Our Service - Polyurea
The 5 reasons to choose a polyurea coating
Polyurea is a coating of choice for commercial, industrial, marine, and residential applications because it has many advantages over its alternatives. The alternatives also have some of these advantages but polyurea has them all in one coating. These include:
- Waterproof and corrosion protection: Polyurea coatings have moisture insensitivity/resistance. They have low permeability and are also resilient to water, providing corrosion protection. Therefore, they are also used as tank linings.
- 100% solids: With a 1:1 volume ratio, the need for extra coats is eliminated, and the lack of solvents means it also VOC free and environmentally friendly.
- High resistance: A polyurea coating provides chemical, abrasion, and UV resistance, as well as being able to withstand extreme temperature changes.
- Fast set and fast return to service: A curing time of seconds or minutes means there is an almost immediate return-to-service time, and downtime is many times less than with another paint.
- Strength and flexibility: Polyurea has a high polymeric elongation meaning that it stretches as well as resists punctures and tears.
How polyurea coating compares to other coatings
Why would you choose polyurea coating instead of a more traditional coating like epoxy? While other coatings have their own benefits, polyurea outperforms them in certain areas.
Polyurea vs. Polyurethane:
Though these coatings are related (both isocyanate-based), they have many differences. When being applied polyurethane based coatings are sensitive to temperature and moisture, where polyurea is not. Polyurea is elastic and can stretch, but polyurethane cannot. It also has a higher tensile strength.
Polyurea vs. Epoxy:
Epoxies are sensitive to temperature, humidity and moisture during application, with longer cure times than polyurea. Epoxy coatings are not flexible with the expansion of a substrate, and UV radiation will cause it to discolour, unlike polyurea.
Polyurea vs. Cementitious:
Unsurprisingly, cementitious coatings provide little give, and have far longer setting times than polyurea. All cementitious coatings have long setting and curing times.
Polyurea is a truly remarkable coating, lining and joint sealant technology and can be used for a wide variaty of applications. Polyurea coatings and linings are commonly applied over concrete and steel for corrosion protection and abrasion resistance. They also have numerous advantages over conventional materials due to their extremely fast setting times, high elongation, extreme resistance to atmospheric attack and their durability abrasion characteristics.
Polyurea Benefits
- No VOC´s and, depending on the formulation, odour-free
- Application temperature: -30°C to +60°C, even in high humidity conditions
- Fast reaction, which means the sprayed surface can be returned to service quickly
- Excellent heat resistance up to 130°C, short-term up to 220°C
- Considerably better UV stability compared to polyurethanes
- Waterproof (acts as a seal) and hydrolysis stable
- High tensile strength, in the order of 1450 – 4350 psi (10 – 30 MPa)
- Large elongation at break, in the order of a few hundred to 1000%
- Flexible (bridges cracks)
- Can be applied at any thickness
- Excellent bonding to properly prepared substrates
- Good chemical resistance
- Simple machine processing due to low viscosities
