1K Water-Based CONCRETE COATINGS – Achieving Top Performance

By Mike Praw, Kevin Kyaw, Yasmin Sayed-Sweet

Concrete coatings is an extensive subject that encompasses a wide variety of protective, functional, and decorative coatings. The choice of coating is determined by the substrate ( concrete) condition, environmental issues, and the desired performance properties. Whatever the ultimate purpose of the coating may be, it is crucial that we understand concrete as a substrate as well as its proper surface preparation.

Concrete is the most commonly used building material. It is a mixture of water, portland cement, aggregates (sand, gravel), pozzolans (soda ash) and air (added on purpose). Water in this mixture combines with cement to form a rigid mass called concrete. Usually concrete is strong; however, envi­ronmental elements like water and UV radiation attack the surface both physically and chemically. Physical attacks cause failure; concrete being porous, water is absorbed and released within the concrete and causes spalling or cracking. Therefore, it is necessary to protect its surface from dete­rioration and contamination by applying a coating. Surface preparation is also of prime importance to the durability and adhesion of applied coatings.