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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Harvey M. Chichester
Durall Industrial Flooring
7723 Pillsbury Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55423
Phone: 1-800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7)
www.concrete-floor-coatings.com
harvey@concrete-floor-coatings.com
Skid-resistant Floors Close to
Diamonds in Hardness are Available to Anyone
Minneapolis, MN – May 1, 2005 –
Concrete and wood floors can be flow-coated with 100% epoxy and colored quartz
to make hard, skid-resistant surfaces. Colored quartz is close to diamonds in
hardness and is highly skid resistant. Commercial breweries, coolers, and
freezers, have been installing these systems for decades. Now anyone can apply a
high wear, skid-resistant, long lasting floor surface thanks to Durall
Industrial Flooring's epoxy and color quartz application kits.
The key to sealing or repairing floors using color quartz hinges on preparing
the existing floor surface to ensure a permanent bond. A common mistake is to
assume that a new floor does not need extensive preparation. Unfortunately, new
concrete floors are dusty for the first few years as microscopic lateens of
concrete are kicked of with wear. If the flow-coated floor has adhered to those
moving substrate particles, then it may move when they do. Even the
highest-grade adhesives, the hardest minerals, and the most diligent application
have little benefit if the floor peals off. Look at the bottom of any floor seal
removed from a floor. What is stuck to the back of that seal? Is it cement or is
it dust and dirt?
Color quartz is almost as hard as diamond. The 3M Quartz that Durall favors also
holds its color well and is not subject to extensive fading. The color quartz
surface can be made as smooth or rough as required by adjusting the grain size
and the number of epoxy and urethane seal coats.
When Durall specifies 3M-color quartz for a floor project it likes to see 50 lb.
per 100-sq. ft. applied. In most applications after the first coat, amounts up
to 33 percent can be recaptured after sweeping and then reused. Usually clear
layers are applied as the base and topcoats. If the substrate is badly damaged,
a complementary color is used as the base coat to help avoid show-through
problems. Show-through can also be corrected by applying multiple coats of color
quartz and resin.
An important trick of the trade is to apply color quartz by hand application
using a low-angle trough. Low angles allow the color quartz to skip over the
floor until wet, uncovered sealant is encountered, at which point the quartz
then sticks. The low angle method helps avoid bald spots and ensure that the
color quartz is not exhausted prematurely.
Although swept-up color quartz can be reused, it often has dirt in it. The dirt
particles can be screened out by pouring the recovered quartz through a
residential kitchen stove filter. These filters are particularly handy because
they have aluminum frames built in and fit neatly on 5-gallon pails.
When existing surfaces are badly damaged and need to be brought back to
specification, Durall offers a cost-effective solution for filling deep holes
using color quartz together with a filler and wear inhibitor. Mixing 100% epoxy
with color quartz to 28 lb. per gallon gives a trowel mix of peanut butter
consistency. A putty knife is all that's needed for placing this mix in floor
holes. Small vertical surfaces are best filled by wearing a heavy rubber glove
and applying the mixture by hand with a rubbing motion.
Specialized systems have been a central part of Durall Industrial Flooring's
product line for over 40 years. Durall provides free cost analyses at
www.concrete-floor-coatings.com. The cost analyses produce customized kits of
materials and step-by-step instructions for installing the floor coatings.
Durall also provides a free 24/7 help line for use during the application
process.
For photo examples and more detail, visit
www.concrete-floor-coatings.com/photos/skid
For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at
harvey@concrete-floor-coatings.com
Phone: 1-800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7)
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