More industrial professionals are learning the benefits of epoxy floor coatings, but they may not understand why they work as well as they do. In fact, there are a number of reasons why epoxy is so fantastic at its job, and commercial and industrial painting contractors will recommend its use for a variety of applications. Here are just a few reasons why this material is so highly praised.
Epoxy Floor Coatings Are Incredibly Strong
“Strength” as a concept here is a bit of a misnomer, since much of what makes epoxies so great is not just that they can take a physical beating, but rather that they also form an almost impenetrable seal. However, it is important to note that these are related.
Epoxies start with an epoxy resin as their base, which is a material made from petroleum in most cases. They are not particularly strong on their own. However, when you mix one with something else in a process called “curing,” the molecules in it start to overlap one another in the chemical reaction. This is called “cross-linking.”
Imagine for a moment a bunch of palm fronds or sticks laying about. While they might provide some protection from rain or a strong wind, in the state they are in it wouldn’t be much. However, if you were to take them and weave them together, they would both keep out the water better and be stronger against wind. The curing process introduces another element to the resin to rearrange the molecules so they are like the woven together palm fronds.
What this ends up creating is a material that is not only incredibly strong, but so tightly “woven” that even most liquids have a hard time getting through the spaces between the molecules to the floor beneath. That’s one of the reasons why an epoxy floor coating can increase the life of an outdoor deck, for example, by several years and sometimes up to decades.
Additional Properties
Epoxy floor coatings can also possess additional properties that make them useful in an industrial setting.
For example, it is possible to use an epoxy coating to increase the traction on a deck. Often the way this works is by introducing additional solid materials, called an aggregate, to the epoxy before curing. This aggregate provides a rougher surface after installation is complete, and gives shoes something more solid to grip.
The hardener that is used to cure an epoxy can also have an impact on how much it resists chemical corrosion. There are tradeoffs to whatever hardener is used, but some can provide excellent protection from chemicals that may spill on floors. Contacting a professional contractor like Raider Painting will help ensure that you will get the right epoxy floor coatings for your industrial or commercial needs.
