i550class.org

Hi guys,

have any of you applied non skid paint onto the cockpit side panels ? İ am not talking about the side "upper panels" but really the side panels, the ones that are pretty much at 90 degrees to the cockpit floor.
İ know its kind of a weird question but here is the deal. İ was a bit sloppy with the fairing of my cockpit because İ had in mind it would later be covered with non skid paint. İ was right except İ forgot the lateral panels.... So after applying my first coat of White Perfection İ can clearly see that those cockpit side panels are not really nice and smooth.
İ want to maintain those side panels white (as the rest will be covered with light grey KiwiGrip) and İ could probably leave them this way but my perfectionism pushes me to improve that look. Too late for fairing now, so İ was thinking about giving the white a little texture to hide some of the imperfections. Few options crossed my mind such as applying another coat of Perfection with somekind of a textured roll (like the ones that is used to apply KiwiGrip) or using a little bit of non slip additive on my last coat. İn the worst case cenario İ could apply the Kiwi to the sides as well but then the whole cockpit would pretty much be grey....

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Ps : our forum needs a boost !

Jerome, it is a shame our two boats will probably never be side by side, there's so many similarities. I also didn't spend extra time fairing out the cockpit area. Your idea using a textured roller might just be the ticket. On my finish I mist coated the final clear and it gave everything a slightly textured look. Instead of trying to sand and buff it all out I opted to leave the cockpit area alone. Nonskid was applied only to the deck areas. Somewhere I remember reading a discussion on nonskid being applied to the sides. The thought was to give some traction if ever knocked down flat. I figure if I get that far over I'll have bigger problems then missing traction. If you still have some test panels around try the roller method, you just might be pleasantly surprised with the results and it gives a nice break from the finish on the rest of the boat.

Thanks Jon,
İt is pretty cool to conceive that 2 persons from very different backgrounds , countries etc... are actually very much in synch because of the issues they are both facing with their building... ! İ love that. Our world is a small place.
Back to reality now.....İ will try the texture roll and see what comes out . Will keep you informed of progress. İ am really close to finishing now, just missing the non skid and bolting the hardware But İ will be on hold for the next 2 weeks since İ am going back to Brazil to spend a well deserved vacation. Poor me.....

Bringing back an old topic - What is the current thinking on the best grip paint? I'm going to paint the deck in the next week or so. Kiwigrip seemed to be there previous consensus choice. Any new thoughts?

Phil