another pre-paint question
 

Please excuse my rambling.

So I am psyching myself up for a complete decks-and-cockpit paint job coming up, probably starting mid March. As I do not believe I have the skills for two part paint, I am doing white Brightsides. For the non-skid, I've just picked up a 4liter of Kiwigrip that I am going to tint a light sand colour. I am pretty excited, I think this will really perk up the old girl, the boat that is, not my wife. But I guess the latter would be okay too.

So, the question of the day. On my deck, the non-skid stretches in one unbroken area from the bow, all the way down the side decks to where they narrow to non-existence at the stern. I have seen boats that have been done with contrasting non-skid, where this is not a single unbroken field of non-skid, but rather there might be a one-inch white line athwartships, sort of like in this quite shamelessly stolen from the internet picture:

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps040f4804.jpg

I'd like a line athwartships near the front of the cabintop as in the picture, omitting the longitudinal one. This is both for visual interest, and to break up the field into more manageable areas when applying the non-skid.

So finally getting to the point, would it be reasonably possible to sand the nonskid smooth to achieve that one-inch line? I am thinking that the gelcoat is thicker where the bumpy non-skid is, and that with a bit of care I should be able to get it sanded flat and smooth before ending up at the glass underneath. I see the challenge as confining the sanding to this one inch strip only, not over-sanding into the non-skid field I want to leave undisturbed. Could I lay down some thin sheet metal, and fix it with hot glue or good double-sided tape, then sand in between?

Or maybe I don't really care, as the Kiwigrip will cover the sanded area outside my one inch line so that it will all match anyhow.

Thoughts?

Re: another pre-paint question
 

You're using Kiwgrip so your original nonskid will be essentially obliterated anyhow.. if you want that 'look' and if your existing nonskid isn't too aggressive I'd just prepaint the division line areas in white then tape off the line as you like and do the kiwigrip.

The main caution I'd have is, since you're taping on the original nonskid that you take extra care to seat the tape to avoid bleeding under it.

You certainly could sand smooth first, and maybe that would look best overall, but it will be difficult to get a good consistent appearance around the edges, I suspect.

When we did a similar project we added a couple of deck hatches (anchor locker and lazarette access) which we cut out of the deck, sealed, and put back in place with hinges. Since we repainted afterwards we were able to pattern the nonskid around the new sections - it looked factory after that!

Re: another pre-paint question
 

I don't think I'd like the look of the old non-skid peeking out from between the Kiwigrip areas. I'd prefer it flat. I wish I could find a chunk of non-skid to try it on. I have been sitting here thinking about making a sanding block - more like a narrow longboard - out of a chunk of hardwood.

Re: another pre-paint question
 

March is going to be a bit cold ?

Make sure you have a good plan for pulling the tape as it is a VERY SMALL WINDOW between lifting the paint and NOT being able to remove the tape :)

Re: another pre-paint question
 

When applying new non-skid you really should sand off all the old stuff anyway to ensure proper build and attachment.

Re: another pre-paint question
 

Under the cover it gets quite warm on a sunny and hopefully warmer day. I won't do anything conditions won't permit. I'll be doing the Kiwigrip before it gets too warm. When it's cool out, apparently you get a much better working window. Pachena sent me a really good graphic about working times yesterday. In fact, I'll paste it here.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps2bb64045.jpg

Re: another pre-paint question
 

forget trying to sand down the existing non-skid. It will just become an unlevel mess that you are going to have to fill and fair anyway to be presentable. Instead, mask off the offending area, rough it up, lay on a thin layer of thickened epoxy, just enough to fill the valleys in the non skid pattern and sand it smooth.

Re: another pre-paint question
 

That's not a bad suggestion, BL, I am going to keep that in the quiver of ideas. Of course, I could try a bit of sanding with the long narrow block I am now thinking about, and if it simply doesn't work, your idea becomes a fallback.

Re: another pre-paint question
 

Older gelcoat sands down pretty quick to the fiberglass below. Textured non-skid is actually pretty easy to remove (use something like 80 grit to start with). My decks were like an earthquake zone with cracks, so I have a lot of experience sanding down and repairing decks. I did not get real picky since I too am using kiwigrip and the texture hides blemishes underneath. I made sure I sealed everything with epoxy and sanded smooth since the kiwigrip needs a secure surface to bond to. I assumed the kiwigrip does not add any protection to the surface underneath, only traction for my feat, hence the epoxy below it. I did my entire boat in brightsides and loved it. My biggest problem was not technique or chemistry (i went w/ brush on the decks, roller for the hull) but large dust particles in my work area. Had to wet sand the 1st coat with 320 grit and re-apply. Wet sanding brightsides is super easy if you wait about 4-5 days 1st. I used the pre-kote primer and thinned it with the interlux thinner. Prekote is really thick stuff and you may end up putting it on too thick at first so watch that. Lots of thin coats work better.

Hope this helps, Bruce

Re: another pre-paint question
 

Thanks Bruce,

I've already had my learning curve with Brightsides last spring, I did new cove and boot stripes, as well as painting a good bit of the interior. It's pretty easy, but I do agree with you about the primer. Getting it just right is a challenge.