Painting Non-Skid - Recommendations?

[bstreep]

Our non-skid paint is looking a little thin. It's a diamond embossed surface in the gelcoat. The current color is grey, and it's a bit warmer than the surrounding white of the deck. BUT, I really don't want to use white...

- any recommendations for a paint? I don't want a thick paint, as the deck is already non-skid. I was looking at Interlux Interdeck.

- can I mix a can of white and a can of grey?

Thanks in advance,

[drew.ward]

There should be no reason you can't mix colours but you should make sure you mix enough all at once to do the entire job lest you end up with variations in the finished shade of the dried deck which could end up looking a bit haphazard.

If you can't find a colour of prepared non-skid you like I've read that you can simply mix a bit of sand into regular paint and get the same effect that way.

[captain58sailin]

You can also mix crushed walnut shells into your paint. I believe Interlux even sells it already crushed. You could also use a parmesan cheese shaker like they have at the pizza parlors and shake some sand on the fresh paint of your deck, then sweep it off after it has dried and roll paint over it. Or you can get some "Wing Walker" paint.

[bstreep]

Thanks for the advice, but I really want to AVOID the non-skid additive stuff - the deck already has non-skid embossed into it.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm looking for advice on a paint that is not slick, to paint my non-skid with - if that makes any more sense.

[Alexei]

Hi,

I've never tried to paint non-skid on my sailboat. But from my experience in the Navy, painting over non-skid with non-non-skid paint ALWAYS turns the non-skid into will-slide-no-matter-what-because-it's-bloody-slick.


-Alexei

[sneuman]

I'm in the same situation. What are the alternatives. Do they sell "stick on" non-skid? Who sells it?

[nodee]

sneuman,
It just dawned on me that you are within site of our boat on Cypress Creek.
Re adhesive non-slid, Treadmaster comes to mind. It is widely available online (Jamestown Distributes come to mind) and you can probably get it through Fawcetts in Annapolis. I know they have some small pads for sale.
Kirk

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by nodee

sneuman,
It just dawned on me that you are within site of our boat on Cypress Creek.
Re adhesive non-slid, Treadmaster comes to mind. It is widely available online (Jamestown Distributes come to mind) and you can probably get it through Fawcetts in Annapolis. I know they have some small pads for sale.
Kirk

Indeed, you're right around the corner from me! We should arrange to meet sometime. Thanks for the tip!

[imagine2frolic]

I used a papercup with pinholes in the bottom for my shaker. The parmesean lid may allow too much out at a time. The first holes were a wee bit too small, so I enlarged them a bit more to get the ideal texture.

The first time I put the nonskid in the paint, but it turned out to thick for my liking. Although you will NOT skid...........i2f

[LtBrett]

I think it comes down to the thickness of the diamond tread. If it is deep, you should be able to paint over it no problem while retaining its non-skid. I had a much more subtle non-skid pattern that I knocked down with a sander prior to spraying on awl grip with whatever non-skid additive awl system sells. I think it would look a bit off to have non-skid paint over a diamond tread. BTW: I did look into molds for non-skid patterns. Unless you are spot repairing, this route seemed way too tedious.

Brett

[David M]

You won't be able to paint over non-skid without adding new non-skid without making it slicker. You will need to add new non-skid.

On one boat, I rolled on Awlgrip with the Awlgrip non-skid. The non-skid is a white powder that comes in fine or coarse. After the non-skid is wet from the paint it takes on the color of the paint, so don't worry about that. The non-skid is mixed in with the paint, not sprinkled over the paint. Walnut shell is very traditional and would look good on a traditional wood boat mixed in with marine enamel, but long term walnut shell is not as effective.

Definitely do a test patch on material similar to your deck that does not absorb liquids first, like a stiff sheet of plastic. Don't use the 3M blue tape, use the green tape. Wipe everything down with acetone and rough up the surface with wet or dry before applying the primer.

[imagine2frolic]

The Awlgrip I rolled on with the nonskid already included. If you were to fall on it. It would doing some serious scraping of the flesh. Where I sprinkled it on the Awlgrip I could set a more even texture than rolling, and see how much was going on.

I did this with a flat surface, and a diamond shaped tread. The tread was a very dark gray, and extremely hot in the tropics. I sanded it before painting it snow white, and has lasted so far 4 years.The snow white is a wee bit blinding under the tropical sun.......i2f

[David M]

I agree that the Awlgrip coarse non-skid is overkill and could do some serious skin damage. Use the fine non-skid if that's the route you take.

[neelie]

Just saw this stuff in a chandlers in Palma. Stick on available in numerous colors and thicknesses.

TBS ANTIDERAPANT – Professionals of non slip covering.

[imagine2frolic]

Originally Posted by David M

I agree that the Awlgrip coarse non-skid is overkill and could do some serious skin damage. Use the fine non-skid if that's the route you take.

David,
Now you give me another thought. I have applied the shaker style application in the cockpit, and on top of the house. This left a finer nonskid where one is more safe. I applied the roll on where I step out of the cockpit onto the deck, the steps leading to the roof in the front windows, and the rear portion of the walls that sit at an angle where I step up onto the roof from the deck. You may want to find yourself putting different textures in different places?