A word of warning: Don’t let the early spring sunshine fool you into the wrong decision.
Further to a previous blog regarding low temperatures and painting, we have the same restrictions and extended drying times for applying industrial epoxy floor paints during the winter months.
Industrial Floor Paint Drying Times
Epoxies that have the ability to cure at low temperatures will do so, but very slowly. Across the industry, manufacturers often quote drying times on the understanding that the temperature of the object being painted and therefore the paint, is at 20 degrees Celsius during its application and drying.
A concrete slab in a garage or warehouse, will be unlikely to exceed temperatures of 5-10 degrees Celsius for most of the winter. As a general rule of thumb, if you half the temperature, the drying time will double. Therefore, the paint can take four times as long to cure.
This is a problem for busy commercial car workshops and production facilities who need to paint their floors. Normally they cannot afford to shut down whilst the paint cures. Turning the heating on has little effect. This is as it heats up the air above the concrete and not the floor itself.
The Rust-Oleum ColdMax Rapid 9700, is a two component, rapid curing polyaspartic coating which can be applied in temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.
When Is It Safe To Walk On The Floor?
At a floor temperature of 5 degrees Celsius, it can be over coated after 16-24 hours. You can walk on it after a day or two. Regardless of its ability to cure at low temperatures, the coating will still be soft, and vulnerable to damage, for the first week or two. Avoid allowing traffic or heavy objects onto the floor surface. This damage can be difficult to repair.
Whilst we cannot change the nature of the paint, there are many work arounds. You can either coating the floor in sections or apply the paint during a Christmas shutdown. You can always wait until the temperatures have risen (which allows for a wider choice of product).
Preparation and Planning
When painting a floor, preparation and planning are often more important than the paint itself. Whilst application guidelines are printed on the tin, or included on the individual product Data Sheets’ tab of the website, there are numerous factors that contribute towards the success or failure of the job.
This is where Promain has the knowledge and experience to offer our Customers technical advice and guidance that ensures their time, effort and money are not wasted.
You may have already registered that the Promain tagline is ‘Passionate About Paint’ – and we really are! Contact us or call 01462 421 333 because, if you have any questions, no matter how trivial, please ask. We want to help you get your industrial floor paint right first time.
