After painting the deck trim with Alexseal we apply KiwiGrip to the deck nonskid areas. We used just under 6 liters on this 28' boat and it covered in a single coat. Application instructions can be found at: www.pyiinc.com...
The light 150 grit is key. We did our tour boat with Kiwi and did not sand. It is not only sharp but is also much more difficult to clean. After giving it a super light sanding, it resolved both issues.
Try a 9" textured roller, pretty sure you will like the result...same texture, but half the effort...I've been professionally painting for 30+ years....Your channel is the best I've found as far as real how to and innovative solutions for sailboat refits. You have helped me with a number of things...thank you Randy
Love my kiwi grip. You can use drywall texture rollers, available at Home Depot, etc, at $7 instead of the kiwi grip rollers. Work just as well but a lot cheaper. I had my local paint store do my tinting to get it close to my tan canvas dodger color. Just keep the formula they used for the mix for future use.
Great tip and clear demonstration. I’ve been following your journeys (your books) and work on Tritons for about 20 years since I first bought/ refit an Electra and then an Alberg 30 and then a Cape Dory Typhoon. I have great respect for Carl Alberg’s designs and your exceptional capabilities to restore these boats. Many thanks for all the knowledge you share Mr. Baldwin. Only 2 suggestions : 1- If that is your lovely wife assisting, perhaps you might share a bit about / footage of her ? 2- On your next (?) book might you consider requesting a different reader on Audible. - frankly I think yours would be preferable given it’s your story and your words. Thank you ( if I may address you after all these years as) James. You are as talented a writer as you are a sailor, adventurer, and yacht restorer. Regards, Henry
Thanks for the kind words Henry. You've been with me a long time. My wife is camera shy but will see what we can do. My first two audio books had professional narrators. I thought I could do as well and improve in some ways since I know the correct pronunciation of place names and the correct tone and pace needed so I did the third myself. It took lots of time and effort and didn't come out that well. Now I know why they charge thousands of dollars per book. I'm currently looking for an affordable pro to do my fourth book, which is half finished at this point.
My boats only *wish* they could be treated with the tender kindness that those you work on get to experience at every level. In comparison, they get a brutish, hamfisted treatment; one barely competent. :) Thanks for showing us oafs how to do it right, James. (y)
amazing video, and thanks so much for the light sanding cured Kiwi for taking the 'edge'/agro off a bit. Top notch job, doing my I-32 in a couple weeks - grateful I came across this. (Using their 1L = 20 sf formula, I calculated I could use 5 L, and still have product to practice with, but watching you, I just may double that - thoughts?) Thanks so much!
Thanks for your comment. I apply it fairly thick which I think looks better and lasts longer. Their formula seems optimistic and must be a very thin coat so you may need around 8L.
I've done several boats in Kiwi over the past 7 years and the ones I've seen recently from a few years ago have held up well. Because this water-based paint is not as hard as a gelcoat pattern or two-part paint it could stain easier and wear more with heavy use but I haven't noticed much of that. Easy enough to sand it lightly, mask off and add a maintenance coat on top when needed. I like the grip which is coarser than gelcoat pattern or paint additives.
Great video..i have a question: do you know if can be applied on a very old and worn teak deck? I have to refit thedeck on my boat but to remove the teak i must move lots of boat forniture so a crane is necessary but out of budget. Pls let me know
I would remove the teak but if you can't do that then you need to sand the teak flat and paint it with something like two coats of Interprotect 2000e epoxy primer and then apply the Kiwigrip. Do a small sample area first to see how the primer reacts to the polysulfide caulk between the planks. If the paint softens the caulk and wrinkles it then it won't work but my guess is it would be alright. Since there will be some flexing and movement of the teak and caulk over time the paint may develop cracks. One way to prevent that would be to apply a thin layer of fiberglass and epoxy resin after sanding but that's also a big job so better off removing the teak in that case.
From my experience, it is a mistake to put the Kiwi Grip right against the teak. It is better to leave a tape width of smooth gelcoat between the two surfaces to allow for taping when you varnish the teak in the future. The previous owner of my boat bumped the Kiwi Grip to the teak and it is very difficult to varnish without getting a little bit of varnish in the Kiwi grip.....which is a pain because Kiwi Grip has a ton of little cavities for the varnish to stick in.
Hello, good job, just one question, what did you do with the old grip? sand, remove, clean... I want to do this in my Catalina 30, but it's my firs time...
I wash the original nonskid gelcoat with detergent and rinse and then clean it with a dewaxer or alcohol to make sure there is no wax on it and then sand with 60 or 80 grit to remove the top of the nonskid pattern to improve adhesion and ensure none of the old pattern shows through the Kiwi. How much sanding is not critical and no need to sand deeper into the pattern than about 25-50% off the top.
No, I mean is it okay to apply the KiwiGrip over the perfection. Do I need to sand? Or just mask and apply. Any experience with Grip-Tide non skid? Thanks
Yes you should sand lightly with 120 grit. I haven't tried Grip Tide but since it is a two-part urethane it should be harder, last longer, and maybe easier to clean stains off than Kiwi.
It does hold a bit more dirt than a smoother finish but for me that's outweighed by the grip and easy application and recoat when needed. Seems to clean easy enough although a single part water-based coating can stain easier than a two part paint. And the traction on a wet heeled deck is way better than the nonskid additives I have used in two part deck coatings in the past. Up north you might get by with a darker color but here in the south it causes too much heating inside the cabin and makes it painful to walk on deck barefoot.
You'd have to ask the manufacturer if any flattening agents are compatible. Not sure if the camera shows something but I don't notice uneven sheen once fully cured and don't think it's an issue. I did use a flattening agent from Interlux mixed with their Brightsides gloss enamel in my boats interior and found it promoted mildew growth. I had to repaint it with another paint later so I'd never use that brand again and be wary of using any flattening agent. I asked Alexseal tech support about using their flattening agent with their exterior two part paint and he said it might give uneven sheen results when rolled and brushed and did not recommend using it.
@@atomvoyager gotcha. Your video couldn't have been more timely. I'm painting the non skid on today. I definitely feel a lot better about it after watching your video. Thanks!
Hi, very great video again. I am sanding the deck of my Alberg 30 this week end, getting things ready for kiwigrip pretty soon :-) I guess I would need two four liters can to do the whole deck if you used six liters on your Triton?
@@atomvoyager thank you sir. Have you use paint flatener on topside paint around the non skid? It seems shiny and I like that but, a lot of sailors would say it's hard for the eyes when it's sunny out there. Not sure yet whay I am going to do whit that.
great video, nice work. Thumbs up! i think I am sold for this product for my 23 footer, currently refinishing the deck, griding out and filling cracks. so I have the impression this stuff is one coat and done? also for going over existing nonskid- I was going to sand the deck anyways, but it looks like this stuff should bridge and cover the old non skid (factory gelcoat pattern, not very aggressive) or in your experience should I sand that smooth? thanks
I've done several boats now with Kiwi and always got them covered in one coat. If you apply it thinner than I did you might need two. It does cover most nonskid molded patterns but to be sure I first sand the the old nonskid with 60-80 grit just enough to knock the tops off the pattern. This also should improve adhesion.
@@atomvoyager yeah I was planning to give it a go over sanding prior. Thanks for your reply and great advice. Makes me feel a bit more confident about this can of worms my deck repairs have become. I didn't realize initially with deck painting that the majority of the surface is actually the non skid. I am liking the look of the kiwi-grip system. Cheers
Hi how are you? I'm thinking of painting my boat with Kiwigrip. I wanted to ask you if you are happy with the Kiwigrip that you have put on your boat Do you recommend me to paint my boat with kiwigrip? Thanks for the reply A hug
Depends on the use of course but it should typically last much longer. On the following thread someone reported no issues after 5 years on a commercial fishing boat: www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/805783-kiwigrip-question.html
should i do the non skid paint first or the regular gelcoat paint? what i mean is what makes more sense to apply first? this or the regular smooth paint around it?
Apply the smooth paint (what I call the trim paint) first. The main reason is that you can't mask off the rough nonskid without having the trim paint leak under the edges of the tape but tape works well to mask off the smooth paint.
@@atomvoyager okay thanks!! do you know anything about patching big holes in the fiberglass? i need to remove some instruments and want to close the holes
@@christnhvv256 You should join and post questions like this on the Plastic Classic Forum. I'm a moderator for it and will answer your question there: plasticclassicforum.com/forum/
According to the manufacturer, if you are coating over gelcoat then no sanding required, just wash to dewax and scrub with scotch pad. But I always sand with 80-120 grit anyway to be sure of good adhesion. www.pyiinc.com/KiwiGrip/applyingkiwigrip.html
Hi James, how do you prep old molded non skid for kiwi grip? Do you grind the old stuff completely off? If so what’s your favorite tool for the big areas? Thanks
If you use an angle grinder or similar tool you will leave uneven waves in the deck. I use a 60 grit pad on a 5" orbital sander to just take the tops off the gelcoat nonskid pattern. Going deeper is a waste of time. The Kiwi instructions say you don't need to even sand it if you clean it perfectly and hit the surface with a scouring pad or wire wheel on a drill.
According to their website the max coverage is 20 sq ft per liter depending how thick you apply it it. I would expect a bit less than that. They discuss it further here: www.pyiinc.com/KiwiGrip/kiwigripfaq.html
Seadek is an option for some people but cost thousands of dollars more. And when the day comes to replace it then thousands more. I may use it in some areas, maybe do a cabin sole first.
The manufacturer's website has some coverage numbers. I used just over 5 liters for this 28' boat so you can get an idea from that. It goes on thick so does not go as far as you might think.
Yes but you need to coat bare wood with primer first. Here's a link to the instructions for different surfaces: www.pyiinc.com/KiwiGrip/applyingkiwigrip.html
