Urethane or Epoxy Coating: Know What’s Best for Your Industrial Floor Coating Project

Choosing the best coating for your industrial floor can be difficult especially nowadays when there are so many options out there. There are so much to consider including weighing its advantages and disadvantages. Two of the most common options for coating are urethane and epoxy. They are the most popular choice for a lot of reasons. Let us explore those reasons so that you’ll know what’s best for your industrial floor coating project.

Characteristics

Urethane and epoxy are coatings that may look the same at first glance but differ in properties. Urethane coatings exhibit much thinner cured-film thickness while epoxy coatings have both a resin and a hardener side. Urethane can be applied as a clear coating so as to show existing floor patterns and textures while epoxy comes in creative and attention-grabbing patterns and designs. They both come in variety of colours.

Durability

Urethane coatings are known for having a four times longer life than uncoated epoxy floors. They are extremely durable because they are abrasion resistant. They are said to be practically indestructible so if your industrial floor requires daily use then urethane coating is just the right choice for you. Epoxy coatings, on the other hand, can result in an extremely hard and durable surface because they are shock resistant. It helps to protect your facility’s floors both from the long-term impacts of heavy floor traffic as well as driving or even dropping heavy loads.

Water and UV Resistance

Epoxy coatings are considered as the best choice for industrial facilities that uses a significant amount of liquids in day-to-day activities. Epoxy floor coating stops moisture from leaking into the floor itself, making cleanup easier and protecting the concrete beneath from damage. However, urethane coatings are the best ones for protecting industrial floors against ultra-violet (UV) rays. This means that urethane coatings prevent the floor from yellowing over time.

Installation

Since epoxy coatings have the resin and hardener sides, they are much harder to install than urethane coatings. The most important step in installing an epoxy floor coating is the surface preparation. The surface of the concrete has to be thoroughly prepared before the coating can be installed, with all traces of oil residues and possibly previous coatings removed. This is because the epoxy cannot adhere properly to marginally prepared surfaces, resulting in potential floor coating failure.

Both urethane and epoxy floor coating offer their respective benefits and downsides, however, one most suggested option is to use them both and reap their individual advantages. This would result into a guaranteed durable industrial floor.

To determine whether urethane or epoxy floor coating works well with your industrial floor project, consult with our company Auseal. Our company provides the best products possible for the renovation of your floors, patios, walkways, driveways, and more.

Optimized by: Netwizard SEO