I put down light gray Kiwigrip when I removed the decrepit teak from my deck a couple of years ago. I've really liked the product all the way from application through to today, when it scarcely shows any signs of wear. It does tend to trap dirt, though, which is the case with many if not most non-skids. Maybe if I used lots of boat soap to foam out what doesn't come out readily by brushing I could get it completely clean (not that it would stay that way for very long). But there's no boat soap where I am (I've long since exhausted the supply I brought with me) and I have to schlep wash water out to my boat in 5-gallon vidones (bottles) via my dinghy, which discourages profligate water use.
Some thoughts: My son worked alongside. We ground down the deck pretty much to the fiberglass. Was messy and dirty but not hard, thanks to having a couple of good Bosch oscillating grinding tools and a bunch of disks. Even though I was on a mooring powering grinders and sanders wasn't a problem thanks to my little Honda 2000 genset. After filling and fairing the deck and cleaning everywhere with acetone, I used a two-part epoxy primer such as what an auto body shop would use on bare metal prior to painting a car. It's easy to mix and apply, if a little stinky, and bonds really well to the fiberglass and gelcoat beneath it, and the KG bonds really well to it. The instructions are right when they say to not work in direct sunlight -- the KiwiGrip sets up pretty quickly. I had no choice as I was in Balboa, Panama, in March, and you don't get cloudy days there at that time of year. And when it's cloudy, it's typically pouring rain or about to pour rain. One of us troweled out the KG and the other rolled it out. Don't count on the roller to spread the KG around evenly -- spread it with the trowel or comparable spreading tool (a notched spreader works well), to get an even coat before rolling. We worked really fast, but with the two of us it came out fine. Thin the KiwiGrip about 5% with water, to extend working time and especially if you want a less textured finish. And extra especially if you can't avoid working in the direct sun. I used the foam roller the KG distributor supplied. Despite sun, heat, and not thinning the KG, the texture came out exactly as I wanted it -- not ridiculously aggressive, but fairly aggressive, a nice positive feel underfoot. I wouldn't want to face plant on it, but I can walk barefoot on it and kneel on it with no problem. If you want a less aggressive or very mild texture, thin the KG or use a different roller or knock down the peaks a bit with a trowel or spreader or roll the KG out normally and when it's dry paint over it. I don't see the sense of this last approach, but it might be right for some people. I think the instructions include info on how to get a milder texture. Mask off once for the primer, pull the tape before the primer has dried, or at least before it has fully cured. Mask again for the KG, and likewise pull the tape before the KG has dried, to get a nice clean line. That's all I can think of right now. I'm very happy with the product. You can see some pix of the deck job at http://witanco.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=24 -- click on the thumbnail above the "Deck Removal" title. You might want to skip ahead to p. 3 to get right to the primer and paint application stage. All the descriptive text went away in a massive site failure a while ago, but the pix more or less tell the story. I can fill in any other details you'd like. HTH. Cheers, Phil s/v Cynosure Bahia de Caraquez _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://liveaboardonline.com/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardonline.com/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
