corian showerpan non-skid design ideas

[bruce_taylor]

Making another corian showerpan this time I was asked to make it extra non-skid. I normally sand out the pan with 30 grit sand paper and that leaves it pretty rough, looking for any other ideas, thinking of routing some type of design in it but didn't want to make it to hard to clean by putting in a bunch of grooves, thought about a ball nose cutter any ideas appreciated.

[Ajcoholic]

What about using a small ball end bit to "drill" very shallow divots in some sort of pattern?

AJC

[knight_toolworks]

anything that collect's water will be a problem.

[bruce_taylor]

thought about a drain board with a small ballnose but not sure it would be non-skid enough, everything that is non-skid has some downside in the sanitary aspect. some great mind here kind of like inventing a new mousetrap.

[myxpykalix]

what about taking (for lack of a better way to describe it) a texture or surface that looks like very low hills and valleys on a rough surface. (I just woke up from a nap so i'm still groggy) which accounts for the less then illustrative description.
Kind of like sand mounds on the beach where the surface height differences is so slight it is not uncomfortable but your feet would fit in the depressions enough to keep them from slipping across a flat surface. You then wouldn't have grooves where mold and mildew would collect.:)

[ssflyer]

Off the top of my head - maybe a maze type of pattern, that sloped toward the drain? Depending on the size, bit, etc., you could make some pretty cool patterns that still drained. I'm just not sure just how non-skid it would be...

[signsbyjay]

Not sure what to call it, but ALL fast food restaurants use a clear coating in the rest rooms that makes the tile non slip. It does not seem to effect the feel of the tile so you could still have a smooth surface and Non slip.


Jay

[Ajcoholic]

What about a completely carved, shallow dish with raised divots instead of depressions?

My wife uses a rubber bath mat which has little domes all over it.

SOmething similar would be easy to set up in Aspire, and the only negative I can think of is that it might take a while to run the file.

But it would work, and it wouldnt hold water.

AJC

[jerry_stanek]

Why not sandblast it

[bruce_taylor]

I like the sandblast idea I will test a piece to see how it turns out!

[Brady Watson]

Scuff the top of the Corian with sandpaper to give it some tooth. Then mix up laminating epoxy (West Systems et al), wet out surface with epoxy and sprinkle sand onto epoxy with a sugar/salt shaker. Works like a charm. We used to do this on 2nd story decks with polyester resin to create a non-skid surface. The scratches will go away when it is wetted out and the epoxy will last a long time & hold the sand.

-B

[bruce_taylor]

Thanks Brady,
That sounds like just what the customer ordered, I will mask off a subtle pattern to add some thin lines of non skid just to make it not so slippery.
should go pretty quick too!

[Ajcoholic]

Just to caution.. having done both interior, exterior stairs and also a few sailboat decks - there is a product (which I believe to be fine plastic beads) made to mix with paints and epoxies to give a non-slip finish.

It should be able to be had at any boat supply store, thats where I get it here. You add a SMALL amount to the resin or paint and it feels very rough. Much like say 60 or 80 grit sand paper.

The beads turn transparent in the resin, would probably look better than sand. Especially on a light color of solid surfacing.

Also it is easy to add too much, the stuff really works.

AJC

[bruce_taylor]

Ok after some trial and error and a few test's I ended up taping off some strips about 1/2 in ch wide and using a two part marine urethane matched to the white of the solid surface after one coat I applied some fairly fine powder let it soak in and a few minutes later applied another coat to cover up and make it not so rough but still non slippery, Thanks for all the ideas.