We are continually amazed at how often contractors will install an epoxy (or polyurea or polyaspartic) floor coating (especially to garages and outdoor walkways) with little or no effort to make it slip-resistant under its known conditions of use — namely, sometimes wet and/or greasy. This happens in commercial, industrial, and household situations. Here’s what a slippery-when-wet epoxy floor generally looks like close up:

Close-up of slippery epoxy floor

Sometimes there’s no abrasive added to help with wet slip resistance. Other times, the installer thinks that tossing a handful of sand over an acre of floor while it’s curing will prevent a problem. The floor can still be like an ice rink when wet or greasy.

First, sand (silica) is not a durable abrasive for creating slip resistance. The sharp points are brittle, meaning that they soon break off under foot traffic and become ineffective at grabbing the shoe or bare foot. In addition, there must be sufficient abrasive to give the epoxy good slip resistance on all areas of the floor — not just some random scattering of the stuff accompanied by a prayer.

SparkleTuff™ Anti-Slip coating applied directly on top of a slippery epoxy floor solves these problems. (No primer or other treatment or special prep is needed.) Anyone who can paint with a roller can apply it. It contains durable aluminum oxide (alumina) abrasive, and in the right quantity to give excellent wet slip resistance for almost any situation: swimming pool deck, garage, commercial kitchen, plaza, outdoor area, etc. Since the alumina is incorporated in the SparkleTuff™ mix, it is spread uniformly when the coating is applied as directed. Slip resistance when dry is the same as an NBA basketball court. These claims are backed up with laboratory test data, not just some vague promise.

Testing a slippery epoxy floor for slip resistance with the pendulum DCOF tester and ASTM E303-22

The durability of SparkleTuff™ satisfies the McDonalds Restaurants criterion for Sustainable Slip Resistance, meaning that it retains good wet slip resistance even after hundreds of thousands of people have walked over it. When visible signs of wear finally appear, possibly after many years, they can be touched up using SparkleTuff™ in the wear areas.

SparkleTuff™gives you and/or your designer FREEDOM to make an outdoor plaza, floor graphic, pool or spa deck, display kitchen, shower, tub, or ANY floor glossy and in the colors you love, plus give you peace of mind without risk of slipping, dry, wet, or even (within reason) greasy. LOOKS GREAT — NO SLIPS!