Treadmaster on patterned GRP

[TerryA]

I have areas of grp deck with moulded non slip diamond patterns. As the raised surfaces are scratched and worn I would like to improve the non-slip quality using Treadmaster or something similar. What concerns me is the fact that it's not a flat surface so anything stuck on would adhere only to the raised pattern and might curl at the edges or trap moisture underneath or collect dirt at the edges. Would I be better off using a non-slip paint?

 

[Little Dorrit]

Yes, is the short answer. If you put Treadmaster down it will eventually lift at the edges. If you provide some pictures of its current state it will be easier to make some suitable suggestions to improve it.

 

[dankilb]

I was pondering Treadmaster for our very degraded diamond non skid and was relatively confident that it would stick with epoxy. I’d abrade the texture before and roughly fair with thickened epoxy as required.

Now I’m moving towards Flexiteek…

 

[Tranona]

Attaching anything such as Treadmaster or fake teak is a huge amount of work and expense. Just paint for a quick fix or use Kiwigrip for a longer lasting solution.

 

[BobnLesley]

As someone obliged to go in the opposite direction - I took the deck tread off a deck with non-slip moulding - I can confirm that it had stuck like shit to the proverbial blanket

 

[harvey38]

Attaching anything such as Treadmaster or fake teak is a huge amount of work and expense. Just paint for a quick fix or use Kiwigrip for a longer lasting solution.

I don't agree with your statement there Tranona, we're in the process of having Tek-Dek fitted, using a multi tool with the correct blade and a heat gun, we easily removed the old treadmaster very quickly and easily. As for expense, that's a matter of opinion ???

 

[Tranona]

I don't agree with your statement there Tranona, we're in the process of having Tek-Dek fitted, using a multi tool with the correct blade and a heat gun, we easily removed the old treadmaster very quickly and easily. As for expense, that's a matter of opinion ???

You were lucky with removing your treadmaster so easily - not my experience from the one time I did it!

The OP is in a different situation wanting to improve the grip on his worn patterned deck and paint or Kiwigrip are a fraction of the work and cost of fake teak.

I am a fan of Treadmaster from the grip point of view, if not the aesthetics - my latest boat has it and was one of the selling factors for me because of the high grip.

 

[TerryA]

Thanks for your thoughts. Its a small boat and my patterened areas are relatively small and spaced so I think small islands of something stock on might look odd. I don't to get into levelling the deck so I think it will be paint for me.
The next great problem will be what colour..........?

 

[AndrewB]

Yes, is the short answer. If you put Treadmaster down it will eventually lift at the edges.

Have you actually tried Treadmaster on top of a non-skid patterned deck?

If no-one has actually done this, it might be worth a try, using a small piece of Treadmaster (such as is sold for doing steps) in a reasonably inconspicuous place. If it doesn't stick, nothing much lost. If it does, well problem solved. A smear of GRP round the edge of the area to be covered could fill in the old pattern and help prevent subsequent undermining.

Incidentally, I noticed a yacht in my marina today that seems to have done this successfully, though as TerryA says, the island effect is slightly odd, but doesn't look too bad.

My experience of painting over a non-slip pattern is that it doesn't wear evenly, and soon looks a mess. If you go down that route, choose a colour as close as possible to the existing non-slip.

 

[Bodach na mara]

OK, I have just completed replacing worn out Treadmaster with new stuff. There are two types of Treadmaster available, small packs of self-adhesive stuff and large sheets (1200 × 900 mm) which has a plain back and can be stuck down with epoxy adhesive or (less successfully) with impact adhesive. Each type is available in diamond pattern or what they call "smooth" pattern, which is best for seats and is good for non slip properties.
I used the smooth type and epoxy adhesive on grp which was well sanded using a belt sander to remove most of the old material and adhesive. It was hard to remove the old material and I used a combination of a multi tool, an electric scraper and several chisels plus belt and orbital sanders.
The gluing down is not without problems. The videos that I found on the Treadmaster website showed the adhesive being applied to the back of the material, which is then lifted, turned over and laid into position on the deck. As it is not an impact adhesive, the position can be adjusted after laying down but NOT after the recommended rolling is done. Now I am sure that you are thinking that the process described has several flaws, starting with the lifting without getting glue from the sticky back on your hands and then over the top surface! I made a lot use of cloths with solvent (meths) to remove epoxy from the top surface. It's also very hard to position the panel correctly without getting epoxy adhesive where you don't want it. After the first panel I tried the reverse idea, applying the adhesive to the masked deck surface but that raised other problems.
Laying on an existing moulded non slip surface would best be done using the application to the deck method but will use more of the expensive glue than you would on a smooth surface.
If you search back in my post a few months you'll find a thread in which I received useful advice.

 

[dankilb]

Attaching anything such as Treadmaster or fake teak is a huge amount of work and expense. Just paint for a quick fix or use Kiwigrip for a longer lasting solution.

My concern with normal paint on moulded non-skid (Awlgrip, Int’l, etc.) is that it’s hard to prep the surface for adhesion and equally hard to apply. I recently had some experience, having installed new chainplates and decided to epoxy prime the area beneath (in poor condition plus I’d drill-fill-drilled the holes with epoxy). Having thought that nylon type filament abrasive wheels might work to ‘sand’ the surface - they didn’t! They just ground the top off the texture! (They did it in quite a controlled and easy way though, in my die grinder, for anyone considering this)

My concern with Kiwigrip - which I was quite set on using at one point - is the reported longevity in terms of staining and generally still looking good X years on.

Our boat is 41’ AWB so scruffy decks will reduce its ‘value’. That way, something like Flexiteek starts to make sense. A pontoon neighbour did a very handsome job DIY templating and fitting professionally fabricated Flexiteek panels to replace teak on a Bene of the same size.

Sadly our deck is shot due to a 5 year period of neglect on the hard, under previous ownership, where guano did its worst and maybe 30% of the surface area would need re-gelcoating. I known it’s possible, but a big job to get a genuine, factory, match.

It’s an interesting conundrum. Whether a small area/boat - or an entire deck/bigger boat!

 

[dankilb]

Ps - it was watching Aquaholic’s tour of Skip Novac’s new Pelagic that made me hanker after Treadmaster as an option for us.


He actually discusses the rationale (‘practical’) with Nick and I think the grey looks handsome.

Another plus for TM is it’s basis around epoxy. Many of us have experience/skill with this process as plastic boat owners (above, say, squidging on a water based paint with a funky roller - a la Kiwigrip).

 

[Tranona]

My concern with normal paint on moulded non-skid (Awlgrip, Int’l, etc.) is that it’s hard to prep the surface for adhesion and equally hard to apply. I recently had some experience, having installed new chainplates and decided to epoxy prime the area beneath (in poor condition plus I’d drill-fill-drilled the holes with epoxy). Having thought that nylon type filament abrasive wheels might work to ‘sand’ the surface - they didn’t! They just ground the top off the texture! (They did it in quite a controlled and easy way though, in my die grinder, for anyone considering this)

My concern with Kiwigrip - which I was quite set on using at one point - is the reported longevity in terms of staining and generally still looking good X years on.

Our boat is 41’ AWB so scruffy decks will reduce its ‘value’. That way, something like Flexiteek starts to make sense. A pontoon neighbour did a very handsome job DIY templating and fitting professionally fabricated Flexiteek panels to replace teak on a Bene of the same size.

Sadly our deck is shot due to a 5 year period of neglect on the hard, under previous ownership, where guano did its worst and maybe 30% of the surface area would need re-gelcoating. I known it’s possible, but a big job to get a genuine, factory, match.

It’s an interesting conundrum. Whether a small area/boat - or an entire deck/bigger boat!

In your situation I think I would use straightforward basic Interdeck non slip paint. I put it on my Eventide (ply deck) in around 1992 and it was still there with maybe a couple of refresher coats 20 years later when I had a mad rush of blood to the head and laid teak on top of it. No reason why with proper priming it should not go on GRP.

I have diamond pattern blue Treadmaster on my GH which is fantastic for grip but looks awful and is hard on the knees and bottom. Makes it easy for me to get on the coachroof and move along the sidedecks, but think Interdeck would be almost as good and a lot better looking.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I’ve got several tins of genuine Treadmaster epoxy going spare if your interested.