Thread subject: Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos :: Kiwigrip on deck

Posted by caen fred on 05/07/14 - 1:11 AM
#1

I have redone my tired deck with Kiwigrip (pict on my perso page). I will let you know how it’s holding in time but so far I can say that this stuff is very easy to use. It’s really a nobrainer, first clean very well the deck, patch the weak spots if you have to, and splash some Kiwigrip spots of paint on the deck, use a dented pallete knife to even the paint and roll it with the Kiwigrip roller. It is that simple, no mess, no stress… I did some patch afterward and it’s invisible!
Con… a bit longer to clean if dirty, but if you have a water hose around it’s no big deal. It is definitely different under bare foot, but not in a painful way, it’s just really grippy. But I wouldn’t knee on it for too long. And I do not want anyone bare foot on my boat anyway! Might be a hassle to take off if needed, or not, didn’t try
Well, like I said I will let you know if it peels off, or wear to quickly… That’s it, Fred

Posted by bricken on 05/07/14 - 7:22 AM
#2

Fred,

How much Kiwi grip did you use? I am trying to figure out how much I need for my 19'4" Lo Pro. Also, How many rollers do I need? Thanks, Bricken

Posted by caen fred on 05/07/14 - 7:43 AM
#3

I used 4/5 of the 4 liters can. And just one roller. You can wash it with water after and reuse it.
I made a second pass with the roller only, no paint, 2 hours after the last stoke to give a finer gritt.

Posted by HRBertram on 05/07/14 - 8:01 AM
#4

I used 2 quarts of white. I applied this over bright white gel coat and rolled it out for a very thin application. The thin application gives adequate grip, and is easier to clean. When I did my 25 I applied tan over bright white gel coat and went for a heavier application, this was necessary to block out the white gel coat. This heavier application is more aggressive but takes allot more scrubbing to clean, as the heavier application wears, the worn tips of the high spots tend to hold dirt.

On my lo pro I applied the kiwigrip to the aft seat/bulkhead structures top surface, the main deck, and both levels of the forward deck, and like I said barely made it with 2 quarts. I left about an inch of gel coat exposed around the edge of the console and any other deck attachments (ie. seat base, cooler hold downs, edge of hatches, and around the edges of the forward deck structures).

The kiwigrip is durable to everything but a scraping action. And that characteristic isn't all bad, it allows you to take a paint scraper and remove it fairly easily without gel coat damage. I just installed my pair of swivel chairs on the 25 and carefully removed a perfect circle an inch in radius larger than the chair bases and suffered no gel coat damage.

Good Luck with the Lo Pro, they're a blast.

Posted by bricken on 05/07/14 - 8:06 AM
#5

Thanks