Why Use An Epoxy Floor Paint?
Epoxy resin floor paint is by far the most popular floor paint used throughout industry today as they are some of the toughest and longest lasting coatings. They have excellent chemical resistance, abrasion resistance and impact resistance. Furthermore, we can make them with extra fast hardeners (see our Fast Drying Paint) which means a faster cure time and less down time. Almost all of our top coats have a slip resistant version and these can all be seen in our Anti Slip Paints & Coatings section. Our two pack epoxy floor paints provide a totally impervious finish and therefore much easier to keep clean. Finally, if it is extra chemical resistance you need, then go to our Chemical Resistant Floor Paint.
A clean and well-maintained floor is essential for every business. Not only does it contribute to the overall efficiency of the operations, but it also plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of the workers, and the best way of ensuring this is with the use of epoxy resin floor paints. However, there are many and varied epoxy paints and it is extremely important you get the right one for you. If you are not sure, then simply contact our technical help team, many of which have been long term applicators, who will firstly gain an understanding of your specific requirements both by way of product and any down time limitations and will tell you the right product for your specific job and why.
Installation.
If you require installation, we have a list of approved contractors nationwide and will happily put you directly in touch with them, thereby cutting out any additional and unnecessary middleman costs!
Understanding the Importance of a Well-Maintained Factory Floor
The condition of a concrete floor in any factory or warehouse significantly impacts the efficiency and smooth flow of operations. A well-maintained factory floor provides a level surface, ensuring machinery and equipment can be safely operated without any disruptions or accidents.
Dust and spills cause immense damage to concrete. The dust particles themselves act as an abrasive powder and grinds further into the surface of the substrate as it is straversed by both foot and vehicular traffic. Liquids such as oil that has seeped into the concrete floor reduce the integrity of the concrete over time causing it to break up. Acids and solvents obviously break down the concrete at a much faster rate. This shows the importance of removing dust on a regular basis, and to remove liquids from your floors as soon as possible.
A clean and organised factory floor improves productivity by reducing the risk of inefficiencies, and allows workers to navigate the workspace with ease, saving time, effort, and money.
Operational Efficiency
No matter what the industry, whether it be a garage floor, warehouse floor or even in cold stores, a well-organised and clearly marked area acts as a crucial component in maintaining operational efficiency. By providing and optimised space, it enables workers to move efficiently between different workstations. This reduces the time taken to complete tasks and enhances overall productivity.
A well-thought-out floor plan ensures that machinery and workstations are strategically positioned, minimizing unnecessary movement and optimising production processes with a long lasting, high performance epoxy floor coating.
Enhancing Visibility and Safety with Epoxy Floor Paint
The use of a twin pack epoxy floor paint enables you to colour code areas and significantly improve visibility in the workplace. Being tough and incredibly durable, two pack epoxy paints easily withstand constant heavy traffic areas and are the long term answer for painting designated walkways, car parks, hazard areas, and emergency exits, you can provide clear guidance to workers, reducing the risk of accidents and promoting a more suitable, safer environment.
Furthermore, if you change colour of the epoxy resin floor paint and use a contrasting colour it offers a practical solution and can help differentiate between different zones, making it easier for employees to determine where they should be at any given time. This not only enhances safety but also improves efficiency by streamlining movement within the factory.
Where every walkway is clearly marked with coloured epoxy paint, whether it be bright vibrant colours or maybe your company corporate colour, you can transform your factory into a well-organised and visually appealing workspace.
Durability and Longevity: The Long-Term Advantages
When fully cured a high-quality epoxy resin floor paint provides a hard wearing, heavy duty professional finish, designed to withstand high traffic areas, heavy equipment, and chemicals commonly found in factory settings. Applying a durable two pack epoxy paint coating with excellent resistance to chemicals on concrete surfaces creates a protective barrier that prevents the floor from deteriorating, extending its lifespan and reducing maintenance costs over time.
All floors endure all manner of stresses and strains, including flexural strain by constant movement of heavy machinery and vehicle traffic. These are often the main cause of structural cracks as well as being subjected to constant wear and tear, impact damage and chemical attack. Without proper high performance epoxy resin floor paint protection, floors quickly deteriorate, and this leads to unwanted cost, not only for materials and labour but more importantly, the disruption and downtime to your operation whilst the repair works are being carried out. By investing in a good quality, hard wearing two pack epoxy floor paint, you can ensure your floor area remains in top condition for a far longer period of time.
To seal bare concrete not only prevents the substrate from becoming stained and contaminated from oil and chemicals but the simple fact that it is sealed, greatly reduces the daily cleaning times and thus, saves time, effort and money on a daily basis.
Aesthetic Appeal and Its Impact on Worker Morale
While the functionality and safety aspects of old and new concrete floors are crucial, the aesthetic appeal needs to be seriously considered. A clean and visually appealing workplace has proven to have a massive positive impact on employee morale and motivation.
It is well known that a bare concrete is dull and uninspiring and does not help to create a sense of excitement or pride. By investing in a bright and safer environment with the use of a good quality epoxy floor paint, this enhances the overall look of the area and creates an environment that employees are proud to work in. Anti slip floors are of course highly recommended for wet or oily areas.
Studies have shown that a visually appealing workspace improves employee satisfaction and engagement. When employees feel proud of their workplace, fostering a positive work culture where they are much more likely to take ownership of their tasks as well as striving far harder, for excellence. It boosts their sense of belonging, mental well-being which ultimately results in far greater productivity. A win-win for both the employee and the employer.
Safety Implications of a Neglected Factory Floor
Neglected floors pose serious safety risks for both workers and equipment. Uneven surfaces, cracks, or worn-out markings can cause accidents, leading to injuries or damage to machinery. These incidents not only disrupt production but can also result in costly lawsuits and medical expenses. To help make any repairs necessary, please see our Floor Repairs section.
When it comes to slippery floors, almost all or our epoxy coating options have an anti slip version. Many anti slip floor coatings fail due to the type of aggregate used to achieve a slip resistant finish. It is therefore important to note that the calcined bauxite aggregate we supply, has one of the highest levels of shore hardness with a Mohs level of 8.5. and can withstand both constant pedestrian and vehicular traffic. For more information on the Mohs levels, see https://www.nps.gov/articles/mohs-hardness-scale.htm
The Importance Of Preparation
The importance of good preparation cannot be over emphasised. Simply speaking, if loose particles such as dust or loose paint is left on the surface, the new epoxy paint will stick perfectly to the dust (or existing ‘loose’ paint) and then simply delaminate from the underlying substrate!
To remove all loose and friable material, we suggest a vacuum assisted shot blaster or diamond grinder to professionally prepare the surface. Polycote understands you need a versatile solution and can hire you the suitable equipment to complete the work yourselves or provide you with a professional contractor to complete the work for you.
If you only have a small areas to do, or indeed you are unable to use equipment due to limited space, Polycote Etch IT is an acid chemical that can be brushed over a dusting surface and is then washed off the floor and/or removed using an Aquavac. Any existing paint that is loose, should be removed using hand held diamond grinders (again, attached to an industrial vacuum) or hand scraped. Whatever it takes, loose/unbonded paint must be removed otherwise you are utterly wasting your time. If you are applying a coating over a fully bonded paint, then we suggest simply abrading the surface to ensure a good adhesion to the existing paint.
Priming The Substrate With An Epoxy Primer, Prior To Top-Coating
Polycote WD Primer
After preparing the floor, it is far more professional to mix and apply a suitable primer, and this is governed by the type and condition of the substrate. Polycote WD Primer is one of our most common primers as this will adhere to concrete and most other surfaces, even ceramic and quarry tiles resulting in a tough finish.
Polycote EP Primer
This is a 100% solids ultra low viscosity primer designed to penetrate well into poor concrete and porous surfaces in order to re-harden the substrate on even heavy traffic areas.
Polycote OT Primer
Designed for floors that have been subjected to oil and other liquid spillages, where the oil has penetrated the surface of the concrete. This may sound blunt, but we can almost guarantee the failure of any epoxy coating if the OT Primer is not used to seal the floor before you put the top coat on. This product is extremely successful prior to painting a concrete garage floor or engineering factory floors. Equally, it is also successful on floors previously subjected to blood, animal fats and vegetable matter.
Polycote DPM Primer
If you are experiencing damp floors due to rising damp, Polycote DPM Primer is the answer for this. It is a professionally formulated, hard wearing, epoxy damp proof membrane, designed to completely seal the surface and provide extra resistance to underlying rising water pressures.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, the painting of your factory floors, garage floors or other areas with an epoxy resin floor paint offers numerous benefits and is clearly a worthwhile investment.
For every factory owner it will:
a) enhance visibility
b) answer all HSE requirements
c) increase durability
d) extend longevity
e) remove potential hazards
f) promote good company culture
g) save the frustrations and disruptions caused by downtime, and as a result…
h) …. increase punctuality and profitability.
For your employees, a well painted, safe and attractive floor will:
a) transform the working environment
b) boost worker morale
c) improve mental health
d) improve cleanliness
e) improve health and safety
f) reduce accidents
g) reduce maintenance downtime
h) show respect for your employees and their environs
i) strengthen good culture
j) increase productivity
k) increase profits
As for visitors, whether they be customers or suppliers, a clean and well-presented factory will:
a) promote a positive atmosphere
b) help present your product or service in the best possible way
c) show respect and appreciation to your visitors
d) show recognition of your care and comfort of your staff
e) help transmit the enthusiasm and positivity of your staff to the customer
f) give the customer or supplier confidence that this is an organised, respectable and trustworthy company.
So why wait?
Transform your floors and working environments today and reap the rewards that extend far beyond simple aesthetics. If you are genuinely looking for a long term solution, then ring Polycote now on 01234 846400 and speak to one or our advisors who, very simply, can tell you exactly WHAT you should use and WHY!
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