Flakes do add texture, but unless the coverage is heavy it's not very aggressive texture, it's generally more subtle, sort of like the texture you'll find with roll out linoleum.
Generally the flakes are "broadcast" onto the body coat, with our system that would be the LiquaTile 1184 coat, when it's wet, as they land they often are almost sucked down into the epoxy - probably due to surface tension or some other aspect of fluid dynamics. Whatever the reason many of the flakes are "at grade" after the epoxy cures. After it's cured you apply a clear coat, and that coat also self levels and smooths it out even further.
If you're using a heavier broadcast of flakes then more of them are going to land on each other and stack up, so there will be more noticeable texture. With our system that's probably at about 0.05 pounds of DecoFlakes per square foot. But even then after a 5 mil clear coat of BondTite the texture is mild.
Now if you're using a thinner base coat, and/or a thinner clear coat, or even no clear coat at all (not recommended) the texture will be more pronounced.
If you want more texture to minimize slip and fall potential a more certain way to get it is to add a grip additive to the final clear coat.
To complicate matter there are several different grip options. Three of the main ones we offer are aluminum oxide, quartz, and SuperGrip 850.
Aluminum oxide is very durable (there's also stainless steel which is even tougher), but it's extremely sharp and will shred mops and other cleaning media - unless you have frequent real heavy traffic, like fork lifts, it's not recommended.
Quartz, this can be broadcast into or onto the body coat or the clear coat. This is available in many colors and can look very attractive in heavier coats. Application can be tricky for the novice. Not as durable as aluminum oxide, although for residential use it should do the trick. Like aluminum oxide it can be hard on mops etc. This can be used to make logos and other designs, but then it usually sealed with a very thick clear coat.
What we recommend for residential and most commercial applications is SuperGrip 850. It's an polymer product engineered to be easy to clean while still providing good texture and durability. It's white, but the grains are smaller than table salt, and the density is pretty light, so on most base coat colors it's hardly noticeable visually. If the floor also has DecoFlakes the grit is seldom visible at all. A little goes a long way - figure half a pound per 200 ft2, a bit more if you're likely to have a lot of oil spills, grease residue, or water. It's mixed into the clear coat.
thanks for the help!
