Looking for suggestions on concrete traction paint or covering.

Just for fun

Just for fun

Tim Young
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
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Oct 7, 2020
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The floor in our pole barn (Open on all sides) was finished to a nice smooth almost shinny finish. Little did I know at the time that it would make an almost ice-skating rink slickness in the winter with a little bit of snow.

I'm thinking some sort of textured paint. Everything I have looked at so far has mixed reviews. Any suggestions?

I think for the rest of this winter I'm going to pick up a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet. For at least where we park our ATVs.
 
We had a similar problem with our screened porch. Painted the floor and it was slick, especially with snow on it Went to the paint store and they sold us "fancy sand" to mix in the paint. When it got warm enough we repainted the floor with paint that we mixed in this sand. Have to say, that it works quite well. No longer slick.

However, don't use the paint on other stuff, just the floor.
 
A long time ago, I worked as a life guard at the local pool.
We had some weathered concrete that was slippery enough that we had to do something about it.
We brushed on Muriatic Acid, and let it eat the concrete for 30-odd minutes.
After we hosed it off, no more slippery.........

But realistically, having a 1M gallon pool made getting rid of the Muriatic Acid simple.
I think I would consider the "fancy sand" over the acid trip unless there was a good and convenient place to deal with the acid residue.
 
Mitch Alsup said:
A long time ago, I worked as a life guard at the local pool.
We had some weathered concrete that was slippery enough that we had to do something about it.
We brushed on Muriatic Acid, and let it eat the concrete for 30-odd minutes.
After we hosed it off, no more slippery.........

But realistically, having a 1M gallon pool made getting rid of the Muriatic Acid simple.
I think I would consider the "fancy sand" over the acid trip unless there was a good and convenient place to deal with the acid residue.
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It was amazingly simple to do. Add sand, stir and paint. End of problem.
 
If your worried about the looks of sand they do sell white sand. Like said mix it in with the paint or just a clear coat. I epoxied my floor grey and added the white sand to the clear.
Had two gallons of loctite brand floor paint that was designed for high traffic no slip paint. Used a gallon in a bathroom at my wife’s warehouse. Stuff was thick to lay down very sandy. When mixing it felt like 1\4 of the gallon was solid sand. Floor turned out amazing, super thick durable no slip matte finish.
 
Many long years (~50+) ago, when I was a Coastie, I served on several small ships and uncountable "small" boats. Any vessel that had steel or fiberglas decks was painted with a sand mix. Many "real" ships, which the Navy guys called big boats, had wooden (teak?) overlays, but smaller ships had sand paint over the smooth deck surfaces. I don't know the grade of sand or how much per gallon. It came premixed with a GSA stock number. Any surface that would get wet (on a ship!) was so painted.

"Play" sand is a "worst case" solution, available from Home Depot and Lowe's fairly cheap. Foundry molding sand, white silica, is at the other end of the spectrum. In any case, be sure the sand is dry when added. The coarser the sand the better the grip. But, the finer the sand, the less likely a scar from falling.
WobblyHand said:
It's about 16oz of "sand" to a gallon of paint. It makes your paintbrush a throw away, but the surface is non slip.
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About a pound per gallon is a starting point. Mix it up and try in a low traffic area. Add or subtract to taste, and sand density(size). Rollers will work, brushes do better. "Whitewash" brushes are cheap and have wide coverage.. The paint must be constantly stirred when working.

I can tell you from experience that anything beyond a light frost, the sand doesn't help that much. Ice buildup negates the traction of the sand.

.
 
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Bi11Hudson said:
I can tell you from experience that anything beyond a light frost, the sand doesn't help that much. Ice buildup negates the traction of the sand.
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Totally agree, if the snow or ice is higher than the sand, it doesn't help much. For wet surfaces, the sand is great.
 
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