Non Skid Removal and Repaint

[UnsafeSailor]

So I got my Tartan 30 a couple weeks ago. Its my first boat and the first time I have ever sailed was the day I bought her. I have sailed her every weekend since trying to get some experience and figure out what needs to be done first. While running up and down the deck I have realized the non skid is not just uglier than all hell but it actually is slippery and sort of useless. The deck paint is a mixture of the original beige with white splotches that the previous owner laid down where he felt he needed more grip. It looks awful and the white paint is flaking off in most spots.

So my first step was to buy some interlux interdeck to repaint the nonskid. I then got out some wire cup brushes and started to remove the white paint. The white comes off and the beige doesn't move an inch. The good part is that the white comes off without hurting the original beige which will let me skip the primer and save some money. The bad part is that even using a wire cup brush on a drill the white is a bitch to get off. To do the whole deck will take me about a thousand years.

My question for you is what type of stripper can I use that wont hurt the original non skid? If it would at the very least remove a fair amount of the white I would have no problem cleaning up the rest with the wire brush and sand paper. I just want to remove the white trash paint that the PO sloppily threw all over my poor boat.

[smaarch]

not really an answer to your question because i didn't have paint to remove: I did the decks with one part interlux brightside about 10 years ago. Removing/Rebedding all the hardware was the hardest of the job but the results were well worth it
There are aggregates you can broadcast into the paint for a more nonskid surface.
it has held up well and it made an enormous difference in the boats appearance

[rtbates]

For a non skid product, may I make a suggestion.

Use Kiwi Grip and be done with it. https://kiwigrip.com/

[Tynesider]

Not sure if it will help you but over here in the UK we have this stuff Owatrol Stripper you may be able to get it locally.

I have used it a few times and it does what it says on the tin!

You brush paint it on (it does not run) with a dabbing action on thick parts and leave it for about 4/5 hours then hose off or better jet wash off and the paint is gone.

The main thing is it does not effect GRP, also wear a mask and gloves!

Hope this might help.

[UnsafeSailor]

I already bought the Interlux Interdeck nonskid. So I'm not looking for recommendations on what nonskid to use.

Thanks for the Owatrol reference. Looks promising.

Any other ideas?

[UnsafeSailor]

In case anybody is interested I ended up using West Marine marine paint remover. I chose this because it was relatively cheap, easily available and it is supposedly Biodegradable and environmentally friendly. Since I'm doing this job on the water I figured that would be good for the parts that manage to make it over board before being vacuumed up. It recommends really globbing it on and it can tear up 5 coats of paint. Since I was only removing one coat I just brushed it on lightly and left it over night in a small test spot. This morning I used a brush to rub it off and the paint came right off with no problems! The original gel coat nonskid is is perfectly intact! Will be stripping the rest of the white off the deck and repainting the proper way ASAP!

[Ketchgould]

Use kiwi grip.

[malbert73]

I used brightsides with interdeck rather than kiwi grip as I have heard kiwi grip retains dirt more

[minaret]

Originally Posted by malbert73

I used brightsides with interdeck rather than kiwi grip as I have heard kiwi grip retains dirt more

That would have been a great call if you had used a 2 part paint.

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by minaret

That would have been a great call if you had used a 2 part paint.

You know, I hear you on the 2 part. Definitely the "correct" way to do the job. I used 2 part perfection on the hull and it came out great.

For decks, i bucked traditional thinking and didn't remove hardware 7 years ago when I painted, because none of it leaks. Painted carefully around everything with brightsides. It lasted 7 years on chesapeake before starting to look dull. Easy to sand prep, and recoat in a 6 hour day this summer. Good for another 7 years as long as I stay on it. Decks and cockpits are easier to chip, scrape, stain with regular wear and tear, so I like how easy 1 part paint is to repair and touch up.
Of course, the real reason I didn't use 2 part on the decks is because they were already painted with 1 part and I didn't want to strip all the way down.

[Jhull]

Hello all, I had almost the exact problem. I'm in the process of repainting the bottom of my 30' and just bought this product from west marine. Wanted to know if anyone had ever tried it on a hull, does it damage fiberglass? Is it ok to remove bottom paint? I'm not sure how many layers have been applied since 1978 but it appears pretty thick in places. Thank you for any advice and/or experience you all may have.