Anti Slip Timber Coatings from Whittle Waxes

We're really excited about Whittle Waxes Anti-Slip!

The Australian Building Codes Board has come up with some new slip resistant regulations and laws for stairs, we are now among the toughest country for laws about slip safety on staircases in the world.

The motive behind these new extremely strict regulations was that over half of reported injuries in Australia were cause by slipping, tripping or falling on stairs.

All products for stairs must be tested by an independent advanced research and technology testing laboratory. Attar is a common one used in these cases.

We called upon Attar to test our Whittle Waxes Anti-Slip, and were not surprised but highly pleased by our results!

Wanting to understand exactly what these tests do and the test results actually determined, I called Attar and talked to one of the kind employees who took the time to explain to my nonscientific mind what exactly do they do.

We sent them an example of 2 coats of hardwax oil with anti-slip in between the coats on a timber board. From that example they proceeded with the following tests.

The Dry Floor Friction Slip Resistance Test

The product being tested was sent on an adequate size sample of timber, prepared exactly as explained in the technical information sheets.
Attar then, washed, rinsed and dried the board making sure it is dust free.
The sample is tested twice, going with the grain of the timber, and the second going against the grain.
The result of the two is then averaged out to give the dry test rating.

results dry floor friction slip resistance test

- D1 is a good classification, seeing that the requirement only needs to be .40 Whittle Waxes Anti-Slip has surpassed our expectations with a .60 average!

The Wet Pendulum Slip Resistance Test

This is the test said to be the most suitable for stairs, but the results tell us also if the product is suitable for other locations, such as public building, ramps, commercial areas etc...
Stairs in Australia need to be at least a P3 rating which is 35 to 44, Whittle Waxes Anti-Slip scored a P5 56 rating, yahoo!

results wet pendulum slip resistance test

The beauty of Whittle Waxes Anti Slip, is that it's invisible. Although when applied by itself it has a slightly glossy sheen level. We have found that applying it in between the two coats of hardwax oil the sheen levels blend in nicely together. For that reason we prepared the sample exactly in that fashion to be tested for its slip resistance.

Furthermore, it works beautifully over our Colour Tone Stains, as it is clear, it has no effect on the chosen colour. In this case the order of application would be:

1. Colour Tones
2. One Coat of Hardwax Oil
3. Tape off the area that needs a line of Anti Slip and brush it on.
4. One top coat of Hardwax Oil.

Anti Slip can be used on areas other than stairs also. Solvent-free, it can be applied on interior and exterior timber and stone. Anti-slip protection to reduce slipping on any wood. It works particularly well on pre-treated woods that can become very slippery due to moisture, moss, algae and lichen, and on mineral surfaces and stairs. Guarantees a highly resistant micro structure surface finish on the absorbent surfaces named above.