EPOXY PRIMERS FOR FLOORING APPLICATION

1. INTRODUCTION

The installation of a new floor is a fundamental activity that needs to be carefully evaluated. Depending on the material, substrate preparation is a key factor for time, effort and cost saving but also to assure a high-quality result.

Going for an epoxy floor primer is probably the best solution to achieve reliable and optimum performances in flooring applications. The application of a primer coating before the top coat/s brings many advantages:

·      The floor primer penetrates and enables the bonding of your floor coat to the substrate with excellent adhesion reducing the risk of the coat chipping or breaking;

·      It reduces the chances of bubbles emerging during top coat applications, strongly reducing air bubbles and pinholes that are formed due to the outgassing of materials like concrete.

·      Durable chemical resistance in wet and high-humidity environments.

·      Some substrates can be very absorbent and dusty but the application of a primer will reduce the chance of the top coats being absorbed by the substrate.

·      The application of a primer creates a smooth surface, sealing off small particles and fine dust stuck on the surface of the material.

Polyamine curing agents are normally used to reduce the processing time. In fact, polyamine curing agents tend to be more reactive, reducing the curing time of the layer. The fastest products can produce a walkable floor in less than 24 hours in normal conditions (≈ 20°C). Polyamine curing agents also provide a better film hardness, a major abrasion resistance and a better chemical resistance to certain categories of chemicals (e.g. acids, organic solvents). Another trump card of polyamine curing agents is the relatively low viscosity compared to polyamide curing agents.

2. PRODUCT OVERVIEW

ITAMINE CA112, ITAMINE CA115 and ITAMINE CA104 are a new class of formulated cycloaliphatic polyamine adducts suitable to be used as curing agents for flooring epoxy primer applications.

Each new product is the result of the R&D effort and is designed to meet a specific application condition or client needs, with the goal of delivering high performance with excellent quality.

3. ITAMINE CA112: Good flexibility and colour stability

ITAMINE CA112 is an optimum summer season choice, featuring good reactivity, flexibility and pot life. The product also features a better colour stability compared to standard aliphatic and cycloaliphatic products. The main characteristics of the curing agents are:

·      Improved colour stability;

·      Good pot life;

·      Good flexibility;

·      Optimum chemical and mechanical resistance;

·      Excellent moisture resistance.

3.1 Hardness evaluation

 In the following graphs, the Shore D/A Hardness evaluation (ASTM D2240) for ITAMINE CA112 with ITAPOX 127 (Bis-A, Bis-F and C12C14 formulated epoxy resin) are reported at 20°C ± 1°C.

4. ITAMINE CA115: Reactivity at its best

 ITAMINE CA115 is a highly reactive curing agent designed to deliver fast curing performance even at low temperature. This feature makes it perfect to deal with winter season applications. The main characteristics of the curing agents are:

·      Excellent reactivity even at low temperature;

·      Low viscosity;

·      Optimum chemical and mechanical resistance;

·      Short dry time of the layer.

4.1 Hardness evaluation

 In the following graphs, the Shore D Hardness evaluation (ASTM D2240) for ITAMINE CA115 with ITAPOX 127 (Bis-A, Bis-F and C12C14 formulated epoxy resin) are reported at 20°C ± 1°C and 10°C ± 2°C.

4.2 Dry time measure

 In the following graph, the dry time measure of ITAMINE CA115 with ITAPOX 127 (Bis-A, Bis-F and C12C14 formulated epoxy resin) is reported at 25°C ± 1.5°C.

Apparatus: Elcometer 5300 Ball Type Drying Time Recorder

• Stylus Weight on the layer: 21g

• Temperature: 25 ± 1.5 °C;

• Dry-Film Thickness: 60 ± 5 μ

5. ITAMINE CA104: Benzyl alcohol free with Long Pot Life

 ITAMINE CA104 is the perfect choice when a long pot life is required for your applications. Furthermore, the product is free of benzyl alcohol permitting the employment when minimum VOC quantities are required. The main characteristics of the curing agents are:

• Benzyl alcohol free;
• Long pot life;
• Good flexibility;
• Excellent chemical and mechanical resistance.

5.1 Hardness evaluation

In the following graphs, the Shore D/A Hardness evaluation (ASTM D2240) for ITAMINE CA104 with ITAPOX 127 (Bis-A, Bis-F and C12C14 formulated epoxy resin) are reported at 20°C.

6. APPLICATION WITH QUARTZ SAND

 All the three curing agents mixed with ITAPOX 127 or formulated epoxy resin shows good compatibility with standard quartz sand curves (an example is showed in Table 1). The cured sand-epoxy layer shows:

• Excellent cohesion between sand and epoxy;
• Good abrasion resistance;
• Excellent humidity and water resistance.

Figure 1 - Sand-epoxy tile made with Epoxy System (ITAPOX 127 + ITAMINE CA115) and sand quartz curve showed in Table 1. The ratio between Epoxy System and sand is 1:10 respectively.