Interdeck Non-Skid

[Columbia34]

We are at the point of doing the non-skid paint on our decks we are going to use Interdeck from interlux. I mixed up the custom color of 2 parts white and 1 part gray. From reading on the can it says that recoating in around 24hrs, but can't walk on it for 4 days? does this mean I have to do one half the boat at a time? Do I thin the paint at all? and what kind of roller do i use to apply the paint. Thanks.

Scott

[CharlieJ]

We used Interdeck on Tehani and have been completely happy with it. Since we did it while redoing the boat, I can't speak to the " no walk for four days" part- we didn't need to. We DID paint the bridge deck while we were on a cruise, and just tried to be really careful crossing it for a day or two.

Ours was done 18 months ago, and has lasted through two cruises to Florida and return, including the foredeck where anchor chain was pounded onto it practically every day. It does need another coat now, since we were only able to put on a single coat before we left for the first cruise.

Laura did the work, but I think she used a foam roller She taped and rolled the boat in one day. Surprised me with it when I got home form work. Grin
I suspect she did thin it slightly, but I don't know that for a fact and she isn't available to ask right now.

[Tim]

I like Interdeck a lot. It's easy to apply, and holds up well. It also is pretty decent as a nonskid surface.

You can walk on it carefully in order to recoat, but you want to minimze how much you do. Stocking feet are the rule for the second coat.

When it says "don't walk on it for 4 days", that really means that the paint shouldn't see heavy traffic during that period. Don't worry about it too much for the second coat, but do take care to walk as lightly as you can as you apply. Stay off the second coat as long as you can, except to remove tape.

I have had good luck with a high quality mohair roller, such as the Candy Stripe rollers from Redtree (I think they're Redtree; either that, or whatever the other major brand is.) I don't much like foam rollers and think that I get better results with the mohair. The nap on the Candy Stripe rollers is 3/16".

The paint seems very thick in the can, but rolls out very well without thinning--you'd never guess it would from the texture, though. I wouldn't thin it unless you somehow find it absolutely necessary.

[Columbia34]

How wide of a roller are you using Tim? I would do my first coat saturday and next on sunday, I can do half at a time if nessary, just make the project take 2 weekends instead of 1, since we are 2 hrs from the boat.

Scott

[CharlieJ]

Just talked to Laura about this- she did NOT use a foam roller- she used a fiber roller with about a 1/4 inch nap. Thinning wasn't required. She says she cut the roller in half, making a pair of 4 1/2 inchers.

[Tim]

I used a 7" roller wherever I could, and a smaller one in tight areas as necessary. You can brush sparingly if you have a really tight spot (unlikely on your Columbia), but beware that the brushed texture is quite different from that left behind by the roller.

As to the second coat, do as much as you can from staging, and just walk carefully on the fresh first coat only as much as necessary. There's no prep required for the second coat: just go right over the first.

Overnight is adequate drying time for this sort of walking. If you have a natural dividing line for the paint in the center of hte boat, then you can do it in 2 weekends if you prefer. I'd go for it in one weekend, though. It doesn't take long to roll the paint on.

With Interdeck, one coat is almost, almost good enough. It's always really tempting to just do the one coat. But the second coat makes for better job and is worth the effort since it tends to even out the look of the whole thing.

[Figment]

the brushed finish of interdeck is certainly different, but it can be nice in some applications.

A few years ago I interdeck'ed the cockpit of my father's sportfish (mom's MS was starting to show, and she was slipping&falling a lot) and I was fairly impressed by the result. It was one of those weeks in which I had a thousand other things to do, so I really wasn't fussy about it, but it came out pretty well nonetheless.
Suddenly Interdeck was all the rage on C-dock. in the span of two weeks, ten other people started sanding down their factory gelcoat nonskid and laying on interdeck. Some were better than others, but even the real hack-jobs didn't look BAD. Two guys did a brush-application, which came out like broom-finished concrete and I really think they are the coolest ones of the bunch.

Of course, what looks cool in the cockpit of a sea ray doesn't automatically look cool on a broad expanse of a sailboat's foredeck. My long-winded point is simply that the brush finish can be cool in the right application.

[bhartley]

If you use a light color (mine was a mix of beige and white), take a really close up look at the surface before the second coat. It looked terrific from 5' up (ie. standing), but on very close inspection I had some areas a little thin.

The light color with the white primer made it less obvious. I hit the thinner areas once before the second coat. I didn't wait to do the second coat -- I just made sure the finish would be even when done.

I was very pleased with my Interdeck non-skid on Miranda.

Bly

[Hirilondë]

My deck is done with beige and I love it. Mix it up and roll it on (ok, a good prep job helps too). I use a mini foam roller. As I did the decks while every bit of woodwork and hardware was off no brush was needed. It has to have been the easiest part of my refit last winter. If you work in stocking feet I don't see any issues second coating the next day.

It goes on and stands up well too on Dynel decks. We use it on several Concordias. The colors match their polyurethane topside paints. We sometimes mask off the area around handrails and use the topside paint of the same color there to avoid having non-skid where your knuckles may get skinned.

[Rachel]

.. She taped and rolled the boat in one day. Surprised me with it when I got home form work.

Clearly, I need a spouse. ;-)

*******************

And just in case anyone from Interlux is reading this, I sure wish you would lighten up the grey of Bilgekote and Interdeck. I can't tell you how many customers I've had not buy the Interlux products because they didn't want to have to purchase expensive quarts and mix them (grey and white) to get a decent shade (perfectly reasonable on their part to not want to). And please do it before it's my time to buy...

[windrose]

Scott, I think you are going to love the color. I arrived at the two parts white after several false starts, so I am glad you were able to benefit from my blunderings (this place is great for that, a true wealth of info).

I would encourage you to mix enough to do a single coat of the entire boat or simply mix it all at once if storage is not an issue.

Any thinner will change the color a little, so get a single coat on the boat each time. We walked barefoot on it the following day with no problems.

[Columbia34]

Well the non-skid application went great here are some pictures we did 2 coats of Interdeck I mixed with the help of windrose 2 parts white and 1 part gray.

[Tim]

Things are really coming together now!

[CharlieJ]

Looking VERY nice.

I couldn't use that color down here- you'd blister your feet on it. We used the straight white.

[Rachel]

Wow -- that looks great!

I understand what you're saying about that color getting too hot in Texas, Charlie, but that's the exact shade I wish Interdeck would come in for those of us who think 75? is a nice summer day :-) The really dark grey seems more like a workboat color, but I can't imagine that workboat people are rolling on Interdeck...

[Hirilondë]

Nice masking job, rounded corners sure add pzazz.

[David VanDenburgh]

Looking good, Scott. Very nice.

I wish we'd gone with a lighter paint when we redid the nonskid on Ariel. There are times when a trip forward feels like walking on hot coals. We used Interlux's Kingston Gray Brightside Polyurethane straight out of the can.

[dasein668]

Grey can certainly get hot. Here in Maine it is only on a handful of blistering days right around the summer solstice where it's hot enough to even pay attention to, however.

Not so much a problem on our nice foggy days...