You’ve come to the conclusion that your concrete floor needs an aesthetic touch with some added protection, so you’ve decided to coat it. Out of all the options available on the market, you’ve narrowed it down to two you’d like to work with: polyurea or polyurethane.
While polyurethane coatings have been used in the industry much longer, polyurea coatings are building a fan club—and it’s not just because of its faster curing time.
If you’re looking for a concrete coating that is resistant to damage from ultraviolet light and that cures quickly, read this article to find out about the key differences between polyurea and polyurethane.
Curing Time 101
The time it takes for any concrete sealer or coating to fully cure depends on some important factors. These factors include the temperature, humidity, dew point, and the type of concrete sealer or coating being applied.
Too low or too hot of a temperature will often slow curing times. High humidity can also negatively affect how your concrete sealer/coating cures.
Polyurethane Curing Time
Urethane coatings have varying cure times depending on the product and formula used. Typically, concrete urethane coatings will have a 10-12 hour cure time before allowing any foot traffic on it, and it will continue to fully cure hours even days later. It is typically advised not to walk or drive on freshly urethane coated concrete for at least 36-48 hours after.
Polyurea Curing Time
Traditional polyurea cured in 5-15 seconds and was only used for large scale industrial applications. Because of its fast curing time, it worked great for coating pipes and pipelines, the inside of tanks, etc.
Polyaspartic is an aliphatic polyurea that extends the cure time allowing for easier and manageable applications. The pot life of polyaspartic is 5-20 minutes and drys within hours. Typically, a freshly coated polyurea floors are ready for foot traffic within 4-6hours. It is vehicle-ready within 24hours.
Benefits of a Faster Curing Time
The benefits of using a fast curing polyurea, like polyaspartic, for a concrete floor coating is the ability for next day return to service of the floor. A professionally trained crew can literally coat a floor in less than a day. The floor can then handle high foot traffic with no adverse effects the following day.
Application of Polyurea
Application is possible even in temperatures reaching as low as 30°F to as high as 140°F, depending on its formulation. Once the floor is prepped, a primer/color coat is applied to the concrete followed by a clear protective coat once the primer is dried.
Highly Durable, Highly Attractive
Coating your concrete with an aliphatic polyurea allows for easy application and a fast curing time. Our various coating systems give you an option to add texture and vibrant colors to any concrete floor needing a highly durable and attractive coating.
Give us a call to talk to one of our Garage Force specialists. We look forward to helping you with all your concrete coating needs.