acrylic dust as non-skid?

[Hugh M.]

I came across an on-line catalog of epoxy/glass supplies. They offer acrylic dust for use as a non-skid granular additive. The descripion says it is for surfboard use.
It sounds attractive as it would likely be easier to repair or renew compared with sand. I've never tried it, but attmpting sanding off a bunch of sand granules set in paint or epoxy does not sound easy.

Has anyone had experience with crylic non-skid? Does it give enough "tooth" to grip shoes?
-Hugh

[JimConlin]

There's a similar product from Interlux. It does the job and can be sanded off.

[kc8pql]

I used ground polycarbinate from System Three. Works great. It's sandable so you can adjust the aggressiveness to suit your needs.

[Bob Cleek]

I expect that polycarbonate or other plastics would provide a good non-skid, although might wear more than sand. They are also not entirely impervious to ultraviolet degradation, but in this application, that wouldn't make much difference. However, they have to cost more than sand. I suppose you can sand them off, but why would you want to? You can take up sand-in-epoxy with a heat gun with a lot less work than grinding anything off with sandpaper, if you ever had the need to do so. Then again, the plastic will weigh less than sand, it that's any consideration.

[Dave Carnell]

The reason plastic auto lenses are clear and brilliant when the car has gone to rust is acrylics complete stability to UV. It is also the reason 100%acrylic latex paint on a boat can be touched up years later without showing - no yellowing of the vehicle resin.

[paul oman]

Sounds like a good alternative grit product.
Ground walnut shell is also used on boat decks as it can be sanded off and is a hard wood product.

Sand is a bad idea on boats - too hard to remove, etc.

paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers