Concrete is a versatile construction material, but one with several disadvantages. It is an alkaline substance and as such not only highly susceptible to chemical attack, but also chemically threatening to alkali-sensitive materials, like alkyd based paints. The porosity of concrete allows potentially damaging agents to penetrate more readily, increasing the likelihood and seriousness of damage. Also, concrete has relatively poor abrasion resistance and cohesive strength, allowing physical deterioration and leading to difficulty in daily cleaning and, ultimately, to failure.
Of course, concrete can be protected. Its inadequacies can be reduced, and years can be added to its service life by coating with a material capable of withstanding the stresses put on it. Many coatings types are available for use on concrete. None, however, is as versatile as POR-15.
Diversity of POR-15 for Concrete
It might seem to some that the many different expectations of end users for concrete coating performance would make it very difficult to find one coating technology capable of meeting their wide ranging needs. But P0R-15 is versatile. It is used as primers and sealers, patching materials and topcoats. POR-15 is used as a moisture barrier and heavy-duty wear surface. POR-15 is available as a single component moisture-cured (or air dried), or two-component reactive formulation. It can be brushed, rolled, sprayed, squeegeed, or troweled.
POR-15 is an outstanding moisture-curing single component formulation highly recommended to prime and seal porous substrates. POR-15 is a very effective dust-binding impregnant as well as sealer for cement and other substrates, because it can protect the substrate from water, chemicals, deicing salt, and mineral oils. Because of its high degree of flexibility, POR-15 also can serve as a bridge over cracks. As a corrosion-resistant primer, POR-15 is formulated to contain aluminum pigments that provide barrier protection.
POR-15 is tack-free after 3-5 hours and through-hard in 72 hours, after which a film with a thickness of 40 um has a pendulum impact hardness of about 170 seconds. The abrasion loss (Taber Abrader CS 10, 1000 rpm, 1000 g) is about 5 mg. A fully cured POR-15 film is characterized by remarkable hardness and flexibility, and by good resistance to water and chemicals, though it yellows under light POR-15 is a good binder for synthetic resin-based concrete. A mixture consisting, for example, of quartz sand and POR-15 cures from the surface by contact with atmospheric humidity. Pronounced yellowing and chalking must be expected in outdoor applications; therefore, it is recommended that the coating be topcoated with an opaque paint.
