Trailer Ramp Door with non-skid epoxy

B

basscat

After years of having a plain plywood finish on our kart racing trailer's ramp door, we got tired of the occasional slips and falls caused when the ramp got wet (rain or dew). I called Barry seeking a solution and he suggested using epoxy with crushed walnut shells as a grip agent. He suggested 1 oz. of shells to 1 quart of epoxy and sent me the shells too. Thank you Barry!

I painted in two different sessions using cheap bristle brushes to cut in the sides/corners and then foam rollers just like you'd use to paint a wall. The foam roller is a one-shot deal so I used 2 foam rollers (from Home Depot) and 2 cheap bristle brushes for the entire project. I used 2 quarts of the black epoxy primer and 2 quarts of activator along with 2 oz. of fine crushed walnut shells.

For the first application, I measured out the shells using a make-shift balance beam with 5 quarters as the counter balance. (I used the internet to determine the various weights of pocket change and that's how I came up with the 5 quarters equaling 1 oz.) Anyway, I noticed that the shells would settle to the bottom of the roller pan but the roller still picked them up and distributed them in a fairly even fashion. I was pleased with the first application and let it sit for two days. For the next session, I took an old mayo jar and drilled holes in the top to make it like a salt shaker. I rolled on the epoxy, sprinkled the shells, waited 30 minutes and then rolled the rest of the epoxy over it. That way worked but, to me, it was more work with no real benefit. I then let the door sit for 2 weeks.

We've been using the ramp every weekend for over a month and a half and it is so much better than before. It is easier to clean and the difference in grip is huge. If the ramp is really wet, we can still walk up and down it without slipping but if we try to push our kart and stand, about 450 lbs., up it with one person, we lose grip because we're leaned so far forward. With two people it is no problem even when wet.

My only regret is that I didn't do this years ago!


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Just curious; why not used the spi bedliner for this? Wouldn't it give you the non-slip grip you need?
 
Lowes sells a non skid product that looks like sand. . .heck it probably is and I paid 10 buck for a quart-haha. I flattened basecoat sprayed a couple of wet coats and used a blow gun to distrubute the material right out of the can, basically. This is on the aluminum floor of my boat for 6 years now without fail.

Walnut shells, cool idea too.
 
I think Barry liked the walnut shells because they absorb some of the epoxy and anchor better than non-porous materials. Of course, once they've absorbed the epoxy and cured, they're no longer porous. Anyway, it is working well for me and the UV additive in the epoxy is a plus.
 
Also it may sound scary the use of walnut shell but they are ground to a pigment size or close to, about like fine sugar.
 
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