No, but I used cork instead. 

   Sorry I can't answer the paint question but do have some deck pad advice.  Look around online for a deck pad you like and don't spare the expense.  You've worked hard and spent a lot of money on the kaholo and a cheap or ugly deck pad vs a really nice one can make all the difference.  I don't know if I can tout a brand on this forum but will say I spent about $120 on mine and it was hard to swallow at first but I've never regretted it.

The deck pads provided with the kit are SeaDek material. I haven't built a Kaholo, but I've used SeaDeck on a couple of my boats. The stuff is resilient (one of its features) and as a result it flexes a whole lot.  Even if you could get Brightsides to stick to it, the normal flexing from using it as a pad will cause the paint to crack. It'll look bad, then as water gets under the paint through the cracks, it'll look even worse. If you want to change the color, buy some of the correct color from the manufacturer. It comes in 19 colors.

Good luck,

Laszlo