Kiwigrip

[Xtempore]

Has anyone used the product Kiwigrip.
Some of my non slip areas on my yacht need redoing. The existing finish looks like a similar finish to that of Kiwigrip which is done with a roller not with sand or beads.
He’s a photo of the area I want to do.

[Chotu]

Yes. I used this. I tested it out. I wasn’t a big fan. The jagged edges were too tall and whispy.

Then I sort of made my own homebrew version out of 2 pak polyurethane paint and colloidal silica. I put in just enough silica so that it went on rough when you rolled it. Came out pretty well.

[Bill O]

We like Kiwigrip and have had it on our boat decks and our dinghy. Easy to apply and can control how much texture/grippy it has with their loopy roller.

We like it better than the Interlux product we used initially. Phoenix's Flight: Interdeck v. KiwiGrip: A Tale of Two Nonskids

Follow the instructions and don't do it in the afternoon heat/full sun.

[smj]

We’ve had it on our decks for almost 2 years and love it.
You can use the Kiwigrip roller and get a super heavy texture or use a foam or mohair roller and get lighter textures. Takes some experimenting to find the right texture for your application.
It’s water based so a super easy clean up but make sure you mask areas of around your nonskid your painting as the roller tends to throw the paint, and after drying it is hard to remove!
I personally can’t believe how rugged it is for a water based application

[Matt Johnson]

Awesome stuff! Only advice is to apply it in the shade or on a cloudy day... it sets-up fast and the texture you obtain changes as it sets.

I got some outside the tape line on our bare aluminum toe rail. Since no paint sticks well to aluminum, I figured it would peel away after a few weeks. Almost 4 years and it's still there.

Matt

[Discovery 15797]

I use KiwiGrip on my deck and cockpit areas.

KiwiGrip has a consistency similar to yogurt. If you glop it down and spread it out with the roller it will develop high points that are quite jagged as Chotu indicated.

If you use a serrated spreader like the West System 809 Notched Spreader you can better control the 'aggressiveness' of the tread.

I used the large notches for an aggressive tread on the foredeck, cabin top and side decks, and a less aggressive tread in the cockpit sole and seats.

But, even then, it does take some time to 'wear down' some of the sharp projections. Hint, you don't want to be working the foredeck and drop to your bare knees a day or 2 after application.

There are some downsides...
It's expensive.
If you don't follow the directions you won't like the outcome.
If you don't practice a little you probably won't like the outcome.
If you don't prep the area you won't like the outcome. It will not adhere well and it will peel or bubble up in that area.
If you try to apply it to a large area rather than work in small patches you probably won't like the outcome.
It might be difficult to keep clean (I say 'might be' because when I was in the PNW I used light gray and it seemed to get dirty pretty quickly and the only way to reasonably clean was with a low power pressure washer. And, the marina was in the flight path for Boeing field and SeaTac. Prior to leaving for Hawaii I redid the decks in white, and for the past several months it has remained nice and clean.)
Application around deck gear sometimes looks a little sloppy. (The paint sand/silica application is easer to get uniform look esp. around deck hardware.)
Once you use it, you are more or less stuck with it. It sticks really well for a water based product, and is pretty thick, so removing would take quite a bit of sanding.
Once it cures make sure to wash with a stiff brush and cleaning solution (no wax) otherwise it will feel 'slippery' the first time your deck gets wet.

Some pros
It does provide great traction when applied correctly.
It looks pretty darn good (better than sand/silica IMHO).
You can control 'aggressiveness' of the tread (to some extent).
It is really easy to apply.
Clean up is easy (water soluble).
It lasts a very long time. I first applied KiwiGrip (light gray) to my decks in 2015. I did not need to reapply during that time. (I reapplied in 2019 only to change the color to white, and I hope I don't have to reapply for another 5 or more years.)
IMHO, it's way better than any 'molded in' deck antiskid.

Some people love it, some hate it. (Honestly, I have a love/hate relationship with it, but mostly like it.)

[SVHarmonie]

I applied it to a couple of boats in a charter fleet. Now, this is TOUGH duty. These are boats that are sailed almost every day. But I wasn't really happy...

First, it is a lot harder to make it look good than you are lead to believe. Listen closely to the sales pitch. Hear the part about how with small changes in technique, you can change the resulting texture? Well, this is NOT a feature it is a bug!

For a workboat, or a knockabout, sure, no problem. But it take a LOT of practice to get a really consistent looking surface across a boat's whole deck that I would consider really yacht quality. Doubly so if the boat is big enough it takes more than an hour or two and temperature, humidity and sun angle change. Maybe if you are in a climate controlled paint shed it might be easier.

We also had a lot wear almost always beginning on the edges. Especially in areas where people sat and slide around a lot. With heavy use wasn't long at all before it started to look rather ratty.

This is one of those products that gets really great press, but left me kind of, "meh."

[chrisr]

used it a while ago...partly to give a non-skid finish to a curved area but also to cover some hairline cracks that had developed.

worked perfectly for both. excellent non-skid...very easy to apply...hard wearing and lasted well.

would use again in a flash & strongly recommend it !

cheers,

[Xtempore]

Thank you all for your responses. I’ll give it a go as it’s the only product I’ve seen that will give a finish that similar to what’s there.

[Fore and Aft]

SVHarmonie you would be one of the few people I have heard complain about how hard it is to apply. I have seen plenty of ham fisted amateurs apply it and turn out amazing results. It’s one of the reasons I really like Kiwi Grip.
Cheers

[lucseawalker]

Great product! Easy to apply and easy to control how rough you like it or smoother where people sit ... Sticks very well over 2-part polyurethane even tho it is water soluble and non-toxic Much better than the old method of adding sand or silica in paint ... Our is altready 7 years old and in great shape!

[lucseawalker]

I like to add a word of caution about keeping spare rollers! I just discovered a bunch of my spare rollers (10 years old, I admit) completely disintegrated the black foam just disintegrated inside the protective bags!
So be very careful buying old stock rollers or keeping them yourself too long!


This happened to me also with other foam products like foam filters for air intake of portable generator, compressor, vacuum cleaners ... the joy of our bio-degradable consumer goods!!