Except for few cases, you get the grip that you can see. The more aggressive the grit, the more aggressive the grip. The more interesting challenge over time was maintaining consistent color with grit. Textured paints like Kiwi grip maintain consistent color, while only the Intergrip additive maintained a consistent surface color. This could be in part due to the hard nature of Perfection, durable the LPU paint it was paired with.

Despite the “what you see is what you get” truism regarding grip. Probably the more surprising finding was that surfaces that appeared smooth, actually performed well in incline testing.

Following up a fine grit pre-mixed aggregate laden paint, with additional aggregate applied with a shaker, and then following again with a coat of paint is one way to improve grip if you find the first pass too slick.

1. The medium grit Pettit EZ-Decks looked excellent early in the test (shown new). After five years, grip held, but paint had faded.

2. KiwiGrip (shown new) maintained even coloring five years later and its textured finish was evenly distributed by the special roller.

3. The fine grit Intergrip and 2-part polyurethane Interlux Perfection (shown new) maintained the cleanest, best looking finish.

4. Nothing beat the diamond pattern Treadmaster. which maintained its edge ten years later, though the appearance suffered.