We use "penny rounds". Small penny sized tiles that come in mats. One of my clients in NY swears by this new Eco finish butI have not seen it in person yet. I am planning on a going to the Atlantic City Pool Show this year and will take a closer look at the Eco Finish then.

I've build five or six concrete slides in the DFW area. I've had better luck with poured concrete than gunite. Easier to finish smooth. I've tried many sealers and coatings, but had the best luck with a epoxy coating. It has lasted up to two years before needing a new coat. I also have the homeowner apply a wax coat,(floor wax), about once mounth. Seems to keep it slippery longer. For a look, reberandco.com

We had a Rico Rock rep on site during our pool build a few years ago...as we were talking about slides, he said for concrete slides they use the super absorbent material found in baby diapers and apply this to surface of the poured concrete when still wet. Apparently, this material is sold in bottles separately as a polymer of some sort...just google super absorbent polymer.

After 10 minutes or so, the surface of the slide is troweled smooth as the material makes for a very slippery and durable surface. Made sense to me, but I have no experience with this type of slide construction....ours is a fiberglass slide.

Hope this helps.

I always go with an Acrylic Coating. Never Epoxxy. A slid is usually in the sun and epoxy chalks up in the sun. You want to use a locker seal or preferably Nelsonite make a polyurethane coating you can get in clear or color and it's perfect for concrete/ finite slides. As long as you Strip any old paint or surface behind it before you apply this product. It's called "Dive and Slide".

See what I mean. The pic on the left was done with Epoxy just a few years ago.