Coating for my deck

[MTribe08]

Hi all, thought I'd start a new post for this, hoping to get more responses.

I'm at the stage in the game where I'm about ready to lay down glass on my deck and apply something over it. I will be laying in snap in carpet on top of it.
Originally I was going to apply Rustoleum primer/enamel but Skibum and a few others suggested laying down GelCoat or similar product which will be more durable than paint.

I'm liking that idea, and would like to try and match the color of the GelCoat on my doghouse. I don't need the surface to be non skid, I would just like it to be nice and smooth.

Ondarvr..I know you are the expert around here as far as Fiberglass goes. Hopefully you and others can help me out. How should I go about doing this? What should I use as my final layer of Glass before applying the final top coat? Why type of Roller is best for a nice smooth finish?
Sorry for all the questions..this is all new to me. Any help you can offer would be great.

I'm really liking what this EasyPoxy has to offer, anybody tried it on their deck? It says a Gallon will cover 600sqft. I only have roughly 75 or so sq/ft of deck to cover. The cost won't be that much different than buying the RustoLeum. Will this stuff be much more durable than the RustO Enamel?
http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...=Pettit+EasyPoxy+Topside+Paint#pr-header-1329

This Interlux Pefection looks good too..but its alot more per/qt.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1439

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[oops!]

Re: Coating for my deck

im a big fan of gellcoating on decks....i think it is the way to go....but bear in mind its going to be really slippery.

i just used a fuzzy roller on my deck and it came out fine....
i laid mine on thick and it took a few coats.
the gellcoat is thiksotropic so it wont lay flat like paint. you might have to use a product like patch aid to thin it a wee bit for the final coat.

cheers
oops

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: Coating for my deck

Great to see you back Oops,
To make it a little less slippery dont thin it at all and just leave the texture from the roller. If you want it smoother just sand to the texture you want then buff it out. I sanded my boat to 2000 grit but for the antiskid areas I dabbed a foam brush in the wet gelcoat I had just sprayed. Then sprayed pva over it. It came out just like the factory antiskid areas.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

im a big fan of gellcoating on decks....i think it is the way to go....but bear in mind its going to be really slippery.

i just used a fuzzy roller on my deck and it came out fine....
i laid mine on thick and it took a few coats.
the gellcoat is thiksotropic so it wont lay flat like paint. you might have to use a product like patch aid to thin it a wee bit for the final coat.

cheers
oops

Hey Dude! I was thinking the same thing as SKI..didn't expect you to chime in. Good to see you back.

Is Gelcoating going to be quite a bit more expensive than EasyPoxy?

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

Great to see you back Oops,
To make it a little less slippery dont thin it at all and just leave the texture from the roller. If you want it smoother just sand to the texture you want then buff it out. I sanded my boat to 2000 grit but for the antiskid areas I dabbed a foam brush in the wet gelcoat I had just sprayed. Then sprayed pva over it. It came out just like the factory antiskid areas.

Ok..I was going to ask how they(factory) made the not skid area on the swim decks..now I know.

Anyway, I'm not to worried about the it being slippery..I'm going to have snap in carpet in the walking areas..I just want it to look decent where its not covered, be easy to wash out and seal up the deck good.

The Easy Poxy is roughly 25-30 bucks a qt..for the same amount of Gel Coat what can I expect to pay?

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

Anybody know anything about this stuff?? Obviously I don't want Orange, but the product seems like it would be really durable..not sure about the finish though.
http://cgi.ebay.com/X-Sherwin-Willi...ultDomain_0?hash=item2c4f796a08#ht_5152wt_925

 

[drewpster]

Re: Coating for my deck

I ran in to the same question with my deck. Unless you are really careful in the fiberglass layup the deck will end up rough. I spent allot of time making sure the inside of the hull is smooth. But the deck is another matter. I went with gelcoat applied with a roller. I am considering covering this with carpet or a marine vinyl product called Marideck. Either way I agree that gelcoat is going to protect the deck much better than paint. If you are looking for a smooth finish you may want to consider paint with anti-skid in it. Getting those hull sides smooth was challenge enough. I think the rough texture of the deck will only help to keep the deck from being too slippery.

 

[drewpster]

Re: Coating for my deck

BTW- Gelcoat is about $25-$30 bucks a gallon,,,yes gallon. And you can buy pigment to color it any way you want. Be advised though, its hell to get smooth and shiney. It took about 3/4 a gallon to coat this deck. I'll need at least one more.

 

[oops!]

Re: Coating for my deck

the reason i suggested the patch aid was because the op wanted a smooth shiny surface... its really tough to sand a fuzzy roller job to bottom hull smooth.
if you can spray....thats allways your best choice but the smooth finish will allways require a ton of sanding.

a lot of our coustomers say they want a shiny surface on their decks.....they are thinking of a out of the mold liner.(bottom hull smooth)..that kind of finish can be obtained....but uasually thru thinning and spraying the gellcoat..... then the sanding starts....lol....

drewps job above looks identical to the deck finish we get at the shop, (good job bud) and in my opinion will do just fine for years to come especially with a snap in carpet.

gellcoat is more expencive than paint....but is easily fixable if there is a chip, and wont wear thru like paint will over time.
the really good paints like enron will take long to wear thru....but they are as expencive as gellcoat and are not repairable

cheers
oops

 

[benjh1028]

Re: Coating for my deck

I'm planning on spraying gelcoat on my deck and installing deckadence flooring (dont need to install snaps with it). Spectrum color will sell you factory color gelcoat - but it's not cheap. I purchased a pint of white gelcoat and some pigments for experimental puproses. Want to make sure I can get it right before I attempt it.

I'm waiting for either you or skibum to spray the deck so I can pick up a few pointers.

Ben

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

BTW- Gelcoat is about $25-$30 bucks a gallon,,,yes gallon. And you can buy pigment to color it any way you want. Be advised though, its hell to get smooth and shiney. It took about 3/4 a gallon to coat this deck. I'll need at least one more.

Ok, so here is the dilema. I really like what EasyPoxy has to offer. From talking with EZ and others it seems to be an easy product to lay down, and settles into a very nice smooth shiny finish. Its about $30/qt..but it goes a long way.

Gel Coat, same price for a gallon..but it looks like from your boat, I'll need most of that for mine. GelCoat doesn't seem to be as easy to work with, from your feedback..lots of sanding, buffing ect..to make shiny??

As far as the wear through..I'm not going to be phyically walking on this stuff very much at all, if ever, as I'll have the carpet laying over it...this should help with the wear-through right?


Ben..I'm not going to spray, sorry. I want something I can roll/brush in. Skibum or Drew is your guys there.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

I'm planning on spraying gelcoat on my deck and installing deckadence flooring (dont need to install snaps with it). Spectrum color will sell you factory color gelcoat - but it's not cheap. I purchased a pint of white gelcoat and some pigments for experimental puproses. Want to make sure I can get it right before I attempt it.

I'm waiting for either you or skibum to spray the deck so I can pick up a few pointers.

Ben

Ben..I took a look at that Deckadence flooring..looks pretty cool. The larger pieces carpet just lay right on your deck and smaller ones require a little snap kit..pretty cool. How much do you think its going to cost you to put in your boat? Are you having it done for you, or cutting and installing in yourself?

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Coating for my deck

I've thought about doing gelcoat myself, but I wanted a better anti-skid surface than just gelcoat applied with a roller. I could mold anti-skid sections and glue them in place, I suppose. It's hard to beat the wear qualities of gelcoat.

Actually, thinking about it the other problem is that I use epoxy for my glass, so I'd have to apply a primer coat in between the glass and the gelcoat to make the gelcoat stick, adding some expense.

What I'm thinking I'll do at this point is go with a quality paint and embed walnut shell blast media where I want anti-skid areas. Then I'll cover the shell with a top coat.

I might even use the Quikrete or rust-oleum garage floor paints, depending on cost.

The other thing about this method that attracts me to it is that I can mask off areas where I don't want any texture, like accents on hatches and the like.

Erik

 

[benjh1028]

Re: Coating for my deck

Ben..I took a look at that Deckadence flooring..looks pretty cool. The larger pieces carpet just lay right on your deck and smaller ones require a little snap kit..pretty cool. How much do you think its going to cost you to put in your boat? Are you having it done for you, or cutting and installing in yourself?

Its about $4.50/sf. If you subtract the area you have fixed seating then its amazing how little floor space needs to be covered. I am going to do it myself.

Ben

 

[tlakeharley]

Re: Coating for my deck

Try Grizzly Grip or Durabak, they both offer smooth and anti skid coatings with multiple color choices.

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: Coating for my deck

I am not gelcoating my deck only because the carpet goes up the sides of the boat which are 3 inches of foam covered with fiberglass on both sides. So I just recarpeted the floor and sides. A painted or gelcoated floor would leave very ugly inner walls on my boat.
Using carpet over paint will still wear the paint probably worse than with no carpet since the back of the carpet will move when you walk on it and it can be pretty abrasive. (can you say rugburn)
Unsanded gelcoat can be shiney just not smooth, Here is a picture of an antiskid area in front of the patch
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/skibum1m/DSC00591.jpg

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

I am not gelcoating my deck only because the carpet goes up the sides of the boat which are 3 inches of foam covered with fiberglass on both sides. So I just recarpeted the floor and sides. A painted or gelcoated floor would leave very ugly inner walls on my boat.
Using carpet over paint will still wear the paint probably worse than with no carpet since the back of the carpet will move when you walk on it and it can be pretty abrasive. (can you say rugburn)
Unsanded gelcoat can be shiney just not smooth, Here is a picture of an antiskid area in front of the patch

That looks great Ski! So, if lay down the Gel Coat, it may not come out looking like the shine in my dog house, but it will look decent? If I want it smooth and shiny I would need to sand and polish it? Drewpster's deck came out looking just fine to me.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

I ran in to the same question with my deck. Unless you are really careful in the fiberglass layup the deck will end up rough. I spent allot of time making sure the inside of the hull is smooth. But the deck is another matter. I went with gelcoat applied with a roller. I am considering covering this with carpet or a marine vinyl product called Marideck. Either way I agree that gelcoat is going to protect the deck much better than paint. If you are looking for a smooth finish you may want to consider paint with anti-skid in it. Getting those hull sides smooth was challenge enough. I think the rough texture of the deck will only help to keep the deck from being too slippery.

I honestly think that looks great...what was your final layer of glass? Did you go back and sand it smooth after in cured before putting down the GelCoat?

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Coating for my deck

Its about $4.50/sf. If you subtract the area you have fixed seating then its amazing how little floor space needs to be covered. I am going to do it myself.

Ben

I called a rep out in California..closest to me..and he said it was $8.00/sf installed..I told him he had lost his mind. Then he said he would sell it to me for $6.00/sf if I installed it. I told him I still thought that was high. I need to take some hard measurments and figure out exactly how much material I'm going to need.

How many sqft are you going to use? We are pretty much doing the same boat. Heck, I may end up using your rep instead.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Coating for my deck

I might even use the Quikrete or rust-oleum garage floor paints, depending on cost.

I have seen this mentioned a few times on this forum now. My question would be....this stuff is designed for concrete. Is it going to tolerate ANY flex at all without cracking? I'm doubtful.