Treadmaster decking

[tckearney]

Has anybody fitted treadmaster decking?   If so has anybody painted it.   what paint would be used? 

[symphony2]

Yes, and never again. Expensive, hard work to lay properly and even harder work to remove when it needs replacing. Life is comparable to cheap teak, or even shorter. particularly in areas where EV is high. There is a special paint available for it.

Was a good product when it came out more than 40 years ago, but now outmoded by newer products such as fake teak, superior painted finishes like Kiwigrip and even better, standard moulded in non slip patterns.

[tckearney]

Hi Symphony   how long did your last?   I Must agree it is expensive and very hard to lay, with an awfull lot of wasted material.   Ive just about finished but have a few glue marks at the joints.    Hence the painting solution.  I ve been advised the paint should be treadcoat but dont know what is special about that apart from the price. 

[symphony2]

I have two experiences with it. The first was the cockpit floor of a Seawych I built from a kit in the 1970s. The problem I had then was getting it to fit over moulded in ribs without air bubbles and adhesion at the edges despite using the correct glue. However I sold the boat soon after so don't know the long term performance. The second was with a Centaur that had it fitted shortly after it was built around 1968. The boat sat idle in the club marina for about 10 years in the 90's while the owner was off sailing elsewhere. It faced west and on the port side facing south the beige treadmaster had faded and crumbled away, particularly on the coachroof. It was really well stuck down and was a nightmare to remove with the usual assortment of chisels and grinding. Of course the new did not match the rest which had also faded. It was not my boat - I just helped with a bit of graft and the owner lost patience leaving one section to do on the coachroof. Sold the boat and the new owner has painted it. Looks OK. However I knew what I know now I would have suggested the owner ground it all off and coated with Kiwigrip - not an option at the time as it was not available then.