Get a Grip: Grip Coatings 101

What Are Grip Coatings?

From packing up precious cargo to securing factory flooring, some things just need to stick. Whether you work in transportation and need to safely load and unload cargo or spend your days packaging products, it’s imperative to achieve the right traction. Grip coatings are specialized coatings or materials that have been engineered to increase the traction on various surfaces. This allows for safer environments less prone to slippage. Sometimes referred to as non-skid or even anti-slip coatings, these applications are widely used in industrial, commercial, and transportation settings. 

Follow along as HTS Coatings explores the practical uses, benefits, and types of grip coatings.

Why Use Grip Coatings?

Safety first! No matter your industry, grip coatings can play an important role in enhancing the safety of your work area. In both commercial and residential environments, grip coatings can greatly reduce the risk of slips, falls, and other workplace accidents.

One of the main benefits of implementing a grip coating is increased traction and durability. These essential anti-slip coatings create a more rough or textured surface, which can allow for greater grip even when exposed to a wet or slippery environment. Also, many grip coatings have been formulated for both durability and versatility. This means they can be used on a wide range of surfaces and can withstand a high volume of wear and tear, including abrasion and exposure to various chemicals. Anti-slip coatings can be used on surfaces as hard and unforgiving as concrete to natural wood or metals. Grip coatings are infinitely customizable and can be applied in smoother or rougher textures depending on the specific purpose of the application.

Many manufacturers favor grip coatings for not only their simple application process but also their weather and chemical resistance. A variety of grip coatings were engineered to retain their texture when faced with harsh conditions such as corrosive chemicals and drastic temperature fluctuations.

Types of Grip Coatings

Due to their multiple uses, as well as miscellaneous variations, formulations, and applications, there are many types of grip coatings to choose from. 

Some of the most common coating types used within packaging, shipping, and manufacturing are:

• Water-based anti-slip coatings: These coatings are mainly used to increase friction to prevent packaged items from shifting, especially during transport.

• Polyurethane coatings: Often used in shipping, this coating is lauded for its toughness, versatility, and UV resistance. It also works well with materials such as metal, wood, fiberglass, and concrete.

• High-friction coatings: A great example of this coating is a composite diamond coating (CDC). These coatings are typically based on electroless nickel with embedded hard particles and used on metal parts to augment friction, grip, and torque.

• Thermal spray coatings: Regularly used for material transport, this specialized coating can be applied via arc spray, HVOF, and plasma and creates a rough surface for materials such as wire and bar mill rolls. The coating roughness can be tailored to the needs of the end user.

• Rubber-based and PVC/PU coatings: This is a broad category of coatings that can contain both Polyurethane and Polyvinyl Chloride applications used for items such as conveyor belts, rollers, and gloves. Both of these coatings can increase friction and grip in wet and dry environments. 

• Nitrile coatings: Optimally leveraged in an industrial setting, this coating is known for its unparalleled resistance to abrasion, oil, grease, and chemicals and comes in many variations which offer differing degrees of grip characteristics.

• Epoxy coatings: One of the more well-known coatings, epoxy is highly advantageous thanks to its ability to form a hard, durable, chemically resistant, and waterproof barrier. It can often be combined with aggregates such as sand and aluminum oxide to create extremely effective non-skid floor coatings for industrial use.

Where to Use Grip Coatings

Odds are if you look around your local supermarket or a nearby construction site, you can spy some grip coatings in action. 

Since providing tread, friction, and anti-slippage is crucial for many industries, it’s common to see these coatings at work in:

• Industrial production - Anti-slip coatings can be found covering handles, levers, and other surfaces to provide a secure grip for heavy machine operators. Additionally, specialized rough coatings may be applied to mill rolls to provide the essential initial grip for feeding raw materials.

• Packaging & logistics - A popular use of anti-slip in packing is palletization, during which the coating is applied to the surface of materials such as boxes, bags, or inter-layer sheets to prevent goods from shifting, toppling, and getting damaged during storage and/or transportation.

• Construction & infrastructure - Heavy construction equipment as well as floors and walkways also benefit from a hefty dose of traction. These applications can increase the texture of the surface, making environments such as warehouses, walkways, and ramps safer.

• Automotive Industry - Specialised high-friction coatings can help cars run more efficiently thanks to their application on bolted connections within the powertrain to increase torque transmission and prevent the slippage of components.

From Sahara-dry environments to the toughest wet and oily mining sites, different conditions call for different coatings. However, no matter where you work, safety and slippage should be a top priority. Grip coatings are a valuable tool that can be leveraged to increase the durability and safety standards of your employees, parts, and workplace. 

HTS Coatings has decades of knowledge and experience in the coatings industry and can work with you to help your components work stronger and longer. From coatings for packaging equipment lines to increase their operational life to corrugating rolls and flexographic roll coatings to prevent wear, we favor real-world solutions over quick fixes.

Want to learn more about our work with grip coatings or other thermal spray applications? Follow us on LinkedIn or reach out to us today to book a consult.