Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

September, 2002

NON-SLIP OR NON-SKID FLOOR PAINTS AND COATINGS

Q. What paints could I use in factory to prevent fork lits and people slipping in the wet months ahead?

A. Most paint companies sell paints that cab be use to coat floors for the specific purpose of preventing "slip and fall" cases. Since there are numerous lawsuits annually because of people who slip and hurt themselves, sometimes seriously, especially during the wet months, you are taking a prudent step in coating your factory floor.

When you select the paint I suggest that you pay specially attention to the abrasive that it incorporated in the paint, or added to the paint after it has been applied - depending on the coating formulation.

If the abrasive it too fine, you will loose the benefit of the nonskid properties. On the himself/herself on the coarse abrasive.

Epoxy coatings are often recommended because they are tough and relatively abrasion resistant, but there are other coatings that are also often used.

One last point: After you have coated the floor you might want to recoat it in a few years because it might look dirty ... in fact it probably will look dirty because the abrasive will tend to hold onto the dirt. When you perform the recoating make sure that you once again incorporate abrasive in the fresh coat of paint. I have seen nonskid floors that have been recoated once or more with non-abrasive conventional paints that have essentially covered the original abrasives and left the final finish fairly smooth.

If you search one of the search engines, such as google.com for "nonskid floor paint" and "non-skid floor paint", you will find a host of references