Roof paint recommendations?

[Gareth E]

I repainted my roof 2 years ago with a light grey industrial floor paint. It's great for anti slip (I cruise/ do locks solo) but it's very difficult to clean and when I do, a grey residue runs down the sides which is a pain to clean off. Also there are some rusty areas where I didn't prepare properly. All in all it's time to do a proper job.

 

Ideally I'd like a gloss paint, light grey but I'm a bit concerned it might be slippery in the wet. Can anyone recommend a decent paint that will do the job? And if it's likely to be slippery, how I can treat the important areas to make them non slip?

 

Oh and is the existing paint likely to be ok to paint over with the new paint, obviously properly cleaned up and rust removed and primed where necessary?

 

Cheers. 

[ditchcrawler]

our boat has Epifanes non slip grey and the colour hasn't washed off that to any degree. I hope this is the link as on a very slow connection https://www.epifanes.com/page/nonskid

[mrsmelly]

We have a " Raddle " finish.

[Richard10002]

I've used Craftmaster Raddle Grey. It's not gloss, and not quite matt, so may suit you. It has what seems to be a grippy/rubbery feel to it and I've been quite happy walking on the roof with it, although, with no locks for miles, I dont go on the roof often.

[Tony Brooks]

I have Protektacote on the roof but it tends to shed pigment after a few years. It has been over painted  a few time with floor paint which again shed pigment. I over-coated that with some form of semi mat/gloss oil based paint from Crown and its not too bad pigment wise but it tends to look a bit dirty where it has work off the top of the Protekacote rubber granules. I intend to over-paint it again in similar from Johnstones. This is over close to a 20 year period.

[rgreg]

My roof is sanded and glossed. Has lasted well, looks good, and provides excellent grip. 

[Boater Sam]

Gloss and sand it in strips or a pattern to make it look interesting.

[rgreg]

Just now, Boater Sam said:

Gloss and sand it in strips or a pattern to make it look interesting.

Sanded and glossed rectangles with un-sanded gloss borders. 

[adrianh]

If you used the standard oil based grey floor paint (similar to old gloss paint) you will not be able to cover this with any other proper boat paint as the solvent content will lift or bubble the flooring paint. To get a lasting job total removal is required.

Did you check the spec for the grey paint as the paints I have used say not suitable for external floors

[Gareth E]

I've checked the old paint tin. It's suitable for indoors and outdoors. Although it doesn't say whether it's oil based it says brushes should be cleaned with white spirit so I assume it's oil based. What type of paint could I put over the top of it? The thought of removing it all isn't a great one! 

[Tony Brooks]

The floor paint I used specifically said it was OK outside but I doubt that is available now.

 

I don’t see how the vast majority of oil based solvents will bubble the vast majority of cured oil based paints. Its things with cellulose type solvents and possibly xzylene (spelling) may give problems.

[adrianh]

Tony, you are correct but I have only seen boat paints that are the xylene or other quick drying thinner based, so react with oil/white spirit based gloss finish paints, although it does not seem to be a problem over red oxide oil based primer so much.

I have a similar problem on the roof of my boat were the proper boat paint applied over domestic oil based undercoat over 10 years ago has now cracked and is lifting in many places.

I have learnt the hard way that with painting you cannot take the cheap option if you want it to last!

[Bee]

I have had no success with floor paint on roofs and decks, it seems to lift if water pools on it, most 'deck paint' seems to be full of grit except for a Jotun paint but that seems to be only available in a big expensive tin. Others may know better.

[MtB]

I use Craftmaster Raddle Grey. Works very well on roofs and I walk on mine a LOT, being a single hander too. 

[Tony Brooks]

12 hours ago, adrianh said:

Tony, you are correct but I have only seen boat paints that are the xylene or other quick drying thinner based, so react with oil/white spirit based gloss finish paints, although it does not seem to be a problem over red oxide oil based primer so much.

I have a similar problem on the roof of my boat were the proper boat paint applied over domestic oil based undercoat over 10 years ago has now cracked and is lifting in many places.

I have learnt the hard way that with painting you cannot take the cheap option if you want it to last!

 

Well, I have had a small problem on the roof with cracking and lifting in a small area but upon inspection it was clear I did not prep it adequately, not enough keying and I suspect inadequate degreasing.

 

After bad experiences with Craftmaster raddle grey AND a well known second line boat enamel (Craftmaster shed loads of pigment almost from just applied & the other paint refused to "run out" after application) I have been using Crown or now Johnstons professional oil based paint for some years on the boat and it seems as good as the premium brands and the red Johnstones is far less prone to fading than the original Masons. I am not talking about paint from the DIY sheds.

 

 

[Gareth E]

Seeing as my existing paint is oil based might I be better going for an oil based gloss, nothing special, rather than a paint designed for boats?

 

Also with sanding, is it simply a matter of sprinkling sand over the gloss before it has set? If so, would a second coat of gloss destroy the anti slip property? Also, is there a particular type of sand that's best for the job?

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Gareth E said:

Also with sanding, is it simply a matter of sprinkling sand over the gloss before it has set? If so, would a second coat of gloss destroy the anti slip property? Also, is there a particular type of sand that's best for the job?

Yes, kiln dried sand (like they use on block paving) is sprinkled onto the wet paint. When the paint has dried the excess sand is swept off and another coat of gloss is applied. 

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, WotEver said:

Yes, kiln dried sand (like they use on block paving) is sprinkled onto the wet paint. When the paint has dried the excess sand is swept off and another coat of gloss is applied. 

 

Don't forget to mask the edges first or you won't get clean lines.

[MtB]

2 hours ago, WotEver said:

Yes, kiln dried sand (like they use on block paving) is sprinkled onto the wet paint. When the paint has dried the excess sand is swept off and another coat of gloss is applied. 

 

I’ve done this and it works brilliantly, except I used ‘silver sand’ sold for use in childrens’ sand pits as it contains no clay. 

 

Also, pile the sand on thick to get a perfectly uniform texture rather than lightly sprinkling. I also found the coat on top of the hoovered-off sand uses phenomenal quantities of paint! 

[WotEver]

1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I used ‘silver sand’ sold for use in childrens’ sand pits as it contains no clay.

That’s probably the correct stuff to use, thinking about it. 

[Dav and Pen]

On our narrow boats we always used red oxide gloss on the roof. It wasn’t very shiny and not slippery. Found crown was the best brand. Now on my barge in France I use spirt based gloss paints as we don’t jump onto the roof any more and satin finish deck paint on the gunwales which are wide enough to walk round. Tried the so called non slip sand stuff but just couldn’t keep in clean.

As paint in France is horrendously expensive we bring it with us and have been using “paint4trade.com for the last few years who besides their own brand have jotun, flag, teamac etc.

i have no connection with this firm.

[Bee]

15 hours ago, Dav and Pen said:

 

As paint in France is horrendously expensive we bring it with us and have been using “paint4trade.com for the last few years who besides their own brand have jotun, flag, teamac etc.

 

I agree, paint is astonishingly expensive, I'm sure that's why the French invented 'shabby chic' - can't afford to repaint anything.

Edited June 2, 2018 by Bee
can't spell this morning

[Neil Smith]

To the ops original question, you can paint over the floor paint with any paint if you use a sealer coat first.

Neil

[Gareth E]

2 hours ago, Neil Smith said:

To the ops original question, you can paint over the floor paint with any paint if you use a sealer coat first.

Neil

Thanks, a sealer coat, would oil based undercoat do that job or is it something specific?

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Gareth E said:

Thanks, a sealer coat, would oil based undercoat do that job or is it something specific?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-b-i-n-shellac-based-primer-sealer-2-5ltr/10130