Removal of Sand/Epoxy finish on foredeck.

The finish on my foredeck is a horrible “sand/epoxy” paint (awlgrip). I would like to strip/sand this off and replace with kiwi grip. I tried 40 grit paper on my orbital sander and it wouldn’t touch it. I’m not sure if I can find some electroplate diamond pads that might do the trick. Do I need to move up to a grinder? I’m a little nervous about using such an aggressive tool in this case. Any advice most graciously accepted.



Jim

Try a belt sander, but carefully. It will remove the finish much more aggressively than a DA sander. But keep it flat to the deck and continuously moving. If you tilt it or stop it will dig in quickly. I used to use them in a job as a cabinetmaker and they are great for removing a lot of material. Try practicing on some scrap material first if you don’t have experience with a belt sander. Try a less aggressive grit first and if needed move to a more aggressive grit.

Thanks Dave. I had thought of that but I’m a bit nervous. I’ve never used one before. I’m at the “physician do no harm” stage.

The “grit” on this deck is much more aggressive than sand paper.

Jim

It can be a bit daunting but do some practice on scrap first and use a less aggressive grit. Just make sure it is flat to the surface and keep it moving. Once you get good at it move to a more aggressive grit to remove the material faster. I used to use a belt sander one handed but then I was using one every day and felt very comfortable doing it. Not so much anymore, now I am more careful.

I like my Kiwigrip decks. Before you go to the effort to remove the Awlgrip, I would try cleaning the deck and putting the Kiwigrip over the Awlgrip. My boat is painted with Awlgrip and there was a fair amount of deck with Awlgrip over spray. The Kiwigrip stuck to it without issue. I would try a few square feet and see if the net result meets your requirements.

Ted

Thanks Ted. There’s a very aggressive sand grit in the awl grip. That’s the issue.

I’ll give that some thought.

JIm

Jim,
I am always wary of using a belt sander. If you go that route follow Comodave's advise and practice first. A more agressive orbital sander like the Porter Cable 335 might work well. They are easy to find on Craigslist. A 6" Fein orbital disk sander also works very well but they are pricey.

Another option is a Porter Cable paint remover for the really rough stuff. Again, it's a Craigslist option, usually starting around $50-$100. Practice first with that one too.
Start with 36-40# to knock down the worst of it then try the easier to control sander with 80-100#.

Good luck.

Rob

Thanks Rob. Good advice. Theres lots of material in the yard here to practice on. I will see what I can dig up.

All these tools are aggressive, but my orbital sander with 40 grit did absolutely nothing.

Jim

Greetings,
Mr. JD. First thing I thought of before I read Mr. OC's post was put the KiwiGrip right over the existing finish. (Great minds Mr. OC etc.).
We did all our decks with KG before selling. REALLY impressed. Slight blemishes (dings, unevenness etc.) simply disappeared. Beautiful stuff to work with. Readily diluted/thinned with water. IF you mask, remove tape immediately as described in the instructions.
IF the current finish is well adhered, go to it. Pour the KG on, trowel about and roll. Several good tutorials on the KG site. Best applied if not too hot-skins over quite quickly.

Thanks RT. I’m still on the fence on that approach. The existing “finish” is so poor and uneven and the sand so aggressive, that I am worried it will eventually compromise the kiwi grip, making a bigger mess to clean up. On the other hand the grinders and sanders that are required could cause damage if they get away on me. Hmmm.

Jim

How about a strong chemical stripper like Aircraft Paint Stripper? It's very difficult to sand a sand impregnated 2 part paint. Perhaps try a small area and see how it goes? Aircraft is pretty nasty stuff, but effective.

You definitely do NOT want to try to sand off Kiwigrip. It is a latex but it wears like iron. We did the bow and there was a poorly done repair by the PO that wasn’t glassed properly. So I had to remove the Kiwigrip to grind a valley for some 1708 to structurally fix the repair. I started with a DA sander with 120, didn’t touch the Kiwigrip. Went to 40 grit, no go. Then went to the belt sander and finally had to go with 40 grit on the belt sander and it took forever to work through the Kiwigrip. Get to good surface before applying the Kiwigrip so you don’t have to do repairs on it. It was on the boat for about 5 years when we sold it and still looked good. One tip is to wax it with Woody Wax to make it easier to clean. With the texture it can trap dirt and the wax helps the dirt come off easier. Also Woody Wax is extremely easy and fast to use. I use it on the nonskid on our current boat. It isn’t slippery after it originally dries.

First thing I would try is to clean the existing deck as best you can, then roll another layer of Alwlgrip over it. Another layer of normal paint might make the grit less aggressive, and should definitely make it look better. If you don't like it, it's not that much harder to sand off than what you already have.

I don’t think another coat of Awlgrip will make much difference since 2part poly paint goes on so thin. And it would be pricey.

Greetings,
Mr. C. To remove KG I've found that if you take a rag and lay it over the KW then soak it with acetone, the KW softens to the point where you can readily scrape it off with a putty knife. Doesn't get it all but removes a goodly amount. YMMV.

Just to be clear, the existing finish is NOT Kiwi Grip. It’s a 2 part epoxy paint with very course sand. And it was unevenly done in the first place. It is the devil to keep clean. And the colour has faded and algae has embedded into the finish. It just looks gross.

Jim

If you're up for an experiment, go to Harbor Freight and buy a cheap electric hand planer, then get some carbide blades and then give it a try. I once had to remove some gelcoat from a flat hatch and this worked great. No idea how it would work against sandy non-skid but wouldn't cost much to give it a try. Just be careful

A rotary disc sander (instead of an orbital) might be an alternative to a belt sander. They can be similarly tough to use, but being generally smaller it's easier to get a feel for it and not be overly aggressive.

Have you tried heat gun and scraping?

Been there and got the t shirt. I had to use a 7" grinder with 60 grit paper. You could also try a Dimond cup grinder. You have sand paper against paper.

For the new skid. Instad of the kiwi grip ( rolll on materials) look at raptor truck bed liners. you can get colors and make custom stuff. I put it on my 42 sf and was there for 10 years with no issues. Can be re coated any time. Installed with a shots gun( undercoating gun) minimal overspray. Quick dry. easy to clean.

I am planning to use on my current vessel. Will post when starting the project.

Glad to hear your use of truck bed liner. That is what i am opting towards. I am planning on rolling it on though.

Thanks all for the advice and support!

So the advice from the marine service manager for the yard here is to use a ”Walter Orange backing pad” with 60 grit discs and to work slowly. He said once I knock the sand off, I should be able to use the orbital sander to remove the rest of the surface.

Jim

Look into the shots gun. Left a nice pebbly finish . Not really any overspray. Just used a 2' pre taped polly for protecton and that was fine. I use the gun for coating . Then as the material in the gun started to flash/thicken the gun would splatter and gave me a nice pebbly finish. ' Zoom in on the pic. Was very happy with durability. Covered 40 grit sanding marks with no faring . Easy to clean. I tinted the material with the paint from the boat for a perfect match.

I’m committed to using Kiwi Grip at this stage.

Jim

Yep, googling " shots gun" got the expected results, though nothing at all relevant.

Try schutz gun. Schutz is an auto body under seal product. The spray gun to apply it can be used to apply all sorts of viscous materials like bed liner. If I’m going for a uniform texture I will cut the barrel down to about two inches long. It gives a wider pattern and even spatter.

What about a wire brush on a drill or grinder? Would that skuff up the existing surface enough, and work around the grit so the kiwi grip can then be applied over it without fully removing the existing coating? Or are you concerned that would leave behind too course of a surface?

Thanks TT. I have a very stiff wire cup and will carefully give it a try. I’m a bit nervous it might run away on me. However, if I can knock most of the sand off, I’m hoping the orbital sander will smooth out the rest of it. I looked at a boat that had an application of kiwigrip. It hadn’t been properly prepped and the underneath surface was partially visible in a few places.

Jim

I removed epoxy of my teak deck in October, tried absolutely everything, but could not get it off. Then someone advised me to use an angled grinder with 230 mm pads. I used 36 grid and that is how the epoxy came off. It is extremely dusty work, so make sure you protect yourself well.
After taking the epoxy off I used an orbital sander with 80 grid and that was it. In all it took me three days to get the epoxy off the deck.

On my last boat the builder put the gel coat on way too thick so it had tons of stress cracking. It was bad on the bow in the patterned nonskid. I sanded all the nonskid off the bow. Still had small stress cracks everywhere. When I used the Kiwigrip it covered them nicely. One area the gel coat was almost 1/8” thick and it was stress cracked badly. This was not an area that was going to get Kiwigrip. I ended up using a belt sander with 40 grit to take all the gel coat off down to bare glass. Then I faired the area and painted it. Looked great when I was done but it was a PITA to get done.