[TowerTalk] painting concrete

[Patrick Greenlee]

In the yachting community we use ground walnut shell on painted surfaces 
to create a non-slip surface even when wet (with proper foot wear.)

More aggressive non skid can be made with silica sand.  I have seen and 
experienced rather course silica sand non-skid surfaces that would 
definitely be something you wouldn't want to fall down on but of course 
they offered excellent traction and reduced fall risk.  Commercial 
fishing boats (tuna clippers with helo pads on their pilot houses) were 
the source of my silica sand experience.

With ground walnut shell or silica sand one successful procedure is to 
paint  the surface and while the paint is tacky spread the non-skid 
material generously over it.  When dry, sweep off all the loose material 
and then give it another coat of paint.  Another method of application I 
have seen is to mix the non-skid material (walnut or silica sand) into 
the second coat of paint and apply/spread it with a roller.

Not all sands are created equal.  Child's "Play Sand" from the big box 
store is inferior for non-skid. Silica sand has sharp edges which make 
for a much better non-skid effect, even when coated with paint. Larger 
course silica sand has terrific non-skid properties.  Remember to wear 
dust protection to avoid inhaling silica dust as once in your lungs it 
is PERMANENT and silicosis is not something you want. After the silica 
sand is painted and any non coated product is removed there is no 
inhalation danger.  It is the fine dust that causes a problem not the 
grains of sand.

Patrick        NJ5G


On 2/7/2017 2:53 AM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
> My shop has many coats of 2 part epoxy.
>
> I needed to cut some wood on the table saw and didn't have a dust 
> collector yet, so I laid down several sheets of polyethylene. That 
> worked great, except... there was some very fine dust that made its 
> way past the sheets. I took one steep onto the painted floor. The only 
> time I ever went down that fast and hard, was forgetting to take the 
> guards off my ice skated.  That hurt! At least I didn't break anything.
> At the W end of the shop, the S side has an 8' garage door.  I simply 
> rented a very heavy, orbital sander and used a coarse sand paper to do 
> a strip 8' wide from that door across the end of the shop. It worked 
> as well inside and left a better finish than using sand or an anti 
> slip compound.
>
> The aprons for the garage and shop are painted with epoxy "with a lot 
> of sand mixed in!
>
> 73
>
> Roger (K8RI)
>
> On 2/6/2017 2:57 PM, greenacres113 at charter.net wrote:
>>
>>     You want to paint tower bases go to it. However, I beg you not to
>> paint concrete steps & walks. Unless you use the 'sand' paint or other
>> textured gripper paint. You can't imagine how slippery painted
>> concrete is when wet. As a retired postal carrier I know. Two of my
>> fellow carriers got their arms broken on painted concrete. If you
>> insist on painting steps & walks please add the wide stick- on grip
>> pads. The law suit you save might be yours. I lost a full uniform [
>> big $$$] because a teenager drained a car radiator down a sloping
>> concrete driveway. The homeowner bought me a new uniform & was
>> thrilled I didn't break any bones. Been there done that.
>>
>>     K9IL
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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>
>