What Swiss Grip is
Swiss Grip is a film-forming non-slip coating. It sits on the surface rather than etching it. The clear products are used on tiles, stone, timber, vinyl, bathrooms and other floors where the original appearance still matters. Coloured safety versions exist for demarcation. The range is sold as systems aimed at different slip ratings, commonly P3, P4 and P5, with manufacturer literature citing CSIRO wet pendulum testing to AS 4586:2013 on prepared samples.
That last point is the one that gets lost. A laboratory classification on a coated sample is useful for choosing a product. It is not the slip rating of your foyer after a contractor has rolled it on a worn, contaminated floor.
Swiss Grip is now Stellmann
If you have been told to "put Swiss Grip on it", you are asking for the same coating family that is now sold as Stellmann (often searched as Stellman). The Australian company that introduced Swiss Grip here rebranded to Stellmann. The current range is that product line under the new name, with an improved product range and performance: more systems for different substrates and target P ratings, and a better-performing film than the original Swiss Grip tins many sites still have on the shelf.
That is why both names still show up in specifications, insurer notes and search. They are not two competing coatings. Stellmann is the current Swiss Grip. When Premrest specifies this pathway after a slip test, the product that goes down is the current Stellmann system matched to the substrate and the target classification.
How it differs from an etching slip treatment
Traditional anti-slip treatments on porcelain and stone work by microscopically roughening the glaze. They can lift a classification without adding a film, and they can also damage the wrong stone, accelerate wear, or fade within months on a busy entry. Swiss Grip is sold as the opposite idea: a protective coating that adds grip without attacking the glaze.
Neither pathway is automatically better. The substrate, the cleaning chemicals, the traffic and the target classification decide. Premrest specifies after an on-site slip test, which is why our slip treatment and non-slip coating pages start with testing, not a brand.
When Swiss Grip is usually the right conversation
- Polished tiles or stone that fail a wet pendulum slip test but still need to look like the original floor
- Bathrooms, change rooms and ensuites where a visible grit coating would be rejected
- Entries and lobbies that only become dangerous when wet
- Sites that have already been told to "put Swiss Grip on it" by an insurer, specifier or previous contractor
It is the wrong first move when you do not yet know the current slip rating, when residue or polish is the real problem, or when the location needs a completely different surface. Deep cleaning still comes first on a surprising number of "failed" floors.
What "P3 Swiss Grip" does not guarantee
Buying a P3, P4 or P5 labelled kit does not mean the installed floor will achieve that classification. Surface preparation, film build, curing and the condition of the substrate all change the result. HB 198:2014 also cares about the location: a P3 coating on an external ramp that should be P4 is still a shortfall, even if the tin was applied perfectly.
The only proof that belongs in a compliance file is an on-site slip test to AS 4663:2013 after the coating has been applied. That is the same standard we use for the baseline test. Compare the two reports and you have a before-and-after slip rating, not a product claim.
How this sits next to Dr Schutz
Dr Schutz is a different product family: a PU sealer with anti-slip additive, used mainly on vinyl and other resilient floors. Swiss Grip / Stellmann is the clear film-forming coating people mean for tile, stone and similar surfaces. If someone has named either system, bring it to the conversation. We will still test first and specify the system that can hit the required classification on that surface.
Test, coat, retest
If you have been asked to apply Swiss Grip in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane, start with a slip test. Premrest can then apply the current Stellmann system, the rebranded and improved Swiss Grip range, or another suitable pathway, and we retest so the new slip rating is documented.