Anti-Slip Epoxy Floors: Quartz Sand or Aluminium Oxide Grit?

A glossy, seamless epoxy floor is very easy to clean, but that very gloss is a weakness in wet areas, on slopes, or where oil and grease are present: pedestrians can slip and forklifts can lose grip. The common solution is to roughen the surface with aggregate broadcast or mixed into the coating. Two options often mentioned are quartz sand and aluminium grit (usually aluminium oxide). This article compares the general characteristics of the two aggregates, not the specifications of any specific Kadier product.

Quartz sand: the common, easy-to-apply choice

Quartz sand is a natural aggregate, available in many grain sizes, easy to find, and usually lower in cost. When broadcast onto wet epoxy or mixed into the topcoat, sand creates a moderately rough surface suited to pedestrian walkways, dry or lightly damp areas, warehouses, and factories with moderate foot traffic. The advantage of quartz sand is that roughness is easy to control by choosing grain size and broadcast density, and the finished surface remains relatively easy to clean compared with a very aggressively rough surface.

Points to consider: in areas with constant forklift traffic or heavy abrasion, sand grains may wear faster, so roughness decreases over time. If the grain is too coarse or broadcast too densely, the surface becomes hard to clean, trapping dust and residues in the rough texture — especially in food or pharmaceutical areas with high hygiene requirements.

Aluminium oxide grit: harder and more abrasion-resistant

Aluminium oxide grit is a manufactured aggregate, very hard and more angular than quartz sand. As a result, a surface roughened with aluminium oxide grit usually keeps its grip longer in areas subject to heavy abrasion, on slopes, in areas that are frequently wet, or with light oil contamination. It is often considered for forklift routes, loading areas, and heavy industrial floors.

In return, surfaces using aluminium oxide grit are usually more aggressively rough, harder to clean, and can be uncomfortable for bare feet or where frequent mopping is needed. Material cost is also usually higher than quartz sand. Aluminium oxide grit is therefore not always the “better choice” — it is the more suitable choice where grip and abrasion resistance matter more than ease of cleaning.

Quick comparison by use

• Pedestrian walkways, dry areas, easy cleaning needed: medium-grain quartz sand is usually enough, balancing slip resistance with ease of cleaning.
• Slopes, areas frequently wet: consider aluminium oxide grit or coarser quartz sand, combined with good drainage.
• Constant forklift traffic, heavy abrasion: aluminium oxide grit usually holds its roughness longer, but check cleanability and tyre wear against actual operating conditions.
• Areas with strict hygiene requirements: favour moderate roughness and avoid excessively aggressive textures that trap dirt; anti-slip treatment can be applied locally to walkways instead of the whole floor.

How aggregate is added to an epoxy floor

There are two common methods. The first is to broadcast the aggregate onto the still-wet epoxy layer, let it dry, then apply a seal coat to lock the grains in place and reduce sharpness. The second is to mix the aggregate into the topcoat and roll it onto the floor. Broadcasting usually gives more pronounced roughness and easier control of density; mixing gives a more uniform surface but makes it harder to achieve high roughness. Whichever method is chosen, apply a test patch, walk on it when dry and when wet, and only then proceed across the full area.

This article gives no broadcast rate (kg/m²), specific grain size, or friction coefficient for Kadier products, because those figures depend on the material chosen and no official technical data sheet (TDS) has been published for them. When receiving a quotation or technical document, ask for the aggregate type, grain size, application method, and how roughness will be checked after installation, rather than accepting a generic “anti-slip” description.

Anti-slip is about more than aggregate

A good anti-slip floor also needs effective drainage with no puddles left on walkways; suitable footwear and tyres; warning signs in wet areas; and regular cleaning so that oil, powder, and residues do not cover the rough surface. If a roughened floor is still slippery when wet, the cause may be an oil film on the surface or a drainage problem, not just the type of grit chosen.

Which base coating system?

Anti-slip treatment is usually applied over the roller-applied RollCoat system or the self-leveling LevelFlow system, depending on floor loads and flatness requirements. Anti-static areas need separate attention: adding aggregate can affect the surface properties of an anti-static system, so for such areas, refer to the StatGuard system and confirm the roughening approach with the supplier before installation.

Illustration: Tiger Lily on Pexels.

Request a consultation — send a description of the floor area and its intended use to receive advice on a suitable coating system.