Painting deck with Durabak18 Non-Skid

[SkunkBoat]

Well, you guys and all of your wonderful projects have guilted me into DOing instead of Day Dreaming.
I went with Durabak after seeing several posts on here.

I pulled the boat, scrubbed, sanded, wiped, glassed, bondo'd, sanded, wiped.......

After much delay I got the first coats on today. Still need to go back around edges with another coat of the smooth Durabak.

Looks great wet! Sure hope it dries....


PS...anybody know what to do with the remaining 3 quarts of Xylene?

[CharlestonSC]

Looks great, let us know how it holds up and cleans.

[jasoncooperpcola]

Looks Great!!! :clap:

I durabak'd my 250 Sportsman floor. I have pictures of it somewhere on here...... For non slip its great! I dont ever wear shoes on any of my boats and on my V20 i slip all over the place. But on my Sportsman i can stay put.

My only gripe with it is, its hard to clean. But we put two coats of textured Durabak. Right now its pretty nasty because i haven't scrubbed it in a while. If i keep my Sportsman i will put a coat of smooth over it.

Also we got the dark grey, bad decision. I cannot stand on it in the sun. If i put another coat on it i will go white or a light grey like yours.

[dbetterred]

Keep the extra xylene! It is good stuff. If you ever get anything on you, that thinner or turpentine wont get off, the xylene will. It dissolves almost anything. I had about half gallon left over from my durabak floor and now my xylene is almost all gone from cleaning up from other projects.

[ssiredfish]

Looks like good stuff!!! I am guessing its hard to clean because of what appears like pitting in the material?????

I have been considering doing this for awhile and glad you guys brought it up. Nothing against the low-glare almond deck I have now but it might as well be a slip-and-slide on some occasions. So I am seeing that some deck paints are raised and some pit. I guess there are disadvantages to both as yall say the pitted stuff is hard to clean but I also know it sucks to kneel or walk for some on the stuff that is raised.

Is that pretty much the consensus? What makes the Durabak stand apart from the rest????

[joe7670]

Looks good! I love the stuff.

[Stinky_Hooker]

Did it on a buddys floor and its very hard to clean. But it looks great when it is clean.

[Shawsee]

I did my V with Durabak a few years ago and it's holding up pretty well. I will need to redo it next year because its starting to peel in a few places. As for cleaning the deck after Durabak is applied, I found a good stiff deck brush with a long handle works great for scrubbing the floor. I also use bleach and Dawn dish soap to clean the deck and it comes out great and looks like it was just painted again. Striper blood, squid guts,sea worm schmoo just seem to lift right off with the brush and soap. I love Durabak and will be redoing again.

[jasoncooperpcola]

What makes the Durabak better than the rest is just how durable it is. In my opinion you need to figure out the number of coats of textured and smooth to get it to your liking. We did two coats textured on my Sportsman. I think we need one coat of smooth and it will be perfect. Has anybody done all smooth, no textured? I wonder how "grippy" the smooth is?

The "pitting" you are seeing is the rubber granules that give it texture. Even with a good thick coat of fish slime i don't slip.

I figured out why mine looks so horrible. I put "putty tape" used on metal building roofs on my gas tank hatch and last time i pulled it, the putty tape got all over the place.

[ssiredfish]

......Striper blood, squid guts,sea worm schmoo just seem to lift right off with the brush and soap.

Yea but the big question is, how do you get Striper blood out of your trunk and bedroom carpet. As soon as you find out please let me know, man have I been worried lately..........

:you:

[Shawsee]

Yea but the big question is, how do you get Striper blood out of your trunk and bedroom carpet. As soon as you find out please let me know, man have I been worried lately..........

:you:

Well for one thing I do not bring stripers in my bedroom or even put them in the trunk. The stripers are neatly cleaned and cut into fillets and frozen. Also if you are refering to "strippers" (women who expose themselves for cash) I think you have the two words mixed up and you should buy a dictionary. LMAO

[ssiredfish]

Also if you are refering to "strippers" (women who expose themselves for cash) I think you have the two words mixed up and you should buy a dictionary. LMAO

Oh. did I mistake what we were talkin about?! Just don't tell anyone ok????????

[Shawsee]

Oh. did I mistake what we were talkin about?! Just don't tell anyone ok????????

LOL ssiredfish and I knew what you meant. I am just giving you a freindly ribbing back. It's all good buddy, and no big deal I hope.

[SkunkBoat]

I really like the way the deck feels and sounds now. Like its a solid old wood boat.
Feels good on bare feet too.
And when you drop a 3 oz sinker, it bounces back up...
Looks great! I recommend it.

Mistakes made-

Bought gallon of textured and quart of smooth.
THEY ARE NOT EXACTLY THE SAME COLOR!
Touched up the textured with smooth but you can see the slight difference in color! Don't have enough smooth left to do a full coat.

I did smooth around outside edges and 2 coats of non-skid in the middle.. Didn't take time and really tape off the edges of hatches for a nice factory look.

I would say you should go with gallon of smooth on entire deck 2 coats, let cure, then tape edges neatly and do one light coat of textured.

I did the port side dash with smooth. Had windshield off and went all the way up to the windshield with the paint. It doesn't like vertical surfaces. Runs while its drying. You can't fix it. You can't sand it smooth.

Did the smooth with cheap brushes. Had problem with loose hairs. Tried a foam roller, NOT GOOD...slides. Don't what roller is best for smooth. The special rollers they send with textured worked great for the textured stuff.
I didn't try using one with smooth.

[SkunkBoat]

My drunk brother accidentally emptied a spray can of sunscreen into a puddle in a tackle bag. The alcohol dissolved the fully cured (2 months) Durabak under the bag.
Fixable...if my leftover paint is still good...
Will try to repair while boat is out for Irene.

[Hedge]

That really sucks, but at least you have some left.

[RWilson2526]

Thats what family is for.....

[Blue_Runner]

**NOTE TO SELF: PUT BEER IN SIPPY CUP WHEN ON BOAT**

That's crazy. Thought Durabak was impervious to just about anything, especially something like sunscreen.

[reelapeelin]

That's basically what ethanol does to rubber hoses, diaphrams, gaskets, etc that aren't alcohol compatable...