Non-skid upgrade

[steel686]

I have a few things i could have done better on my recent rebuild but can live with most of them. The non-skid however needs to be corrected. I have a 6 and 8 year old that spend hours jumping off the gunnel and it doesn’t take long to be treacherous. I went overboard hauling the anchor 2 weeks ago. It was blowing about 20 and pitching quite a bit but still not acceptable.

My question is more about prep, application, and bonding. Boat has new Awlgrip last October and Griptex was mixed in and rolled. I had wanted to try Softsand broadcast into base and then topcoated twice. Painter did a beautiful job and I don’t want to mess with it. Love the color contrast and margins. Can I acetone wipe and topcoat with this technique or do I need to sand to get a good bond? Don’t want to screw with margins. I’ll need to pull some hardware. Any thoughts?

[strick]

It would be better to rough up the surface to achieve full adhesion

Strick

[steel686]

Thanks Strick. I figured it would be best to rough it up. It should be pretty free of potential contaminants. If I wipe with acetone, rinse, then retape the edges 1/8” outside existing, Ill try to knock the old down with a detail sander. 120 grit rough enough? Fortunately most of the hardware is in the smooth areas.

[dirtwheelsfl]

Yea i wouldnt chance it without sanding… Might even start out with a 60 or 80 grit. Then finish with 120 or 150

[steel686]

Thanks for the input. If I’m digging into it I want it to last. Should have pushed for more aggressive from the start but it will give me something to do this winter.

[Xcomunic8d]

It looks like a real nice job. That grip Tex is pretty good stuff. Have you taken a hose and throughly wet it down then tried to walk on it?

I think you might be surprised how much grip is in that stuff.

Otherwise, I’d suggest taping off the marigins so you don’t mess it up. Sand it down with 60ish grit. Wipe clean. Put down some paint, broadcast grip, and topcoat 2x.

Have you considered contacting the painter. Asking him to do it if you prep area and cost?

I just picked up some sand from my local boat store. I guess it’s screened. Rinsed, and dried. Under $5 for a sandwich bag size. Works great. Softsand looks great but the price and shipping. Ouch.

[steel686]

Agreed. I talked to my painter and planned to pay him to tape off after I do the prepwork. I have a hard enough time pulling tape on a waterline every spring. It is slick when it is wet. I went to pull my anchor on what little foredeck there is and lost a foot in a flash. Bounced off the rail and went in headfirst. Probably looked funny but it hurt.

I know Softsand is expensive. If I did it in two stages I could recycle some but then I’m wasting paint. The only labor I paid for in the rebuild was the paint job. It lets me justify a little more on materials. Look forward to showing an update. May be awhile. Want to stretch out the end of the season.

[steel686]

I thougt about this over the winter and started stripping hardware this spring. I had used Sudbury Sealant to bed a few things like the leanpost and I think it would have held without fasteners. Spoke to an Awlgrip tech rep about degreasing and prepping the surface then found a barn to tape everything off. Fineline tape is great since it is translucent/transparent when you press it down. Allowed me to see all the existing radius cuts to follow. I went back and overlapped the 1/2” to protect the verticals from edge of roller. Rolled out a first coat and then broadcast medium grit Softsand. Ended up burning a gallon which is close to what they recommend for 100sf. When I swept it up the next day I recovered half of it. Hopefully serves as a good reference for anyone using this method. Rolled out a second coat and third coat over the next 24.

Learned a few things. Don’t cut your fingernails two days before you need them and don’t use blue tape. It works great for construction jobs but it gets soft and was nerve wracking when I started stripping it. Whole time I was worried about final edge after 48 hours. I used Scotch 233+ for most of that second layer and it worked a lot better. When I started peeling the Fineline it was great. Nice crisp lines. A little bleed at some corners but it wiped off the gloss with a little reducer.

Huge difference in feel and of course more aggressive appearance. Look forward to seeing how it works after a 14 day cure. It’s been a few months and I forgot to rotate the phone taking pictures. Maybe little help from Strick on the prep photos. Give an update after Independence Day.

[Xcomunic8d]

Looks real nice steel. I hate redoing work but I think it’s worth to get the results you want.

[erebus]

Did you sand off all the pre-existing Awlgrip/Griptex or just go for it with simply a solvent wipe?
I Grip-Tex'd my foredeck (23 Sceptre) a few years ago and have never really been happy with it either.
Didn't want to have to sand the whole thing again though.
Also have a huge bow rail and pulpit that's a pain in the a$$ to remove.

So thats been a bit of a deterrent...