5 Surprising Facts About Polyurea Coatings

What is a polyurea coating?

In order to protect surfaces against water damage, polyurea is usually applied in industrial and commercial contexts. It is used as a liquid coating that is quickly cured to provide a strong, impermeable barrier. This is useful for waterproofing surfaces such as decks, foundations, and roofs.

Unique Features

Due to its distinct physical characteristics and endurance, there is no coating technique that can totally replace polyurea. Yet, it has very strict criteria for surface preparation.

Wooden, concrete, and steel surfaces and structures are protected from abrasion and corrosion damage by polyurea. It can assist maintain a concrete structure that is failing as well as maintain and repair canals. In commercial and industrial floor applications, it resists scratches, and substances that contain chemicals, oils, and salts. Offering defense against cracking and deterioration, it can help prolong the life of boats and other vessels.

The following are the benefits of polyurea coatings:

  • Extremely quick setting, with a typical curing period of 2 to 5 minutes depending on the mixture.
  • Excellent abrasion and scratch resistance
  • Very stable resistance to weather and environmental conditions
  • Very beneficial elongation characteristics
  • May be used in a variety of climates, even those with heavy humidity.
  • Short-term rating of 220°C (430°F) and stable heat resistance up to 130°C (266°F)
  • Coating thickness can be finely controlled
  • Excellent bonding on well-preparedprepared surfaces including metals, cement, and wood
  • Excellent chemical resistance
  • Possibility of having low viscosity, allowing for mixing and spraying at desired temperatures
  • May be designed to have a tensile strength of up to 4350 ps.

Polyurea coatings may not be the hottest topic of dinner conversation right now. But if you’re in the market for outstanding protection for garage floors and more, it’s the hottest thing in town!

Polyurea coating has been around since the 1980s but is now being used in many more applications. What makes it so great? Why should you invest in polyurea coatings for your next project?

Read on to learn 5 surprising facts about polyurea coatings.

1. It’s Incredibly Strong

Concrete floors take a lot of wear. Think of garages and industrial flooring. They need to stand up to daily foot and vehicle traffic and maintain their appearance.

Enter polyurea coatings. Most people think of epoxy for garage floors. That’s old news.

At Garage Force, they only use polyurea garage floor coating for one simple reason – they’re up to 20 times stronger than epoxy!

Do you want a floor coating you can forget about for 30 years? Polyurea floor coating gives you that level of strength and protection.

It’s able to withstand chemicals, oil, water, and other fluids that may get spilled on it. It’s also UV resistant and won’t break down over time.

2. It’s Highly Waterproof

Garage floors are one of the simpler applications polyurea coatings work for. Polyurea coating applications include wastewater facilities, waterproofing roofs, and water tanks.

In all of these applications, it provides a waterproof coating that is also highly flexible. It can withstand variations in temperature, so it won’t suddenly let you down when you need it the most.

3. Works on a Range of Materials

Polyurea coatings are not just restricted to concrete applications.

It is also possible to preserve wooden, cement, steel, and other metal surfaces using polyurea coatings. It works so well because it forms an excellent bond with these materials.

These bonds allow it to withstand high and low temperatures without fracturing.

4. It’s Easy to Clean

Regular cleaning will ensure that a polyurea concrete coating lasts for years. As it’s waterproof and chemical resistant, it’s easy to keep clean.

It will withstand brushing, scrubbing, and power washing with no loss of surface material.

It can also withstand the use of powerful sanitizing chemicals. This makes it an excellent choice for the healthcare and food manufacturing industries.

5. Applying It Is a Specialist Job

This is not something you can grab a can of at your local DIY superstore. It takes a specialist to prepare the surface and get it just right before the two-stage application process begins.

In the high-pressure hot spray method, once the area is completely clean, the technicians apply the polyurea floor coating in two parts. It is quick to cure and can be ready for use very quickly. This means very little downtime for the home or business.

Application Methods 

High pressure hot spray

This method consists of:

  • Preparing the surface
  • Mixing the component parts
  • Performing the coating application

For coating works requiring a huge volume, the high pressure technique is used. To ensure a good flow of fluid inside the machine and a uniform thickness on the surface, formulators must prepare a lower viscosity coating at operating temperature.

Oily pollutants and dirt must be eliminated during initial surface preparation using techniques like abrasive sandblasting. To ensure that the polyurea coating adheres strongly, surfaces should be cleaned. The endurance of the coating depends on this critical step.

The required pressure and temperature range must be maintained during the mixing stage. Precision is required when dosing and combining the components. Pressure and temperature maintenance must be built into the spray system’s design.

On the freshly dusted surface, the prepared mixture is sprayed. On the surface, the first coat is created. To create a barrier that won’t leak, a second layer is applied.

Machinery used to apply polyurea spray coatings must be able to withstand pressures of 210 bars and temperatures of up to 80°C (176°F).

Warm spray coating

This approach is used when the volume of the spray coating job is medium and the formulators can guarantee that the fluid mix has a low viscosity below 60°C (140°F).

Low pressure cold spray

For cold spray, formulators need to make sure the viscosity is low at room temperature in order to facilitate spray coating. For minor surface area tasks and repairs, this method is appropriate.

Other methods

When spraying is not an option, such as for a small pipe interior coating, roller or brush-onon methods are utilized.

Limitations and Critical Issues for Polyurea Coatings 

Due to the coating’s strong reactivity and rapid curing, setting it without enough wetting out time can result in subsurface adhesion problems. Before the coating settles, the surface must be completely wetted out, according to formulators. It’s a risky situation.

UV light may cause color changes and chalking in coatings made of aromatic polyurea. UV radiation has a deleterious impact on appearances. The use of an aliphatic polyurea is required for applications that call for aesthetic appeal.

For hot spray applications, specialized and cutting-edge spray equipment that can produce high pressures and high temperatures is needed. Technicians must receive specialized training for this job.

Choose Polyurea Coatings for Your Garage Floor!

Polyurea coatings are super strong, easy to clean, and last for decades. If you choose a polyurea coating for your garage floor you will not be disappointed. It will require little maintenance and will not need repairs for many years.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, we’ve got plenty more for you! Head over to our Crafts and DIY Section for more great hints and tips for your home.