I'm a sailor, and we are always trying to make our decks somewhat
abrasive, so we won't slide off the boat when we take a wave. Some
manufacturers mold a pattern into the deck, but that has never seemed to
me to work too well. You could probably do the equivalent with a saw or
router and a lot of time. In olden days, it was common to mix ground
walnut shell into the deck paint and it worked fairly well; they still
sell the shell for use as a mild abrasive in sandblasting, but I haven't
seen it locally; there are sources on the internet.

They also sell non-skid compound at marine supply stores, and it works
quite well mixed into the paint (you do have to stir the paint often
during application to keep the compound suspended). Its a manufactured
product of very fine glass or plastic beads, and feels like very fine
sand in your hand. Properly applied, you get a surface that looks
smooth, but has a good grip to it. For more into, do a search for
non-skid compound at http://www.westmarine.com

Since marine supplies are expensive, the last time I was painting my
porch, I went to a paint store and asked if they had non-skid compound.
They said they did, but when I got it home it was very irregular and
looked, frankly, like they had raided a beach or a litter box, so I
didn't use it. I've worked with pumice, but it must come in grades, as
the stuff I had was too fine, in my opinion, to be effective as a
non-skid compound. I think most sand, on the other hand, would be too
coarse and would give a rough appearance, and really abrade anyone who
fell or sat on it, but would probably give very good traction. They
also sell various tapes, but I have never been convinced that they would
last very long in an outdoor application.

Simpson wrote:
I'm rebuilding a 13 step outdoor wooden staircase and entry porch on an
80 year old house. I bought some Benjamin Moore Deck and Patio paint for
the finish coat. It says on the can to use sand in the paint for a
non-skid finish. But it doesn't say anything about which grit of sand to
use and in which proportion. Can anyone shed any light on this for me?

Thanks,
Jack