Textured paint for home woody

I’ve seen some posts on here saying to use textured paint (like Behr textured deck paint) rather than latex paint with silica sand due to flaking off over time.

For those who have used it, how is the grip compared to the silica method or anything else?

What angle are you building at where you even need grip on the plywood surface?

Karl Walters wrote: What angle are you building at where you even need grip on the plywood surface?

It’s actually for the volumes I’ll be making. But the wall itself will be 25°

Ah word. I've seen people just mix fine sand into the paint.

Zinsser roll-a-Tex paint additive 

Behr Deck Over Textured is hard wearing. So far, there's two in a heavily populated gym that have worked out great.

Stir it often, because the sand settles quickly. Paint thinner coats rather than thicker, but be sure there's enough on your brush that you dont start pulling off the previous paint. Always paint from the wet line, and do not go back over what is already setting up. This is basic painting really, but this thick paint can get really ugly if you dont watch it.

I ended up doing about 7 coats on each, and it took a little less than a gallon per volume, but they were big, so judge your paint usage on how much surface you're covering.  I tried out one pass with a slightly thicker coat, and it sucked. It becomes more gummy and takes forever to set up. I'd say you cant really go overboard on thin coats. Do 10 if you want it to last forever.

If you mess up and get strokes you cant fix with the brush, just take a putty knife, scrap it all off, and start over for the entire coat, if you don't want there to be brush marks. It wont mess with the previous coat.

Honestly, there's probably a better way to apply it, but a brush is an easy way to control the thickness of each coat. The right roller may be your best bet though.

This stuff is so tough, you could probably create random textures with the brush, for extra foot options, but they could also interfere with a hold when bolted down. Just a thought. I may make a small one to try that and keep it uniform enough that it wont affect holds.

Btw, I've never mixed my own paint and sand, so I dont know how that compares. The Behr seems to hold the texture well, and it works well for climbing rubber.

Texture paints are available in different forms like distemper, emulsion or enamel paints.

LiteBlue USPS

As a contracted painter for more than 15 years, I can without a doubt tell you that Behr paint in general is total crap. All big box store paint is junk. Lowe’s, Home Depot, ACE, they’re all crap. They’re just a bit cheaper, due to the lower grade materials they use. Quality paint can only be found at a legitimate paint store, like Sherwin-Williams, PPG, Kelly Moore etc… They all sell a high surface wear paint. An Epoxy is the best. A two part Epoxy is by far the best, but a hassle due to the working time and cleanup. The water base Epoxy by Sherwin-Williams pictured above is an example of what I’m talking about. Kelly Moore sells a Dura-Poxy which is high grade as well. You can sometimes find these paints at big box stores, but you need to know what you’re looking at.

Don’t use texture sand like skidtex or any of that stuff used for a grippy walking surface. The pre-mixed textured paint is better, but really no good for this situation either because in both situations, the abrasive is highly angular creating sharp edges in the abrasive. This helps under your street shoes, but is brutal on your skin and too abrasive for the soft rubber on climbing shoes. Instead, use a fine grit blasting medium used in “sand blasting”. They are extremely cheap and there are a lot of options to fine tune the texture. Choose one which is not angular or sharp, like glass beads, Staurolite, or Garnet. Not Aluminum Oxide or Steel Grit which is too sharp. Choose one that is somewhere between 180 to 300 grit. For surfaces that will be used by your hands, the finer grit (250-300) is best. If it’s just your shoes, you can go a little coarser. Most volumes in gyms are around 250 grit, but are typically sprayed on so tend to feel a bit more coarse due to the surface the sprayer application creates.

Grit can be easily found online or at stores like Harbor Freight and Home Depot. Online has the best options and is typically cheaper. Hope that helps. 

Oh, and don’t mix the grit in the paint. It creates a pattern from the roller and tends to clump. Instead, put a fresh coat on and sprinkle the grit onto the wet surface. You can make a sprayer for vertical surfaces with a soda bottle and air compressor. Do a YouTube search. It’s simple to make. One person could be rolling, the other applying the grit.

Let it dry. Brush off any loose grit and apply another thin coat of paint. Let it dry. Repeat this process for at least three coats. It will build up the surface and even out any irregularities in the texture for an even surface. Finish with a thin coat of paint. As the paint surface wears. A new layer of grit will be exposed.