Look for kiwi grip. if you are going with a one-part paint thats is probably your best bet. 2 part epoxies are the best rout to take with broadcasted rubber pellets. You wont see any life out of any paint without proper surface preparation. If you use two part you have to remove all existing one part coatings (pettit easypoxy, brightside, etc..) The solvent/catalyst within the two part will often eat up the single part component. If you wanted it to be done right, sand your entire deck with an 80grit orbital sander removing the gloss or any residue from the deck. even after 20 years of wear and tear there can still be traces of the mold release agent within the gel coat which will not allow subsequent coats of paint to adhere. After sanding and prior to initial coating, wash the substrate with some tsp, trisodium phosphate and water, scrub really good and rinse very good. I would solvent whipe with acetone. if you dont think you sanded very well i would use something stronger, because acetone flashes to rapidly not allowing wax relases/residue to be removed. If you are going two part i would most def. apply a high build primer/barrier coat. after you have applied the initial primer, take your ruber pellets (anti slip additive) and broadcast them on top of your high build primer while wet. While still tacky (thumb print test - leaves a thumbprint but does not come off on your thumb) apply your first coat of two part urethane (Pitthane ultra, interlux perfection, awlgrip etc...). Count on 2-3 coats but this stuff goes a long way. If recoating has not been done while tacky it shall be abraded with 120 -220 sandpaper, and solvent whiped. If done correctly this will last a good 15 years. I love the pitthane ultra, i used it on the outside and have hit it with the anhor and couldnt tell. When using a 2 part epoxy/urthane you HAVE to wear a respirator.
Your other bet is the kiwigrip which is a single part but i have heard extremely good things about it. Its gloss retention is far superior to the durabak, and is easier on the feet. However the same surface preparation shall be performed. Nothing will ever adhere to gelcoat or anything else unless it is sanded. No such thing as overkill in surface preparation. the difference in a proffesional painter and a novice is 10% skill and 90% surface prep. Alot of people blame coating failure on the paint when it is 90% of the time a result of poor surface prep.
Sorry to ramble on but i couldnt imgagine having to repaint my deck every 3 years. Same thing as measure twice cut once. Whipe and sand 2k times and paint once.
A good thing to do once you have chosen a paint is contact manufact. and ask for thier product data sheet. Or ask for several manuf's data sheets and compare.
Good luck,
Ben,
Proffesional Industrial Marine Coatings Engineer Northrup Grumman - and yes i hate it
