty five years.

Passage Maker Magazine had an article about truck bed liner on the deck over teak. I spoke to the owner several years later about how he liked it and how it held up. He said it held up very well. He would have done it a bit lighter in color, but other than that he was happy with it. There is a Linex franchise in Tampa (maybe) that has done many boats. He uses a slightly different formulation than the standard liner material. It is not cheap. There isn't a franchise near me that has experience with boat decks so I am using Kiwigrip instead.

Panacea said:

Applied kiwigrip a few weeks ago on the aft deck of my Gulf Star 36 MKII I'm restoring. I posted pics on the other thread: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/gulf-star-36mk-reef-monkey-project-29367.html

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That looks GREAT!

I've purchased a couple gallons of Kiwigrip for my rebuilt upper decks, currently I think that's the route I'm going to go although I still can't quite decide. The previous owner used Durabak after they tore the teak off and presumably rolled a coat of epoxy over it (yep, it leaks.) I didn't mind the Durabak too much until it came time to remove it, that was a nightmare of slow grinding to re-glass the front cabin.

Anyone had to remove Kiwigrip? It seems like it'd be tough to get off, versus most paints could be sanded and deck repairs done. Maybe I'm just being paranoid after my flybridge roof rebuild. I'd just hate to put something down I don't like then have to grind it all off an inch at a time like I did the Durabak.. With that said, my new DIY bare fiberglass roof/decks I've redone aren't a perfect flat finish, so I'm probably best staying with a more rubbery Kiwigrip/Durabak type finish than a glossier poyurethane or something.

Anyone with major regrets on the Kiwigrip? Maybe try to minimize texture for cleaning? Anyone tried to remove Kiwigrip?

I just put Kiwigrip on my decks. Haven't had to remove it yet since it is only 2 weeks old. I suspect it would involve a lot of sanding. I did sand off the non skid texture on the decks first so I am experienced in sanding the decks. I think that if I had to sand a large area of Kiwigrip, I would look into a commercial sander like what is used on hardwood floors to sand around the edges, not the large belt sanders. That would get the large open areas and I would have to use a D/A sander in close quarters. I used a regular roller cover on the top of my sundeck hardtop since I was not looking for large texture. It worked ok, but I did need 2 coats since it went on thinner than normal. Overall I am very happy with the Kiwigrip so far.