Every roll of anti slip tape has a working life. Traffic, cleaning chemicals, forklift wheels and sunlight all wear the grit down eventually, and once the surface loses its bite the tape is no longer doing the job it was specified for. That is the point at which it needs to come up and a fresh run needs to go down. Our May video blog walks through exactly how to remove Heskins tape without damaging the substrate underneath, and this article covers the same ground in writing for anyone who prefers a checklist they can print and hand to a maintenance team.

Why removal technique matters more than most people expect

The temptation on a busy site is to attack worn tape with a wide blade and brute force. That approach usually creates more work than it saves. On concrete you can tear out the surface laitance and leave a rough patch that the new tape cannot bond to properly. On painted steel walkways and stair treads you can lift the coating, exposing bare metal to corrosion. On GRP and composite decking a metal scraper leaves score marks that show for the life of the panel.

There is also the question of adhesive residue. A pressure sensitive adhesive that has been in place for three or four years will not simply release in one clean sheet. Any residue left behind acts as a contaminant, and new tape applied over it will bond to the residue rather than the floor. That is the most common cause of premature edge lift on a replacement run, and it is entirely avoidable with ten extra minutes of preparation.

What you need before you start

  • A heat gun, or a hot air blower for larger areas
  • A plastic or nylon scraper for painted, composite and coated surfaces; a stiffer blade only where the substrate can take it
  • An adhesive remover or citrus based solvent, plus clean lint free cloths
  • Isopropyl alcohol or a similar degreaser for the final wipe down
  • Gloves, eye protection and adequate ventilation if you are working indoors

Check the solvent against the substrate on a small hidden area first. Some strippers will soften paint systems and certain plastics, and it is far better to find that out on a 50mm test patch than across a full stairwell.

The removal method, step by step

1. Warm the tape

Apply gentle, even heat along a short section, keeping the gun moving so you do not scorch the surface. Heat softens the adhesive and allows the backing to release rather than shred. Work in manageable lengths of around 300mm at a time rather than trying to heat a whole strip at once.

2. Lift a corner and pull back on itself

Get a scraper under one corner, then pull the tape back at a low angle, roughly 180 degrees against itself, rather than straight up. A low angle puts the peel force into the adhesive line instead of into the floor finish. Keep the heat moving just ahead of the peel point and the tape will come away in long pieces.

3. Deal with the residue

Apply adhesive remover to what is left, allow it a few minutes to work, then wipe it off with a clean cloth. Repeat rather than scrubbing hard. On large areas such as loading bays and ramps you may need several passes.

4. Degrease and dry

Finish with isopropyl alcohol to lift any oily film left by the solvent, then let the surface dry completely. This step is not optional. Adhesive bonds to clean, dry, dust free surfaces and to nothing else.

Choosing the right anti slip tape for the replacement

An anti slip tape replacement is a good moment to review whether the original specification was the right one. If a run has failed early, the tape was often working outside its intended conditions rather than being at fault.

For general internal and external walkways, stairs, ramps and machinery platforms, our Standard Safety-Grip anti slip floor tape has been in continuous production since 1997. The 60 grit aluminium oxide surface delivers an R13 rating, it is water resistant and flame retardant, and there is no drying time to manage, so a walkway can be back in service as soon as the last roll is pressed down. It is available in a range of widths including 200mm anti slip tape for wider traffic routes and vehicle ramps.

If the tape was applied to durbar tread, checker plate or any other raised or uneven metal, a conventional stiff backing will always try to return to flat and lift at the edges. That is what Conformable Safety-Grip for uneven surfaces is designed to solve. The soft aluminium foil backing has no memory, so it sits down into the pattern and stays there.

Where the failure was caused by chemical attack, oils, solvents or aggressive wash down regimes, step up to our chemical resistant X-Coarse Safety-Grip. It combines an extra coarse grit with UL recognised flame retardancy and R13 slip resistance for the harshest industrial environments, including areas subject to forklift traffic where a standard anti slip grip tape would be scrubbed away quickly.

A few practical points from the video

  • Remove and replace section by section on live sites so pedestrian routes stay protected throughout
  • Round the corners of new pieces slightly to reduce the risk of edge lift from wheeled traffic
  • Apply firm pressure across the whole piece after laying, ideally with a roller
  • Avoid applying in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius where possible, as cold slows adhesive wet out

Watch the video and speak to the team

The full removal demonstration is on the Heskins YouTube channel and takes only a few minutes to watch. As anti slip tape manufacturers in the UK, we make everything at our factory in Lancashire, which means we can talk you through substrate compatibility, thin anti slip tape options for low profile applications, rubber anti slip tape alternatives and bespoke sizes before you commit to a replacement order. If you are unsure which grade suits your site, send us a photograph of the existing installation and our technical team will advise.