Kiwigrip?

[Sabre 336]

Is it worth looking at anything else?

Everyone seems to use it all over the world and the price seems ok but that is about the extent of my knowledge on the subject...

[alibaba 13]

fantastic stuff. Its as hard wearing as nails. Easy to patch too. I haven't found a better alternative yet. I do like the feel of the sand option, but patching is a pain.

[slanty 1]

I've had a great experience with it. Cheap too when compared to other options....

[Black Panther 654]

+1

[vic008 11]

2 coats over old teak deck. No more leaks. Highly happy.

[Sabre 336]

Well thats that decision sorted. Many thanks for the feedback 👍

[Winter 16]

I've been trying this product called softsand

Rubber particles so much softer on your knees etc

 

http://www.softsandrubber.com/

[lateral 110]

Pay particular attention to entrapped air per instructions.

Bubbles burst later on & looks crappy/ traps dirt. Only occurred on cockpit floor for some reason.

Rest has been great. Don't do on super hot day in shade & pull tape before it skins.

One rolling one, another pulling tape. 

[syohana 11]

Kiwigrip is fantastic and a pleasure to apply, with a few gotchas:

1. Be very careful to apply it in warm, dry weather but NOT in direct sunlight. Too hot and the texture will be very uneven.

2. Too humid or too cold (less than 10 degrees at any time in the next 3 days) and it won't dry properly and will peel off in patches. Awful mess, very hard to remove and start again. Don't ask how I know this. If conditions are marginal, don't risk it. If they are anything under 20 degrees apply it thin to be on the safe side.

3. Make sure there is zero chance of rain or dew until it is fully cured (3 days unless it is very hot). That means a tarp, cover or shed over the whole boat. This a water-based paint so even a little rain or dew will make an almighty mess, you'll end up with hard, dried kiwigrip all down the sides of your boat and pooled in the low points of the deck.

4. Don't even think about buying it outside NZ, it costs four times as much in other countries! We took 12 litres with us from NZ to redo our deck, ended up not doing the job until we were in europe, where the weather was cold and humid (see #2 above). After spending weeks to scrape off and sand back the mess we had to buy more kiwigrip to redo it, at local prices. That added insult to injury!

5. Make sure the deck underneath is painted the same colour with normal paint / primer /gelcoat first because you'll see the original colour through some of the low points in the texture.

6. Within NZ the exact same stuff is sold (sometimes cheaper) as "Don't slip" (the old brand name) instead of kiwigrip. Shop around.

But having said all that, it's WAY better than any other deck paint, DO use it.

Edited November 2, 2020 by syohana

[Tamure 357]

Theres many options for non slip, the best is treadmaster that diamond foam stick on but its expensive and a bit ugly.  Kiwigrip has the water clean up advantage and seems ok but it does need redoing from time to time and a bit of skill with the texture. You can thicken gelcoat using a similar method with a textured roller, again not to hard to do. Theres a number of rubberised paint/nonskid particle products for pool areas and factory floors- all work but the thing about kiwigrip is the marketing. Theres another yoghurt emerclad that the aussies use a lot, the list is endless if you research non skid surfaces. I like LPU paint with sprayed particles, longest lasting and great looking but expensive. One thing though if it has marine on the shop door where you buy it, it wont be cheap!