2-Part Polyurethane & Non-Skid

[hriehl1]

I plan to paint my entire deck next spring with 2-part Polyurethane (Interlux Perfection or similar).

For a 40+ year old deck that has never been painted before, can one apply 2 coats of primer and 2 finish coats of Perfection and still leave enough "grip" in the molded-in non-skid? I know from experience that Perfection is VERY thin, and I am hoping to get by with just painting the entire deck with no special treatment or masking of the non-skid areas.

Thanks for your experience or advice.

[The Froon]

An option is to sand the molded non-skid surface off, then build with primer, and finally a non-skid product...

Brian

[Rachel]

I never really like painted-over non-skid (that was originally gelcoated), so I would recommend to sand off all the existing non-skid and start fresh. Especially if you are going to the work and expense of a two-part paint job.

[LazyGuy]

I just did my cockpit with Perfection. While the boat is 44 years old, the deck had been painted and sand was used as non-skid. Two coats of primer and two of perfection would only end up as a shiny area of ugly paint where non-skid used to be. My $0.02 is to sand the existing non-skid and go with the non-skid additive.

[ghostwriter247]

Won't sanding the non skid area break into the core? Im facing the same dillemma.

[Rachel]

Won't sanding the non skid area break into the core? Im facing the same dillemma.

It shouldn't, unless something is wrong. Typically the non-skid is laid into the gelcoat layer on top of the structural fiberglass (when the boat is built, in a female mold, so the gelcoat goes in first), so you should have the entire deck's fiberglass top skin between the (gelcoat) non-skid and the core.

Of course you could sand down into the core, but you would have to really be grinding, and taking out some serious "half moons," at least in my experience. If you keep the sander flat it should be okay.

[hriehl1]

Rachel... you said you never really liked painted-over molded non-skid. Can you elaborate why? Was it that the non-skid lost too much of its non-skid properties, or was it more of an aesthetic issue?

I do worry about the aesthetics of rolling over molded-in non-skid, and I wouldn't even try tipping as all those ridges would create all sorts of globs and blobs.

[Rachel]

Sorry - I should have elaborated.

I don't like the way it looks (kind of sloppy and "filled in"), and I also think it tends to lose its non-skid qualities.

Rachel

[boatsnh]

Just a thought or 2....
I'd agree that Perfection is very thin paint & has a very low "build" thickness.....So if the non skid weave is in fair shape with out lots of cracking/crazing you could think of it as something like the old "canvas" decks - When they were repainted they used a "whisp" of paint to get decent color - but not too much to fill the weave. They were repainted a few times before the weave was filled.

You will probably loose some of the "non-skid" properties, but how much????

I'd try a single coat of epoxy primer - You don't want the primer to "build" - just bond the finish coat - and follow with a couple coats of Perfection. You might have issues with a brush filling up the pattern.....That said I"d try it on a small area to see how I liked it (a single step area, ect. ). That way if you dont like it you can grind off the non-skid pattern & go to option #2 - (grind off the non-skid & replace with something completely new).

Most of these old boats used mat as the 1st lay-up under the gelcoat to prevent pattern bleed thru, so grinding off the non skid is usually not a big deal...just a lot more work....