Hello, We need to improve the slip-resistance of a couple of galvanized metal service covers in an outdoor walkway. Prices for paint-on or stick-on treatments seem similar (have looked at Watco and Seton catalogues), but which is likely to last better? Any pointers towards products which you've found useful in practice would be welcome Many thanks Clare

I agree with grim, Seton and Watco are about the most expensive suppliers you could choose. They are however very handy as reference sources for finding out the type of products available, because their catalogues are very good. So if you have a purchasing department, or person (I don't know how big your company is) show them what you want and task them to find the same thing cheaper. As regards which is best, paint on or stick on, well I would say stick on for small areas and strips, paint for larger areas; but it does also depend a bit on the shape of the area you're covering. Although both will wear out, the stick-on is the easiest and quickest to apply, and re-apply without any mess or fuss. I've used it on stairs before now and it lasted around a year or so, maybe more before it needed renewing. For service covers? well I guess it's evenly split between tape and paint, doesn't really matter. Depends how many covers! All down to application time, as product life is fairly similar I would say.