Replacing Deck Tread Pattern

[Brendan Watson]

Going to great lengths to save the existing non-skid pattern is
kind of a waste of time in my opinion. At least on my Commander
anyway. The reason is that the pattern is so worn that it really isn't
non-skid anymore. The only way to get a match of the existing pattern is
to make a mold of your pattern and then lay it on wet gelcoat. Lets say that it matched the original
perfectly, It still wouldn't be very effective. Good footing is important to wet sailing.

A good way to deal with damaged patterns etc. topsides is to sand the no-skid
area, prime it with barrier coat and then paint it. A paint thats worth a look
is Interlux-Interdeck. The colors are limited, but you won't have to use sheen-
reducer or grit, it's allready in there. This paint rolls on easily and looks good with
a minimum of fuss,read - slung on like house paint. With a light sanding, two coats
of barrier coat and two of Interdeck there is only the faintest trace of the original
pattern and with deck shoes you feel glued to the boat. The Interdeck is a
very fine even pattern suitable for bare feet and seating areas.

Once you've painted your no-skid your free to work on your core from the outside
and as a result your boat will look sharper, be stiffer, and offer better footing.
You dont have to use barrier coat but it does work as an additional waterproof
layer that is hard and durable and has high-build characteristics. It works as a
tie-coat with the Interdeck.
Cheers, B.
Commander#215

[Full and By]

Brendon,
I am so happy I read your post as I am working on C-295 this winter. The hardware is (almost) all off..struggling a bit with frozen, hard to reach nuts and csk slotted heads..you know the drill. Anyway, I am agonizing a bit over non-skid adn deck paint. This is my third restoration...and I used interthane plus (1996) and 2 years Perfection Plus which is a giant leap forward and easy to use. Intherthane plus with non-skid beads and flattening agent on the non skid areas would be my normal choice...but I am intrigued by the interdeck product ...I've been hearing good things about it. Sounds like you had a good experience.

Tell me about prepping the existing deck...How much filling and sanding do I need to do to get ready? What about spider cracks in the gel coat?

re: interior overhead
We're now spoiled with headliners and the painted interior ..the underside of the deck looks pretty bad, uneven, etc to us now. I was thinking about rolling on a coat of interdeck under there, too...because I think it would disguise all those blems. What are your thoughts? I did a Tartan 27 with Interlux Brightside, flattened, but it still looked kind of bush league. BTW, those little white foam rollers from Home Depot are resistant to LPU paints and work wonderfully. I painted the topsides of an epoxy/plywood sharpie Flag Blue and the results were unbelieveable to me. From 3 feet (not ten) it looked like a spray job done in a booth. amazing stuff..breakthrough maybe.

I need to buy paint in a coupla weeks and would be grateful for your early reply.

Thanks a million,

Bill