Spray-On Bedliner on the Deck?

[Steelshooter]

I own a Catalina 30 which the previous owner had repainted the deck during a complete refit. I'm generally pleased with the quality of the work with only one exception. The entire deck was repainted and textured areas of the deck are rather slick to walk on when they are wet.

What I'm thinking is I would like to mask off these areas and sand blast the finish off and spray on a bedliner material. This will increase the traction in these areas and I believe should wear better than simply repainting with sand added to the paint. After researching the DIY products on the market I've settled on a product called Al's Liner. I've talked with the company and have been impressed with their support and insite conserning their product. I can customize the color and adjust the finish from gloss to flat and they can also supply rubber granules that can be added to the mix to increase traction. Anyway for less than $200.00 invested I can refinish all of these areas.

So the question before I make the leap is, has anyone tried to use a bedliner product on your decks and if so how has it worked out for you?

[Delezynski]

Steelshooter,


I have not seen any one use it on a deck. BUT, I did meet a guy in Mexico that has an older wooden power boat in the 50 to 60 foot size. He did the hull, deck to kiel with it. I was surprised to see it used that way! It had been done over a year before we saw it and it still looked good. I did notice a small crack where two of the wood planks (in one small area) came together. I helped him do a haul out and it looked good all the way down.


Greg

[stevensc]

A friend in South Louisiana did his entire decks when he pulled up his failing teak it is still good after about 12 years. The truck bedliners I have seen have been very non slip to begin with, you might check it out to see if you will really need additional granules wich might be hard on bare feet. Of course any dark color will get pretty hot.
good luck.
Steve

[Steelshooter]

I've seen this used to coat the inside of the hulls on powerboats or to protect the insides of the hulls on aluminum boats and it seems to work really well. In theory I think this would work out really well on the deck. I only intend to use it on the spots where the deck is textured already to increase it's traction. Al's Liner has a very high UV rating and can be applied easily with the supplied gun even in temperatures down to near freezing (according to Al's).

Insights anyone?

[rustypirate]

Do you have a link to the manufacturer's website?

[44'cruisingcat]

I used glass beads for non-skid. Just mask the area, roll paint on, and while it's wet sprinkle the glass beads with a flour sieve. When it dries, blow off excess beads and roll another coat of paint on.

It gives a very grippy surface, much more so than sand. Comfortable to walk on, but not great for kneeling. Also the beads are very hard wearing, will pretty much last for ever, probably not even needing a repaint for several years.

[Steelshooter]

Here you go Rusty: Al's Liner::Ultimate Automotive Coatings

You can call then directly at: (800) 999-6841

I talked with Mr. Dana Mitchell who is the Sales Manager, he is a great guy and can answer all of your questions. He went over every aspect of their product, surface prep, color tinting and application. One thing that stood out for me was this product can be applied within a wide temperature range from barely above freezing to 100 degrees.

If you go with the standard colors black, tan or gray the cost including the application gun is only $150.00 for enough product to cover 22 sq ft at 1/8 inch thickness or 45 sq ft at 40 mils. You can apply it as a gloss or flatten the finish and you can add rubberized pellets to the mix.

hope this helps

[bstreep]

ALWAYS REMEMBER: How much work will it be if this grand experiment doesn't work, and I have to remove it?

[SabreKai]

Interesting idea this, I've got to do the decks on Espina soon, and can sand it all down very easily. This might just be the stuff to use.

Has anyone tried it and have photos of it in place? If so, I'd love to see them.

[Cheechako]

I have had Professional bedliner put onto a few new metal boat decks. Generally it's been sucessful in the northwest for about 3 years now. However, one boat did start to blister up in a few spots, probably due to prep work. The Pac NW is not that hot though... not sure what would happen in Florida! Have you considered Kiwi Coat? or Dura Bak?

[James S]

Originally Posted by Steelshooter

I own a Catalina 30 which the previous owner had repainted the deck during a complete refit. I'm generally pleased with the quality of the work with only one exception. The entire deck was repainted and textured areas of the deck are rather slick to walk on when they are wet.

What I'm thinking is I would like to mask off these areas and sand blast the finish off and spray on a bedliner material. This will increase the traction in these areas and I believe should wear better than simply repainting with sand added to the paint. After researching the DIY products on the market I've settled on a product called Al's Liner. I've talked with the company and have been impressed with their support and insite conserning their product. I can customize the color and adjust the finish from gloss to flat and they can also supply rubber granules that can be added to the mix to increase traction. Anyway for less than $200.00 invested I can refinish all of these areas.

So the question before I make the leap is, has anyone tried to use a bedliner product on your decks and if so how has it worked out for you?

$200 seems cheap…are you sandblasting the areas yourself?...you have all the gear? Steelshooter is a name that implies that you do!
I’ve never sand blasted FG any idea how it will handle it.

Just a side note…I was doing some research on dry ice and learned that it is sometimes used in blasting as it leaves no residue…thought that was interesting.

[Joli]

I'm with CC on this. Take the time to do it the right way, buy Awlcraft or Sterling and sand and finish as described. It's not a truck bed or a work boat it is your yacht, do it the right way.

[Oceansandmts]

Ultra TUFF Marine - Home Page

One part urethane with rubber granules, the surface feels slightly soft, not too gritty, good color (we mixed two cans of white with one can of light grey), went on easy as it is a one part urethane that you roll on. The company claims that you can just recoat if it wears or gets stained. It is easier than spraying or rolling Awlgrip and not nearly as toxic.

We did the cockpit seats in Awlgrip with the non-skid additive as I think the Ultra-Tuff would be a little too much for bare skin after awhile, although it is no problem at all for bare feet. There is no comparison in grip (non skid) between the Awlgrip and the Ultra-Tuff: The Ultra-Tuff is a LOT less slippery, especially when wet.

The only thing I can't report on is durability, but think truck bed liner, I expect it to last (three months so far).

Disclaimer: No connection to this company besides buying their product after some research. There is at least one other company making a similar product, and it sounds like there are even more that could mix some up for it you.

Bottom line, we like it a lot so far, and are glad we were not afraid to try something new.

[Cheechako]

Dry Ice blasting is a really neat process... It's used to totally restore old cars, removes all the paint without damaging anything and evaporates! too bad boat yards do have this technology...they really should. What a great way to remove bottom paint.....

[Steelshooter]

I am going to do all of the prep work myself. I have a sandblaster and a compressor that I can bring to the boat. I might use soda as a blasting medium instead of sand but I haven't decided just yet. The reason I'm blasting is I want to remove all of the old finish because no finish is better than the finish it's applied over. I'm not going to coat the whole deck just the areas that are textured already and I need to get into all the little nooks and crannies.

I've considered repainting and adding sand but I've tried doing the same thing on some of my decking around my home and it hasn't worn as well as I would have liked. Now I know it's a different type of surface but I don't have much confidence in it lasting much better.

I'm going to apply a light gray color to keep it a bit cooler on the feet. I've also seen this color on a Catalina just down the dock from mine and it looks really sharp against the white decks. I love the finish Crusingcat did on his decks and would consider doing something like that, but have some doubts with my abilities applying that finish. The thing is I'm looking for traction while on deck first and foremost , something that is easy to apply, long lasting and cost effective.

I just received my Al's liner yesterday and I figure I can play around with it in my shop this winter before taking the leap and apply it to my decks.

Oh and Steelshooter comes from shooting steel plates while competing with firearms, IDPA, IPSC, ACTS