Rawlins Paints Blog Industrial Paint Tips, Guidelines & DIY Articles
Anti-slip treads, tapes and paint should be at the forefront of every business owner’s ‘To-Do List’ this time of year.
Bizarrely in the UK, as the temperature drops, the nights close in and a crisp frost begins to glisten under the afternoon streetlamps, we seem to be drawn to spend more time out and about. People go for walks at country estates, take school trips to ancient monuments (Hadrian’s Wall in November is a memory not easily forgotten), and of course as we enter Halloween and Christmas seasons – we shop!
Nowadays, we must consider liability. The responsibility for avoiding accident caused by the climate now falls resoundingly on the business owner. Even gritting is down due to council cuts, adding further peril to the local shopkeeper for example.
Adding anti-slip to your shopfront is crucial. We all know wet leaves start to make a simple walk to work or the park more testing from October onwards. After the leaves clear, we reach ice season and it is arguably worse again!
For warehouses and larger shopping retailers, you should consider your staff too. It gets dark before 5pm during December and you are going to have people taking stock in and out of your buildings in potentially perilous conditions with hampered vision. This is where luminous paints can also be an excellent investment.
We will look at a variety of ways in which you can maintain a safe environment this winter, ensuring that your focus can be wholly on what is a very busy part of the year for businesses, homes and industries alike.
Rust-Oleum SuperGrip Safe-T-Epoxy
1108 Anti-Slip Luminous Stair Nosings – By Rawlins Paints!
Rust-Oleum SuperGrip Anti-Slip Spray
Anti-Slip Convex Decking Strips from Rawlins Paints
Anti-Slip Floor Paint
We currently have over 30 products in our anti-slip floor paint range – it is an area we cover comprehensively. There are interior and exterior options, easy-clean, UVR anti-slip, deck coatings, traffic paint, as well as road anti-slip. We shall focus on the three major players in anti-slip aggregated coatings – Epoxy resin, MMA and polyurethane.
Application
Application is simple. Ensure you have a completely clean surface, as you always should when painting, remove any grease, oils, stains or similar, repair any damage which may be evident, and be certain that the floor you are applying the paint to is suitably prepared for the product you intend to use.
When mixing anti-slip paint components, it is important to do so thoroughly and regularly so that the anti-slip aggregate is spread evenly through the paint.
Epoxy Resin Paint
Once the paint has been thoroughly mixed, waste no time in applying your first coat. Sometimes this will act as the primer and prepare for the second coat. Be sure to check the manufacturer’s Product Data Sheet before you begin the mixing process, as if there is a particular primer needed too, it will be stated on there. These can be found at the bottom of any product page. Only mix one batch at a time, as pot life can be short.
The drying time for the first coat will vary depending on the product. Again, the Product Data Sheet will tell you this and be sure to factor in the ideal temperature range for drying. To illustrate the process efficiently, we will look at Rust-Oleum SuperGrip Safe-T-Epoxy.
SuperGrip Safe-T-Epoxy takes around 12hours to dry, and the second coating should be applied immediately after (meaning that the whole process can be done in one day). The temperature must be at least 15°C. If there is a draught, even better. Leave this to dry, and ensuring you have followed the application advice, you should have a beautiful, anti-slip floor!
Rust-Oleum SuperGrip Safe-T-Epoxy
Safe-T-Epoxy is a roller applied, traction enhancing epoxy resin coating suitable for use in heavy wear areas. It contains fine, traction enhancing particles embedded in a tough epoxy resin coating and may be applied to concrete and wooden surfaces. It can only be applied on concrete floors which are completely clean and dry. It is not recommended to apply on smooth/dense concrete or concrete containing a curing compound, which will prevent a good adhesion.
Features and Benefits
- Ideal for larger areas
- Easily applied by roller to concrete, stone and timber
- Chemical & wear resistant
- Non-flammable, solvent-free and virtually odour free
- 2 coats in one day
For more inspiration and information on ‘Painting Industrial and Commercial Resin Flooring’, do read our blog that researches further options open to you and more products for this purpose.
MMA Coatings
Methyl Methacrylate flooring systems are great for exterior use. They maintain an excellent aesthetic so that your concrete looks good, can have waterproofing qualities and are tolerant to regular traffic. Furthermore, they have exceptional curing times and can be applied at sub-zero conditions, making the application fast and effective. They are flexible too, which means crack-bridging in higher trafficked areas.
Ennis-Flint MMAXGRIP PRMX 65
PRMX 65 is a versatile MMA coating for application to bituminous substrates, possesses excellent abrasion-resistance and non-skid properties and was developed specifically as a heavy-duty surfacing and can be applied to asphalt substrates without a primer. The product is used as a primer, a topping layer and final course on external surfaces.
Features & Benefits
- Superior abrasion-resistance, PSV of aggregate 70-80
- Superior skid resistance and grip > SRT 65 (SN 640 214 FGSO)
- Resistant to mechanical stress
- Chloride-resistant
A huge selling point to PRMX 65 is its vast colour options. It can be made up in ANY RAL colour. This means you can really get creative and allow your business to pop. It is sensical for car park and restrictive area markings as it is so identifiable, it can give school playgrounds a real spark of character that appeals to children, the same goes for forecourts and cycle paths respectively.
Note: You will need to use the above in conjunction with Ennis-Flint MMAXGRIP PRMX Catalyst and follow the addition advice carefully on the PRMX 65 page.
Polyurethane Coatings
For a hygienic, odourless, yet highly adhesive and resistant coating that can have anti-slip properties, some polyurethane paints can be the answer if you pick the right one. They can be trafficable, highly flexible, cure at low temperatures, be thermal resistant and incredibly chemically resistant. The hygienic composition and resistance to animal fats and other acids can also make polyurethane a wise choice for kitchens, eateries, chemical bunds and refrigerated areas. Some can even be used for roads and bridges.
Smartkote Safekote
We stock three superbly versatile Smartkote products at Rawlins Paints – Protectakote, Protectakote UVR, and Safekote.
Smartkote Safekote is a ready-to-use polyurethane coating that provides an attractive, abrasion resistant anti-slip surface. The fine texture is provided by small silica particles which will not hurt bare feet, making it ideal for showers, change rooms, ablution blocks and other surfaces in environments such as hospitals, hotels or children’s playgrounds. Like the MMA product, Smartkote comes in some really vibrant colours allowing you to use it decoratively as well as compliantly.
Recommended Uses
- Steel
- Galvanised Iron
- Aluminium
- Concrete
- Wood
- Fibreglass
- PVC
- Rubber
- Glazed Tiles
- Gloss Paints and varnish
- Painted metals/motor vehicles
Anti-Slip Decking
Whilst many may have docked their personal boats away for the winter, it is worth noting which products to use for anti-slip decking at this juncture.
Decking invariably becomes perilous due to the nature of its use, and is vital on areas such as helidecks, walkways, ramps, and ship decks in general. If you imagine a trawler’s boat for a moment, out in the North Sea without an anti-slip component during the winter season – tossed from side to side, salt water and fish skirting along its footways – you’d be in danger of getting to know the coastguard all too well.
For the best in the business, we must go to two of our trusted Marine Paint specialists – Jotun and Sherwin-Williams. Both have products in this anti-slip category, but we shall focus on the esteemed Norwegians, Jotun.
NOTE: If your personal boat is due a maintenance project, our British-based marine specialists Teamac, offer Suregrip Deck Paint – an excellent coating designed for sea-based foot traffic over wood, metal, concrete or GRP which can be bought now on our website.
Jotun Jota Armour
Jotun Jota Armour is a three component, abrasion resistant, polyamine cured epoxy coating specially designed as an anti-skid coating. It is both suitable for approved primers or directly onto concrete substrates.
Jota Armour is a genius blend of rough and smooth that creates an incredible anti-slip solution. They combine the smooth finish of a high build epoxy coating with a rough, fused aluminium oxide. This produces a rough surface with deep asperities that allows people and machinery to be used on sloped walkways.
It is approved to UK Defence Standard 80-134/1 for the Royal Navy, flight decks, hangar decks and weather decks, and has pre-qualification testing in accordance with NORSOK M-501, Rev. 5, System 4, suitable for decks and walkways.
Anti-Slip GRP
Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) products are fantastic for application to stairs, steps, floors, and entry points of your building. They make people aware of potential danger and more importantly, aim to minimise it.
1108 Anti-Slip Luminous Stair Nosings – By Rawlins Paints!
We mentioned Halloween and promised luminosity earlier in this piece, so best promptly tackle both!
These stair edge nosings are ultra-hard-wearing to provide an effective anti-slip surface to the most vulnerable area of the step in little or no light. The luminosity provides a highly visible yellow colour in normal light and produces a long lasting luminous green glow in low light.
There’s my Halloween reference. Not only do these nosings offer a much safer path out of your building in the event of a powercut or late at night, they would also look suitably ghoulish on a doorstep this time of year. All you need do is ‘glue and screw’. They are chamfered to reduce risk of tripping and are gritted in texture.
Rust-Oleum SuperGrip Anti-Slip Spray
When discussing anti-slip paint, we discussed Rust-Oleum’s SuperGrip Anti-Slip Paint. Like its sister product, the spray is versatile and can be used on various substrates. It contains anti-slip additives and can be applied to metal, concrete, ceramic or wood. You simply spray it on the vulnerable area and it should be effective after an hour. It also comes in transparent, black and yellow – case it is for a touch-up of a specific shade.
The SuperGrip range also includes anti-slip step covers for both interior and exterior use.
Anti-Slip Convex Decking Strips from Rawlins Paints
Our convex decking strips – that come in 50mm and 100mm – couldn’t be a simpler and more effective solution to slippery decking.
Granted it is chilling rapidly outside, but as we discussed in the opening paragraphs, people are compelled to spend time in the elements! If you have a decking area in your garden or out the front of your home, or perhaps your business has large scale decking areas such as a garden centre or an outside seating area, these decking strips are indispensable.
They can prevent tenants, clients, customers from slipping in water, moss, algae and mould, as well as any other unfortunate mishaps that can befall a decking area. Spilled drinks for example. They can be easily cleaned and are another Rawlins Paints product that can be applied with a simple “glue and screw”.
Anti-Slip Tape
Rawlins Paints stock a range of self-adhesive anti-slip tapes, anti-slip treads and anti-slip tread rolls, complete with cleaners, primers and edge sealer. Available in a range of colours, they provide an instantly safe surface for steps, ramps, floors, vehicles, boats and more.
Anti-slip tape has the advantage of being cost-effective, where whole staircases and walkways can be made safe in minimal time, for very little expense. Anti-slip tapes do not require any specialist application other than following the recommended uses in product data sheets.
Anglo Anti-Slip Tape
Anglo is one of the UK’s leading repair materials manufacturers and are now part of the ever-growing RPM group that includes Rust-Oleum.
Whilst a large number of their anti-slip materials have now been merged with the Rust-Oleum and Mathys ranges, the popular anti-slip tape remains and with good reason. It provides an instant-anti slip surface and is available in Yellow, Black, Hazard and Clear.
It is a really easy, effective way to alert customers, clients and staff of any potential dangers. This time of year as slip risks increase, just placing a hazard tape along a set of steps for example, can make your site safety compliant and avoid all types of injury with the utmost time and economic efficiency.
Anglo Anti-Slip Tread
Anglo Anti-Slip Tread is another user-friendly option that can be applied to concrete, metal or wood surfaces in an instant. Its black finish can look eye-catchingly smart and could hide all manner of sins that may have befallen a staircase over time.
For example, applying these treads to a school staircase will improve safety as children hurtle up and down, whilst giving the school a more revered, delicate finish than perhaps a tired concrete stairwell may. That being said, they are eclectic in use and could be despatched on perilous steps up to a café in an estate open to the public without distracting from the décor.
We also sell surface cleaner, degreaser, primer/sealer and edge sealer to be used in conjunction with the anti-slip tape products to ensure a long-lasting project.
We are Here to Help!
If you have any questions at all for our technical team, please do not hesitate to contact them on 0113 245 5450. Alternatively, you can send an email to [email protected], leave a message on this blog below or drop us a message on social media! We have a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.