Polyurea coating Qatar

Polyurea coating to protect your assets from harsh environments

Polyurea coating has been on the market in Qatar already for 30 years and its durability, flexibility, and versatility allow new applications to be found all the time. Polyurea paint is currently used across industries for waterproofing, corrosion protection, water containment as well as containment of chemical and toxic substances, flooring, and mechanical tools, just to name a few. Polyurea coating is also flexible when it comes to suitable substrates; it is applicable on concrete, metals, wood, plaster, plastics, and many more.

The chemistry behind uses of polyurea coatings

Polyurea coatings result from a reaction between an isocyanate and a resin blend, which forms a plastic- or rubber-like compound. These elastomers can be used in similar ways to other plural component coating technologies such as polyurethane and epoxy, but the protection it provides combines the best aspects of both these coatings. Polyurea coatings are used for everything from mining equipment and pipeline coating to playground fixtures, waterproof tank linings, asbestos encapsulation, and more.

In this article we will guide you through the benefits and uses of polyurea coating, as well as help you find polyurea coating suppliers and manufacturers for your project in Qatar.

Choose for polyurea coating for these 5 reasons

Polyurea is a coating of choice for commercial, industrial, marine, and residential applications because it has many advantages over its alternatives. The alternatives also have some of these advantages but polyurea has them all in one coating. These include:

1. High resistance: A polyurea coating provides chemical, abrasion, and UV resistance, as well as being able to withstand extreme temperature changes.
2. Fast set and fast return to service: A curing time of seconds or minutes means there is an almost immediate return-to-service time, and downtime is many times less than with another paint.
3. 100% solids: With a 1:1 volume ratio, the need for extra coats is eliminated, and the lack of solvents means it also VOC free and environmentally friendly.
4. Strength and flexibility: Polyurea has a high polymeric elongation meaning that it stretches as well as resists punctures and tears.
5. Waterproof and corrosion protection: Polyurea coatings have moisture insensitivity/resistance. They have low permeability and are also resilient to water, providing corrosion protection. Therefore, they are also used as tank linings.

Polyurea paint versus similar coatings

Why would you choose polyurea coating instead of a more traditional coating like urethane? While other coatings have their own beneficial properties, polyurea outperforms them in certain areas by combining more of those characteristics in one coating.

• 

  The flexibility and durability together make Polyurea coating ideal for harsh environments.

  Polyurea vs. Epoxy:
  Epoxies are sensitive to temperature, humidity and moisture during application, with longer cure times than polyurea. Epoxy coatings are not flexible with the expansion of a substrate, and UV radiation will cause it to discolour, unlike polyurea.

• Polyurea vs. Cementitious:
  Unsurprisingly, cementitious coatings provide little give, and have far longer setting times than polyurea paint. All cementitious coatings have long setting and curing times.
• Polyurea vs. Polyurethane:
  Though these coatings are related (both isocyanate-based), they have many differences. When being applied polyurethane based coatings are sensitive to temperature and moisture, where polyurea is not. Polyurea is elastic and can stretch, but polyurethane cannot. It also has a higher tensile strength.

In short, choose a polyurea coating when downtime is to be avoided or minimised, as well as when the application environment is moisture-laden, or involves temperature extremes. Polyurea is also preferable when you need a coating that can flex with the expansion of a substrate, or want an extremely hard-wearing layer of with abrasion resistance.

Polyurea coating applications : hotspray and polyaspartic polyurea

Pure polyurea cannot be applied in any other way but spray; however, sometimes a roller application is more convenient. In those cases the polyurea paint can be modified to change its behaviour when applied. These modified polyurea coatings are better known as polyaspartic polyurea or polyaspartic coatings. They are common as floor coatings due to their flexibility and the possibility to add anti slip aggregate to make them safer to walk on.

Traditionally polyurea coating is applied with a spray gun. “Hotspray” is another name for this polyurea spraying process, because polyurea coating is most effective when heated to 60-70°C. The reaction that creates a polyurea coating is immediate, and it starts to cure in seconds. So, in order to achieve the heat and speed requirements, the two components are pumped into a special spray gun through heated hoses. The components mix within the gun chamber where the reaction starts, the mixture then is sprayed immediately onto the substrate. This ensures the best performance from the coating, and the strongest physical properties.  Polyurea hotspray coating is a precision business, and should be applied by trained, professional applicators.

Find the right polyurea coating service in Qatar

By investing in polyurea you are already saving money in the low downtime and return to service losses, the lifetime of the coating (up to 30 years warranty), and the speed of application, meaning fewer billable hours for the applicators. There are numerous polyurea specialists operating in Qatar. If you would like any more information, or wish to be connected with one of our partners for your coating project, contact us! Our experts are here to help, just click on the “Request a quote” button at the bottom of this article and take advantage of our 100% free quote service.