pickup bed liner

[Owly055]

Anybody out there using pickup bed liner of any of the various types as a deck coating / anti slip?   It is an incredibly tenacious material, and easily applied with an undercoating gun.  Not horribly expensive.  I can't imagine that people have not resorted to it as an alternative to the horrendously expensive "marine" products..........

                                              H.W.

[Godot]

For non-skid, I used play sand on a previous boat. Mask the area, roll the paint, apply the sand. When the paint dries, shop-vac off the sand and apply another coat. Easy enough.

[jotruk]

I have used play sand for non skid areas and also diamond dust(sandblasting medium) the diamond dust is very rough on the knees and hands so the sand works the best as far as I am concerned.

[ralay]

We've used some shake-on sand-like stuff in paint too.  Very effective.

I know some pedicab shops (bicycle taxi) that we using spray on bedliner for non-skid on the footwells of their fiberglass cabs.  Never laid enough attention to how it held up in the long term.

Does the truck bedliner come in white?  Cause there's a really good reason for boat decks being white.  Even our light gray teak decks would burn the poop out of us in the Texas summer.  Tearing them off and painting the deck off-white made a big difference in temperature. 

[CharlieJ]

Hobby stores that deal with model railroaders sell a white. Very fine ssnd used to make roadbed. Called Ballast sand. i've used that with good success

Now I juust buy inter deck in white. As Ralay says do not use a dark color on your decks anywhere in the south!!!  HOT

As in burn your feet hot

[Capt. Tony]

Now I juust buy inter deck in white. As Ralay says do not use a dark color on your decks anywhere in the south!!!  HOT

As in burn your feet hot

I really like the look of our light beige non-skid, but even that gets uncomfortable sometimes.  Our Ta Chiao will get white decks once the teak comes off.  So I have to agree with CJ and Ralay when it comes to choosing a deck color.

[Owly055]

     White is a hard color to get right........... Bed liner is available in off white I believe.  It's worth noting that sandblasting glass beads are the best grit to embed in paint.  Because they are clear, when they wear,they show the color beneath them.   You can also buy the glass beads that are used for highway striping....... I've used them before.  They are VERY aggressive, as in take hide off if you skid on them....but you won't skid.   They are not difficult to find if you have the ability to track things down.  The easiest source is companies that do road striping, and they can be found in any major city.   I found mine in Billings, Mt........ But I know how to track things down, I've spent a lifetime doing it.   I don't give up easily.
    Bed liner is incredibly tough and long lasting in the automotive world, and pickup boxes are subject to a lot of abuse....... at least mine are.  With proper prep, it doesn't seem to delaminate.

                                                                               H.W.

[Bob J (ex-misfits)]

Kiwi Grip. It's not cheap but it looks & holds up well. Easy to repair, hides alot of sins.
The white color looks good & is easy on the eyes.

[Owly055]

I had some bed liner called "Rattleguard", which company is no longer in business.  The product was a two part urethane/epoxy. While both are two part, their chemistry is wildly different, and I find it difficult to imagine how they could be blended.  The fact is that it worked and worked extremely well.  Chemists are a different breed of cat!!


                                                  H.W.

[SV Dayenu]

I design and build prototypes for a living  (30 years)

On two of my boats, I used coarse salt! (I tested sand and sand blasting mediums... glass, ground walnut shells etc...)

I found that using sand provides a texture, but if you paint over it, the radius of the salt particles increase and it can get smooth/slippery.

If you use a roller to apply a thick coat of deck paint then dump a LOT of salt on it. the paint takes on the concave cross-section of the salt that is against it... After the paint has cured, use a high pressure hose to wash out the salt. What you then have is a layer of the concave "cavities" of the bottom of the salt that was there before you washed it away... It is very sharp and super non skid. if You want to soften it a bit (so that it doesn't scrape your bare knees on deck, you can come back over it with sandpaper to create the sharp/soft non-skid texture you want... (Sand less= better grip... sand more, smoother but still effective.)

Another nice feature of this approach, is that the deck paint is revealed and you don't have to paint over it... The salt is "clear" to begin with and almost 100% of it is washed away with the hose.

Good luck!

Richard

[Owly055]

That is a brilliant approach!!   Wish I'd thought of it.

                                                    H.W.

[CharlieJ]

interesting idea,
but
I suspect as you walk on it, the paint will wear down. I'd rather have the sand, although here lately (since 2005) i've used Interlux Interdeck

[Locutus]

I'm a bit late to the party but here's my two cents:

I'm building a Stevenson Projects Super Skipjack.  I used Agra Grit brand medium crushed walnut shells.  Instead of bedding it in paint, since the floor hadn't been painted yet I rolled on a coat of epoxy and bedded the grit in that.  Then applied Interlux Primer and a couple coats of Interlux Brightsides paint.  It turned out well with a great non-skid texture.  However, I've not splashed the boat yet (it's not quite finished) so I don't know how well the Agra Grit will stand up to the elements, even with a coat of primer and two coats of paint on it.

I had considered using sand, but I had read that it's really difficult to sand down if you ever have to remove it.  Agra Grit reportedly sands more easily, although I haven't tested this yet.

[Phantom Jim]

I used a product from Jamestown Distributors, Total Tread, for non-skid on our decks.  It went on simply and well and seems to be getting better with age.  About $30 a quart, which will go a long way.

it is a single part polyurethane.

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=97706&familyName=TotalBoat+TotalTread+Non-Skid+Deck+Paint

[Steve Bean]

I'm using Durabak, a one-part polyurethane that contains particles of rubber. So far, I like it.  $67.00 per gallon.

[Phantom Jim]

I was interested in Durabak but I had no other information other than their brochure.  Would you post your experience with it, ease of preparation, how it painted on, what the end result is like?

[CharlieJ]

Well, have zero experience with that, but-

I've used Interlux Interdeck on two boats now, and am delighted. My first application was a single coat, which held up thru 2 trips to Florida and return, from Texas.

Recoated, and did 3 years full time aboard. Needs another coat now, but has close to 12,000 miles of use now. I like it- just roll it on :)

[ralay]

Non-skid additives are nice, because it keeps you from having to use multiple products.  The most KISS approach to painting is probably to cover everything on your boat (except the bottom) with the same product.  Like pick one brand of off white and paint the topsides, deck, spars, etc.  Then you can buy by the gallon and only store one container for touch ups.  You also don't need to be so careful about masking.  If you use lots of different coatings, it's much more likely you'll waste money buying quarts of this and that and having a whole locker full of cans for touchups.  Not the only way to do it, but makes life a little easier (if blander).     

[Steve Bean]

My experience with Durabak:  I have applied two coats on the deck and a first coat on the cabin top. The company advises always to use two coats.  They supply the recommended roller covers, a very coarse foam type. They recommend xylene for preparation and cleanup. Not nice stuff. Here in California the nearest I could find is a solvent that "contains" xylene.  When rolling it on, I'm finding some difficulty getting a very uniform appearance. I can live with this; I like the surface that results. It appears quite aggressive but I think the non-skid function will be effective. It retains a resilient quality similar to truck bedliner. Various colors are available.   It has been used on a number U.S. aircraft carriers. More info on Durabak website.

[Owly055]

     I rather like the walnut shell concept..... It's sharp, but will wear down, eventually coming loose leaving a pocket where it was that like the salt system will have it's own grip effect. Seems like an excellent concept to me.    I run tires with micro bits of walnut shell year round, and they are absolutely fantastic on ice....... They actually stop on ice where anything else except the Nokian Hakkapeliitta with it's tungsten carbide particles even comes close........

                                   H.W.