Ladders and varnish

[chas]

What do people recommend as a finish on ladders down to saloons and cabins? If they are varnished they look nice but can be slippery when wet. is there a finish which looks as good but is non slip? I do not particualrly want to put deck tread on them! Any advice would be appreciated

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[aztec]

i was going to post... but fear i'll get slated, so iv'e PM'd you instead.

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[StephenSails]

matt varnish? or maybe put some of those non slip beads in to the varnish? I did that on a wooden hatch and it looks good and is less slippy.

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[dickh]

Mine has matt varnish on the sides and the treads have non-slip green pads on them - they look like a small piece of emery paper! - very non-slip altough the edge is wearing off.

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[ccscott49]

Varnish, then very thin black sandpaper type non slip in thin strips, you almost dont see it, only the varnish, but really good non slip. I use it on my polycarbonate hatches, you hardly notice it's there.

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[AndrewJ]

Might try outline non skid area in masking tape, varnish this area, sprinkle some beach sand, wait for it to dry and varnish over the top of the sand, one or two coats and remove the masking tape. (doesn't sound to esthetic, but it's not bad looking)

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[chas]

Thanks, all, for the advice - I shall do some experiments.

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[John_Clarke]

I am just about to try sprinkling sugar on the last coat of varnish when it is still wet. After it is dry the plan is to wash the sugar off with hot water leaving a textured surface. I used this method to make the decks of windsurfers non slip using epoxy resin. You give it a very light sand to take the sharpness off the peaks. It was very effective and long lasting with epoxy.

I am going to try a few experiments with varnish first. I think we used finer castor sugar rather than granulated. You don't need much of a texture to make a big difference.

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