SoftSand® Rubber Particles for Non-Skid Coatings

Published: Friday, March 12, 2021

Finally, a boater-friendly non-skid additive! SoftSand® particles are made from a tough but flexible rubber compound that feels great on bare feet, knees, and elbows.

These particles were originally developed for use in high-performance, polyurethane construction coatings but, about 15 years ago, a few adventurous boaters tried them with marine paints. They found that these particles felt better and lasted longer than the additives they had been using such as sand, pumice, aluminum oxide, walnut shells, etc. This discovery led to some fine-tuning by the company, which resulted in the introduction of the medium and fine grades for pleasure boating, and the beginning of SoftSand®.

Early adopters in the boating community discovered even more about these innovative particles. First, because the particles are rubber, boaters started to easily apply them using the broadcast method, which provides full, 100% coverage over an area. But then, these boaters also learned that they could use a larger particle of SoftSand® to create more texture. At the time, using larger particles was not the case with harder non-skid additives. With hard aggregates, the mindset was to use a smaller particle (“Smaller won’t hurt as much!”) and as few particles as necessary (“Fewer won’t hurt as much!”) while still creating a non-skid surface. However, this paradigm shift to using a larger particle was only possible because of the introduction of SoftSand®.

“This really is new and truly represents an industry upgrade for all of us,” said Aaron Johnson, Paint Foreman at Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine. “I use SoftSand® rubber particles exclusively, whether it is with enamel paints for wooden boats or two-part polyurethanes for glass boats.”

SoftSand® rubber particles are designed to be used with any paint or coating. Andy Miller at Boatworkstoday.com has created three application videos that make it easy for you to apply SoftSand® with some of the most common applications.

SoftSand® with Awlgrip® paint: https://youtu.be/OWqwi2q94pU
SoftSand® with Alexseal paint: https://youtu.be/8J_z2MjE-0g
SoftSand® with Gelcoat: https://youtu.be/2pmTkIl2J-0

SoftSand® rubber particles are available online at www.softsandrubber.com and through these fine distributors: Jamestown Distributors, Hamilton Marine, Amazon (Atlantic Boat), Surfaceworx, Bluewater Supply, Interbay Coatings, EC Ruff Marine, and in Europe through Polyestershoppen.nl.