I wanted to take my time preparing for the intended non-slip finish, because I didn't really know how to go about it.
The cockpit deck would also receive a non-slip surface but I decided to do the cabin roof first and in isolation, just in case it all went wrong and required rework.
The first realisation was that the jib cleats were in the way and required removal before preparation could begin.
I removed the port cleat and made a right hash of it, trying to remove the silicone sealant with a cheap sealant remover from the DIY store and making a bad job of scraping off the mess.
This was the result.
Absolutely horrible! And all my fault for acting in haste and not using a decent sealant remover.
So some damage repair was required.
I did consider trying to make an elegant circular border around the cleats, but eventually realised it was pointless and that the best thing would be to make the whole roof area non-slip and embed the cleats in it wherever they might be.
It was also not impossible that the jib cleats would need to be moved after shake-down, if they proved to be in the wrong place, so the simplest installation would be best.
So I elected to repaint the damaged area and fair it back into the surrounding painted deck, ready for the non-slip finish.
The damaged patch was dry sanded by hand, using P180/220/280/320 and 400 grits.
Here is the result.
Three coats of primer followed, again carefully sanding back between coats by hand to a flat surface.
I used a small roller and brush to then apply gloss, like this.
This is the first coat of gloss paint on the patched area.
It was not looking too bad.
So I wet sanded the gloss with a P400 grit when dry, like this.
Two more coats of gloss followed, sanded between coats.
Here is the third and final coat.
Lastly I wet sanded the repaired area yet again with a P400 grit, in anticipation of the non-slip finish.
Here it is.
Finally came the time to prepare for the non-slip finish itself.
This required masking off the port and starboard cabin roof areas, so they provided an attractive and effective surface for bare feet when they received the non-slip treatment.
I practiced on the port roof, which entailed a lot of stop/start/rework activities. I won't subject you to the agony of the learning process, but will skip straight to the starboard roof with a description of how it was eventually done.
First 18mm 3M 244 tape was used to mask off the toe rail, following its contour along the outer edge of the roof. Like this.
18mm seemed and looked like the right width for the border at the rail.
Next I used the laser level to mark up the forward and upper edges of the roof, again using 18mm tape.
This is the level secured by its magnet to the garage door.
And here is the laser being used to mark in the upper edge of the roof, next to the companionway.
This edge was taped in at 1" from the centre of the fillet on the hood, which again just looked right.
The same method was used to mark up the forward edge.
This pic shows all the edges taped in.
I made a wider border around the halyard cleats, using 24mm tape, like this.
That width of the border again seemed right - any narrower or wider didn't work, somehow.
I used a plastic bottle top to mark up the rounded corners.
This is the front end of the roof.
And here is a view of the whole starboard cabin roof, all taped up.
That all looked good thus far.
Next came the task of preparing the surface for the non-slip finish itself.
This would involve applying a layer of fresh gloss and covering it with a non-slip compound by Awlgrip - more about this in a future post.
So the masked off areas were wet sanded with the usual P400 grit, ready for more gloss.
Here we are wet sanding the masked off areas of the starboard cabin roof.
And this is the port cabin roof after sanding.
Lastly, this pic shows how the repainted patch on the port side blends back into the paintwork.
That looks just great now. All will be well - hopefully.
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