BYYB Forums

ok, i'm painting now, and have tried a couple of tests for the anti slip coating i want on the floor of the cockpit / seats.

- my paint supplier mixed a "anti slip grit" into some paint, but to be honest, its a fine powder that seems to provide very little "grit"
  maybe i need to increase the amount in the mix?

- i tried a sample using clean sand over wet paint, but after it dries, its way to easy to brush almost all the sand off
  should i try mixing the sand into the paint for better adhesion?

- i also brushed off all the loose sand and have painted over it to see if that holds the sand better.

this weekend, i'm hoping to make some major strides in making this look like a boat, any input would be great!
 

Bob,  One product that I would not recommend is DuraBack,  I though I was being smart and coated over some carpet glue after trying to sand of the glue to no effect and since it was in the salon and thought it would be smart to have it on the floor so we would have  a grip in the event that we were at anchor and were caught by a wave or such.  About the first time we brushed against it with bare skin, disabused me of that idea.

I believe that in a recently past issue of either Good Old Boat or Small Boat advisor, they discussed in detail painting over old non skid areas on the topsides with a new coating of paint with non skid in it.  I wish I had read that article before I did what I did.

Now I am in the process of sanding all the non skid paint off.  What a mess.

Tom...

Two tricks when applying anti skid, first don't mix it in the paint, it'll just come out blotchy and second, use polyurethane grit, not sand or other, seemingly good ideas.

If you mix it with the paint, it'll settle to the bottom very quickly. Even if you constantly stir it, it will drop out of suspension in the roller tray or after you apply it to the surface. The only good way of applying grit is to apply it directly over very wet paint that has just been applied to the surface.

The usual method is to apply two coats of paint with no texture added. Let this dry or at least flash off so it's not tacky any more. Then apply another wet coat over this quickly. Next and immediately after the wet paint goes down, sprinkle the texture over the whole surface, enough so you can't see paint, preferably a 1/16" or more thick. A good healthy coating of texture is what you want. Let this dry for a day or two, depending on paint type (oil based needs more time). When you're sure the paint is dry, vacuum off the excess texture. A very soft brush is next, to get the slightly stuck bits up. Your texture job should now be very textured, so a final coat of straight paint (no texture) is applied over this, which softens the "crispness" of the texture granules. This last coat also serves to lock down the texture.



This is a powerboat sole with the large texture granules (AwlGrip). AwlGrip has three sizes, this is their largest and a bit rough for me, but desired by the client. The washers are glued over the screw holes so the finish washers don't dig into the plywood surface when dogged down. The textured areas are divided into "water ways" and painted a slightly darker color, just because it looks better. This panel is about a year after I made it and could use a good cleaning and maybe some more paint, which would soften up the grit a touch.

The other image is AwlGrip fine, which is what I like best. It's hard to see the texture in this photo, but it's a bit like 80 grit sand paper. Enough to keep you from sliding around, but easy to clean. Again, notice my insistance in water ways around stuff and the other then white paint job.

I can't understand why a guy wouldn't just spring for a can of Sikken's non-slip deck paint. It costs about 40 dollars.

Again, particulates mixed with paint will fall out of suspension, unless very light (like silica). You can try continuous mixing, which does improve the issue, but doesn't produce the results that over coating the wet surface does. The usual issue is you mix you brains out and then the texture drops out of suspension in the roller tray.

One way I've done texture is to use epoxy and a textured roller. The areas to be textured are taped and masked off, then a couple of layers of very slightly thickened epoxy applied. When this is nearing the gel stage, a textured roller is run across the surface, making a good anti skid pattern. Since the epoxy is nearing the gel stage, it doesn't have time to self level so the texture "relaxes" a bit, which softens it, but the roughness remains. Use a light touch to prevent "lap marks" from the roller. This works with paint as well, but only to a degree, unless you add some silica, balloons, q-cells or other "bulking" agent to the paint first.

The nice thing about the textured epoxy is it becomes part of the surface and can be aggressively scrubbed and repainted. The bad thing is, it's part of the surface and difficult to remove if necessary.

thats a great idea paul, i'll try a test. i also added more of the fine grit my supplier mixed into the paint and found it was just about right on my sample, but i really like the epoxy idea.

I used Interlux anti-skid on two rear deck spots.  I put it there because I will from time to time have to kneel or sit on those areas.  It also added a bit of accent to the boat.  The deck is medium yellow and the anti skid paint is medium grey.  I taped off the area, sanded the spots to be painted and then applied two coats of the Interlux anti-skid.  It came out very uniform and has the consistency of about 120 grit sandpaper.  I have sat on it and it does provide the desired effect without to much abrasion to bare leg areas that swim trunks or shorts don't cover.

I had planned on putting none-skid on the cockpit floor but comments from other posters convinced me not to.  The biggest concern was cleaning non-skid areas after they get mud or other stains.  The second biggest consideration was the cockpit is the one area you might end up falling and sliding across.  The non-skid might be fine for sitting on but sliding a knee across it would not be fun.

I opted for covering the cockpit floor with those 3/8" foam pads that you use in the shop to prevent standing on concrete long term while running a drill press, saw or other stationary peice of equipment.  The pads are 2' square with interlocking edges.  I used enough to cover the floor, taped the underside interlocking seam to keep it one piece and cut the outside edges to fit.  I hold the completed foam mat in place with velcro strips so it doesn't move or pull up.  The foam provides a nice cushion in case you drop and anchor, tackle box, beer cooler or anything else you wouldn't want striking your hull bottom.

Make sure you pull up the foam pads when you park the boat in the carport. Pads and carpet are famous for causing rot, mold and mildew.

And mice where I live also, although the cat keeps a good eye on the boat if her little paw prints are any indication.  I take everything out of the boat and stow it in the back of the pickup after I pull the trailer and boat from the lake.  The mat is just held in place by 4 velcro connections, weighted down with a cooler and of course my size 14 feet when on the water.  The pickup box has a nice cover on it that keeps anything from blowing out at 75, the highway speed in Montana, and hides the goodies from prying eyes when we stop for a burger after.