Deck painting

M

MengWalton

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 Apr 2014
Messages
78
Visit site
Good morning,

I'm toying with painting my deck as the gel coat is a horrible colour and looking abit tired.
The gelcoat is actually in good physical condition as are the textured non slip area so it should come up nice aslong as i give it a good sand and key the surface.

The problem i'm having is the non slip areas are actually raised triangles in the gelcoat rarther than grit in the paint. Does anyone know how to key the surface in these areas i was thinking of using a small sand blaster or steel wool to get inbetween the triangles..... any ideas ?.

Thanks Jonjoe

Ive uploaded a picture of similar deck ive found on the internet mine is raised abit more than this, mine is hardley worn at all.
 
It seems a shame to paint it really. It's a bit of a one way street.
Having said that, though, I am also going to paint my decks- I am going to use kiwigrip which is very high build and should completely obliterate any underlying moulded nonslip pattern.
 
Just scrub it clean using a household cleaner or one of the deck cleaners you can buy in the chandlers. A pressure washer will also help shift stubborn dirt. Not a good idea to paint that sort of deck as it is the texture that makes it non slip.
 
MengWalton said:
Good morning,

I'm toying with painting my deck as the gel coat is a horrible colour and looking abit tired.
The gelcoat is actually in good physical condition as are the textured non slip area so it should come up nice aslong as i give it a good sand and key the surface.

The problem i'm having is the non slip areas are actually raised triangles in the gelcoat rarther than grit in the paint. Does anyone know how to key the surface in these areas i was thinking of using a small sand blaster or steel wool to get inbetween the triangles..... any ideas ?.

Thanks Jonjoe

Ive uploaded a picture of similar deck ive found on the internet mine is raised abit more than this, mine is hardley worn at all.
Click to expand...

Do not use steel wool. It is almost impossible to remove all traces of steel fragments which will rust and leave rust stains everywhere.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
My experience is based on using International deck paint which sticks well to most surfaces, whether you
want it to or not!

If you want to paint your deck, I suggest that using a Scotch pad and a Cif type kitchen cleaner will de-grease it
and flatten the shine sufficiently to provide a key for the paint.

Make sure that the paint is stirred in the tin from time to time whilst applying to ensure the grit is evenly
distributed in the paint.

If you have a clearly defined moulded edge to the pattern, you can use a rag or tissue dipped in paraffin
to draw along the edge, while the paint is still wet, to give a clean, crisp edge to the painted area.
 
I'm planning on painting my decks in a few weeks and have the same diamond pattern. I jet washed mine, and I'm planning on giving it a scrub with a stiff brush and something aggressive I haven't decided on yet.
The last time I did it i only gave it a regular clean, no jet washing and didn't have much luck.

Anyway one thing to bear in mind - I know you said that the gelcoat is in good condition, but make sure that if it has become porous in any way to seal with International Interprotect first. I made that mistake a couple of years ago and the paint flaked off in places, hence why I'm about to do it again now!
 
Not wanting to hijack the thread but has anyone had experience with painting kiwigrip on the smooth sections of the deck. I have bought some to do the sections that are textured but obviously the smooth sections inbetween also need painting but I don't want to have to use 2 different types of paint, so was hoping the kiwigrip could be applied in a smooth coating a well as a textured coating.
 
I did my decks with Kiwigrip three years ago and just covered the lot.
You regulate the texture by the number of repeat passes with the special roller, so I had higher peaks in the walk-on areas, smoother on the other bits.
I don't see why you can't go further and have completely smooth areas, perhaps using a gloss roller (?).
 
Kelpie said:
It seems a shame to paint it really. It's a bit of a one way street.
Having said that, though, I am also going to paint my decks- I am going to use kiwigrip which is very high build and should completely obliterate any underlying moulded nonslip pattern.
Click to expand...

Yes I know what you mean I am a little reluctant to do it, its mainly the color I'm trying to get rid of. Its a strange off yellow, I think that's how it was made. I will upload a picture so you can get an idea. I will be polishing the hull rather than painting as that's a nice white, just has abit of staining & marks on there.

Tranona said:
Just scrub it clean using a household cleaner or one of the deck cleaners you can buy in the chandlers. A pressure washer will also help shift stubborn dirt. Not a good idea to paint that sort of deck as it is the texture that makes it non slip.
Click to expand...

I've give it a good scrub with deck cleaner, I've also pressure washed it has come up rather clean its just a shame about the colour. Im abit worried about how well i'll be able to key those areads tbh.

Plum said:
Do not use steel wool. It is almost impossible to remove all traces of steel fragments which will rust and leave rust stains everywhere.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
Click to expand...

I'm glad you mentioned this it actually makes perfect sense, can't believe i didn't think of that!!

ANDY_W said:
My experience is based on using International deck paint which sticks well to most surfaces, whether you
want it to or not!

If you want to paint your deck, I suggest that using a Scotch pad and a Cif type kitchen cleaner will de-grease it
and flatten the shine sufficiently to provide a key for the paint.

Make sure that the paint is stirred in the tin from time to time whilst applying to ensure the grit is evenly
distributed in the paint.

If you have a clearly defined moulded edge to the pattern, you can use a rag or tissue dipped in paraffin
to draw along the edge, while the paint is still wet, to give a clean, crisp edge to the painted area.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip about the parafin that I didnt know. I'm quite good with painting normally and I'm all too awear that its 90% preparation that's whats worrying my about the raised diamonds as they are raised quite considerably. I never thought about using CIF to degrease it, I was going to buy my normal de greaser but im not sure how well it would work on the gelcoat so CIF may be the way to go (and cheaper!!)

PotatoNavigator said:
I'm planning on painting my decks in a few weeks and have the same diamond pattern. I jet washed mine, and I'm planning on giving it a scrub with a stiff brush and something aggressive I haven't decided on yet.
The last time I did it i only gave it a regular clean, no jet washing and didn't have much luck.

Anyway one thing to bear in mind - I know you said that the gelcoat is in good condition, but make sure that if it has become porous in any way to seal with International Interprotect first. I made that mistake a couple of years ago and the paint flaked off in places, hence why I'm about to do it again now!
Click to expand...

I was just about to ask is it worth using a good quality sealer primer before applying the topcoat(s) ?

Gordonmc said:
I did my decks with Kiwigrip three years ago and just covered the lot.
You regulate the texture by the number of repeat passes with the special roller, so I had higher peaks in the walk-on areas, smoother on the other bits.
I don't see why you can't go further and have completely smooth areas, perhaps using a gloss roller (?).
Click to expand...

Thats intresting! I will look into that!


Thanks for all your replies there appreciated! :-)

For those thinking its a shame I would agree however I think you will understand when I upload a picture, especially since its coming out of the water for the hull to be cleaned and polished. The inside refurbished and the mast polished (thats another question what the hell do you use to clean and polish aluminum without affecting the coating) prior to me moving onboard for a decent amount of time. I've already re done the electrics and am just going over the engine now.

I think it would be quite difficult to remove the raised texture by sanding them flat, tbh I was hoping to keep them if possible (I realise I would loose a bit due to keying the surface and thickness of the paint) I may try using sandpaper as best I can then scrub with the roughest scoth pad I can find (Or possibly a wire brush??) before scrubbing and de greasing the whole lot.
Then I'll put a good primer down (I assume this should seal any defects in the gelcoat if there is any)
Then a couple of coats of topcoat
Then is it necessary to sand with v high grit wet and dry and polish or is it normally good enough from the paint itself. (yes I know its only a deck but If I'm doing it I may aswell do it nice)

Thanks again
Jonjoe
 
If your deck is like the one in the picture you posted suspect you will have great difficulty in getting paint to stick to it evenly if all you want to do is change the colour. Is the rest of the deck the same colour? and do you want to paint that as well?
 
Tranona said:
If your deck is like the one in the picture you posted suspect you will have great difficulty in getting paint to stick to it evenly if all you want to do is change the colour. Is the rest of the deck the same colour? and do you want to paint that as well?
Click to expand...

I'm not quite sure why I'de have great difficulty in getting it to stick it seems that several people have done it in the past granted with varying success, I think If i get a good key I don't see a reason why it wouldn't stick. Yes I would be painting the whole deck as its all a mustard colour.

Jonjoe
 
Paint does not take well to irregular surfaces like that because you will have great difficulty in getting a key in the recessed bits, and you will be wearing the fragile bits on the top of the raised dimples. once you have painted you will be stuck with it and you will need to repaint it regularly to keep it looking good. If it is the same colour as the coachroof then that is quite a reasonable colour for a deck. Painting just the deck and leaving the coachroof would look odd, but if you want to improve the non slip bits then coating them with deck paint of Kiwi Grip would look OK.
 
Tranona said:
Paint does not take well to irregular surfaces like that because you will have great difficulty in getting a key in the recessed bits, and you will be wearing the fragile bits on the top of the raised dimples. once you have painted you will be stuck with it and you will need to repaint it regularly to keep it looking good. If it is the same colour as the coachroof then that is quite a reasonable colour for a deck. Painting just the deck and leaving the coachroof would look odd, but if you want to improve the non slip bits then coating them with deck paint of Kiwi Grip would look OK.
Click to expand...

Hi Again,
I do appreciate what your saying. I was planning on painting the whole deck and coachroof and the inside of the cockpit, everywhere where the yellow is. However on reflection I may try and polish it up a little more and remove some of the marks on there from when the previous owner dripped varnish whilst re doing the wood, and where the water has sat and stained the gelcoat and see if we can live with it, It doesn't bother me as much as it bothers my other half.

Do you think it would be reli that difficult to paint
 
It's not so much how difficult it is to paint, it's that from the moment the paint is applied, it is only going to start looking worse.
My previous boat had the whole deck, coachroof, and cockpit painted by a previous owner. It looked really shabby up until about a week before I sold her when I finally got round to repainting most of it. Every year I fully intended to touch it up but ended up going sailing instead...
 
MengWalton said:
Hi Again,

Do you think it would be reli that difficult to paint
Click to expand...

Yes, I do. The coachroof and deck are just about the worst things to paint and get a good finish because of all the angles, edges and bits that you have to take off such as windows, cleats, winches etc - indeed everything that is on the surface of the moulding. You will spend hours and hours on it and then be disappointed with the end result. As Kelpie says it then gets shabby very quickly and is impossible to keep looking good. This can be avoided though if you have it professionally sprayed, but that would cost more than the boat is worth.

Suggest you buy the PBO booklet on renovating older GRP boats which has a good section on painting, as well as all the main issues that arise when improving older boats.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top