Deck Installed

[dan4836]

Finished second layer of chopped strand over 3/4 and some putty to tie in the sides were the new deck met the old (uneven in some spots)

Question: I find many areas were the glass is not smooth. I will sand but I am still worried that some areas will still not look good after paining.

I am planning on either rolled gelcoat or KiwiGrip. I am looking to do white gelcoat and maybe cream KiwiGrip non skid.

I know the gelcoat should cover some imperfections but I don't want to risk doing all this work and the final paint does not look good.

Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks,

Dan

[RidgeRunner]

One of the most difficult of glass jobs is fairing and blending repairs, IMO. Your gonna have to sand the rough (high) spots and maybe fill the low ones if you want the floor to really come out nice. I have read on other sites that the Kiwi non-skid has some bite and will hide a multitude of small imperfections. Looking into something with more non-skid action for my boat too.

[tartuffe]

If you have any doubts keep going with it until you don't have any. You have put way to much work in for "hope" at this point. How does the radius from the floor to the gunwale look? The deck on my boat had a 1/2" core with about an 1/8" of glass on it so that extra 1/8" maybe some of the issue but you could tie that into the existing radius easy enough. If you take a few close-ups of areas of most concern that would help in figuring the best way to proceed.

[dan4836]

I am assuming that if I sand the high spots and fill the low spots, the fairing or putty (I have been using one gallon pals of putty - resin mixed with glass) will the the putting bond tight to the floor?

[Striper80]

I used kiwi grip on the floor in my Striper. It originally had the diamond non skid but the PO covered the whole floor with some type of bedliner. I removed it and found a load of cracks. I ground down the nonskid and covered it with the kiwi grip. Went down real easy. Not sure how long it lasts since the boat got trashed in sandy right after I finished it. Ill posts some pics if I can get it to work.

[dan4836]

After doing some research, I found a lot of great reviews on Rustoleum Topside. Low cost and seems to do very well for the application. I started my console with Pettit EZ Poxy 2 but at $60. per quart...

Rutsoleum is cost under $30. per gallon and I can get it at Lowes.

Any input?

[Curapa]

I used kiwigrip and the Rustoleum top side paint on my last boat.

Nothing but good things to say about kiwigrip. Easy to apply, durable and it will hide imperfections easily.

The Rustoleum paint was ok, definitely not as durable as a two part paint. I'll be spraying Awlcraft 2000 on my current project.