Frank W. coated his 14 foot aluminum flat bottom boat with non-slip Olive Durabak18 on the inside and outside. He calls it the Duck Assassin. With apologies to PETA, we think the name fits.

Want to make your own? Here's some pro tips:

Aluminum can be difficult to coat since smooth surfaces provide little for polyurethane to bond to. If you plan on applying Durabak to aluminum keep these in mind:

• Before beginning any Durabak application, clean the surface thoroughly. Make sure it dries completely.
• For aluminum and smooth finished surfaces, roughen the surface to be coated with 30-50 grit sandpaper.
• If the surface does not become rough easily, you may need to apply a primer before using Durabak.
• Once the surface is rough and/or primed, Durabak rolls on and bonds just as well as it does to any other surface!

The Duck Assassin's humble roots.

Frank reveals his coating of choice - Olive Durabak18

Several years ago I applied Durabak to the working deck of my 26 Maycraft boat, but I hadn't properly prepared the surface. The sea and sun took its toll and I decided to reapply - this time with proper surface preparation. I pulled all damaged or loose material, completey cleaned the remaining material and deck with bleach cleaner, sanded all exposed deck with a medium course sandpaper and smoothed the edges some. I taped it all off similar to the first application and then applied a first coat only to the bare spots making sure I flooded the edges to minimize the breaks with the second coat. I let it dry for 24 hrs and applied the second coat filling the edges and smoothing it out. I hand brushed the entire job. When the second coat had dried overnight, I used a straight edge and a matt knife to cut loose from the painters tape and pulled it loose with no problem. As you can see by the pictures, this is a custom color, made by mixing 1 quart of white smooth Durabak18 with 2 quarts of light green Durabak18 non-slip. I used no additive on this redo. I especially like the rubber additive as it is easy on the feet and really prevents slipping. My deck was extremely dangerous without the coating.

Didn't do it right the first time?

One of the reasons that Durabak is the most versatile and reliable coating around is that even if you mess up an application, Durabak is easy to repair!

• Durabak naturally bonds to itself, so for damaged surfaces a quick clean and coat-over is often all that is needed.
• If the underlying substrate was prepared improperly, peel off any Durabak which hasn't bonded and is easily removable.
• Then follow standard Durabak application instructions.

Leon's old Durabak job wasn't done properly. This coating has seen better days.

This time around Leon decides to do things right - notice the taped edges, which ensure the clean lines in the top picture.

Robert C. - My Jeep Can Beat Up Your Jeep

Other Case Studies

The USS Theodor Roosevelt CVN-71 (US Navy)

The following pdf is a one-year follow-up report on the installation of Durabak Polyurethane Coating on the deck of a wet space/washroom 03-88-3-L on the USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71.

View the Report Here

ADA Compliance Tests with Curb Ramp Surface System

The following is a newspaper report on the New Jersey Department of Transportation's field test on Safti-Trax, a detectable warning system based on Durabak.

View the Report Here