You’ve decided to invest in your business by installing industrial floors, now let’s get the most from that investment. Protecting your investment starts with the installation process. When epoxy floor coatings are installed and applied correctly, they are made to stand the test of time. Here are four reasons why epoxy floor coatings fail and how to avoid them.

4 Reasons Why Epoxy Floor Coatings Fail

  • Contaminated floors.  Problems occur when clients want to cut costs by installing epoxy coatings over an existing floor and fail to clean the surface properly. Why is this a bad idea? Many industrial floors are contaminated with oil and grease. These greasy residues spell trouble for a proper bond. Any oil, grease, or other chemical residues must be properly cleaned before applying the new coating. Don’t skip this step, it will cost you money down the road.
  • Poor surface preparation.  Industrial floors that last are a direct result of good surface preparation. This step is vital for the surface to bond with the epoxy coating. A properly prepared surface is clean, dry, free of dust, and ground or shot-blasted before the primer is applied.
  • Condensation.  Epoxy coatings and humidity don’t play well together. How can you combat condensation? You have to monitor air temperature, surface temperature, and relative humidity. With those three pieces of information, you can calculate the dew point (see attached chart). Dew point equals condensation on your concrete surface. If you have condensation (moisture) on the surface when you are coating, you could be installing a faulty floor.
  • Misapplication of primer.  When installing industrial floors, don’t skimp on your primer. Industrial floors experience heavy wear and tear. Hoping the resin will simply stick to the substrate can lead to long term problems. Remember: all primers are not created equal, a professional can help you choose the right primer for the job.

Floors that last start with a good installation. Sure these steps take time, but failure to complete them will end up costing you down the road. If you’re ready to invest in your business by installing epoxy floor coatings, make sure you do it right the first time.