Decorative Treatments for Concrete Floors: A ... - PaintSquare

38Castor oil has been looked at both in its unmodified state and as a chemically modifiedderivative in the coatings and adhesives markets. Many of these products are derivedfrom castor beans grown in the top producing countries such as India, China,and Brazil. With consistent and repeatable supply, modified castor oil-based coatingshave been successfully developed into formulas that address both on-site and end-usechallenges while providing the market with a durable, impact-resistant basecoat withvery high renewable content.NOP coatings are especially useful when re-tasking a facility as a self-levelingbasecoat to smooth out spalling and concrete imperfections, such as an old industrialwarehouse. The coating is resistant to humidity and moisture, a significant benefit ifit’s being applied in an unconditioned space as it provides the contractor a rugged alternativeto traditional coatings.Two-component water-borne polyurethane coatingsFor decades, solvent-borne polyurethane coatings have been considered the mainstayfor high-performance coatings used in architectural, industrial maintenance, corrosion,and construction applications due to their excellent mechanical and weatheringproperties. But increased governmental, regulatory, and sustainability pressures havecreated a need for coatings technology that would reduce or eliminate VOCs, HazardousAir Pollutants (HAPS), heavy metals, and/or other environmentally detrimentalcompounds.In the past decade, the first generation of water-borne polyurethane coatings wasformulated and introduced to the market. While offering the chance to replace someof the VOCs and solvents with water, many of these coatings still had in excess of 250grams per liter (g/L) of cosolvent and a fairly strong odor.In addition, these coatings often fell significantly short of the solvent-bornepolyurethane standard in resistance to chemicals, abrasion and UV. This limited theiruse in many applications. As with most emerging technologies, the learning curvewas steep and the second generation of water-borne polyurethane coatings was developedwith the goal of meeting or exceeding the desired traits of the solvent-bornepolyurethane coatings, but with significant reductions in VOC and solvent levels.Today’s second-generation water-borne polyurethane coatings have achieved theproperty goals and are “truly water-borne”— 0-20 g/L VOC levels and nearly odorfree.Additionally, two-component water-borne coatings can be formulated to createhigh-gloss to ultra-matte finishes without the use of solvents or matting agents.These coatings have been used for industrial commercial flooring, such as thosewith heavy forklift traffic, due to their excellent chemical resistance, and for graffitiresistantformulations that help reduce maintenance costs. These benefits also makethe technology a good fit for decorative concrete floorings.Polyaspartic resinsPolyaspartic technology, when used in conjunction with polyisocyanates as a two-partsystem, can be formulated into tough, durable coatings that offer near-zero VOC levels.Furthermore, polyaspartic coatings offer rapid curing, good chemical resistance anddurability. Whether the use is for residential garage floors, game rooms and basements,or commercial applications such as warehouses, universities, restaurants andgeneral retail-space floors, polyaspartic floor coatings enable the end user to minimizedowntime.