Seems like it’s taken forever to get to this point but we finally got the non-skid rolled in the cockpit last weekend. I’m not sure why I’ve had such a hard time assembling my thoughts into written word lately. KiwiGrip has been done for a week and I can’t think of anything to say about it.
Writer’s block? Maybe it’s like when people block out traumatic experiences and can’t recall what happened except under severe hypnotherapy? I’m just glad to be done with this phase of the project and I’m ready to move on to something else, I suppose. I did however discover a handy new toy to play with while I was painting. The Preval sprayer consists of a little glass jar for your paint and an aerosol can that pushes it out the nozzle. I wouldn’t try to paint a whole boat with it or anything, but since the last couple coats of Brightside gloss were just narrow little strips between large expanses of non-skid, I figured I’d give it a try. It worked out pretty well, and, except for all the masking and prep work involved, spraying beats brushing any day of the week.
After several days of watching paint dry (chilly, damp mornings and cool afternoon temperatures) I figured it was finally safe to mask off the cockpit without peeling up fresh paint. We laid out the areas to remain as paint and then used the good 3M tape for delicate surfaces to delineate our pattern. As usual, prep is most of the project and masking took us the better part of the day. After that, a light sanding up to the edge of the tape to give the Kiwi some “teeth” in the new paint. Then it was a simple matter of smearing on the KiwiGrip with a brush, rolling it out with their special roller cover to achieve the desired texture, and carefully peeling up the tape before it dried. I had a few spots to touch up the next day, but the good thing about KiwiGrip is that it’s pretty easy to touch up and make repairs when needed. All in all, I’m very pleased with the results, but even more pleased that I can take a break from sanding and painting for a while.
WOW !! So beautiful! Good job