UNDERSTANDING AND COATING FLOORS
A guide to understanding floors, and understanding how to paint them.
There are so many different floors, ranging from Industrial concrete to Domestic hardwood. Each presents their own problems when it comes to painting over it, but most of the time if you understand what to do then you can find a solution.
The circumstances as to why a floor needs coatings can vary: whether it’s for protection, safety, or even just to improve the appearance of it. The most important thing is to know what you need it to do, and your limitations in doing it (limitations are usually based on budget). For example you may need something with anti-slip qualities, or high abrasion resistance, or something that will be fully hardened in a short period of time. All of these things will contribute towards deciding what coatings system to use.
Figuring out floors in just 4 Easy Steps.
This is obviously just going to give an idea of how to work out what you need. There are a lot of variables that can be different job to job, and so you should consult an expert to give you clear instructions. However getting those clear instructions is far easier if you are in the know too. These 4 steps will allow you to understand what is needed and what can be achieved within your limitations.
Step 1: Identify the Substrate.
The first step is always to identify the substrate that you’re painting on to. Different surfaces can have very different reactions to paints that you put onto them, so it’s important to understand what it is that you’re working with.
Concrete:- Concrete is a common substrate in industrial areas, and warehouses. It comes in a few different varieties (screed, self-leveller, reinforced etc), but the most common is Monolithic (Power Floated). This gives a very dense and smooth finish to the floor, meaning it is likely to need blasting or etching if it hasn’t been painted before. If neither of those is an option then an adhesion primer can be used, such as 3333 or 3366.
Asphalt:- Asphalt is always Bitumen based, which creates unique issues. it means that asphalt is always at least a little bit flexible, meaning that whatever you put over the top needs to be able to flex alongside it. The coatings also cannot be solvent-based, as this damages the asphalt and prevent the paint from working properly.
Metal:- Although metal floors are not overly common, they do crop up. The main issue that metal presents is that it’s non-porous. An adhesion primer is almost always needed, and it is essential that the primer is anti-corrosive. Once the surface is primed then it can be over-coated with whatever meets the requirements of the job.
Wood:- Wood is generally classified in 2 ways: “Hard” and “Soft” wood. In most circumstances hard wood shouldn’t be painted. Soft wood can be painted, but only after using a suitable impregnation primer. As with asphalt, wood can flex, and so this needs to be taken into account when choosing a system to apply over the top.
Step 2: Assess the condition of the Floor.
Once you know what you are painting on to then you need to know what damage or problems there are that need to be fixed. This can be anything from ponding water to cracks. Usually someone can come and do a site visit to determine these issues for you if it is needed, but if you would like to asses the factors yourself then there are a few easy tests that you can do.
Visual:- A lot of things can be judged just by looking at the floor. The resilience of the floor, as well as the cleanliness can be determined just by looking at it. The main things to check for are cracks, voids, a rough/dense surface and residual debris. Looking for visual clues is the easiest test to do, and it shows the most obvious problems which can’t be overlooked.
Water:- There are 2 kinds of water test. The first is to see whether a concrete floor has fully dried below the surface: often it feels dry but it’s still damp below the surface; it takes months to cure fully. To test whether it’s dry tape a 1m2 plastic sheet to the ground, making sure to seal every edge securely. Leave this for 24 hours, then remove it. If the patch where the sheet was is darker than the rest of the floor, or there is condensation on the bottom of the sheet, then the floor still needs more time to dry out before it can be painted.
The other test that can be done with water is the absorption test. Just put a drop of water onto the floor and leave it for 10 minutes to see whether it gets absorbed by the floor. This will give you some idea of how porous the surface is. If it’s not porous at all then the paint is unlikely to adhere; if it’s very porous then you might need to use an impregnation primer such as 5401 first so that the floor doesn’t absorb excessive amounts of paint.
Hammer and knife:- The hammer and knife have multiple uses in testing floors. Use them to check for laitance, and to check the quality and condition of an old coat of paint. If someone has already put a paint system down, but there are issues with it, then it always a good idea to take up part of the old system and look for what could be causing the problem. 80% of issues come from poor preparation, so it is likely that you will be able to see what is causing the problem. You can also check for hollowness and voids beneath the surface, which is important to know as these can cause severe long term problems.
Other:- Most other issues with the condition of the floor can be fixed with a good clean. But if there is anything unusual that you’re not sure about then give us a call.
Step 3: Know what it’s exposed to.
Floors come into contact with a variety of different problems every day, and you need to know what the floor is likely to be exposed to before you can decide what paint system to use. For example: if you’re going to have forklifts driving up and down it every day then it needs a heavier system than if you only have light foot traffic.
There are 3 main types of exposure to bear in mind: traffic, mechanical and chemical.
Traffic:- Levels of traffic are generally split into Light, Medium, Heavy or Very Heavy.
Light: General pedestrian usage. Not a constant stream of people like you’d find on a high street, and no machinery or pallets being moved across it.
Medium: A more intensive use by pedestrians, with some pallets being moved across it. But no vehicles i.e forklifts, trucks etc.
Heavy: Exposed to extra friction, such as by forklifts or other light vehicles and machinery.
Very Heavy: This is heavy equipment and trucks. Anything that puts serious strain on the floor.
If there is any doubt then play on the safe side. Otherwise you might end up re-coating it a year down the line no matter how high quality the paint is.
Mechanical:- Mechanical exposure covers anything from shocks, sudden impacts, or rolling wear. Obviously the frequency in which the floor is likely to be exposed to these things is important: shock damage every day is very different to once every couple of months. But in an industrial environment you have to consider everything that may, even accidentally, come into contact with the floor.
Chemical:- There are a few things that you need to know to be able to asses chemical risk. Firstly, you need to know what chemicals the floor may be exposed to, and at what concentration they’re likely to be. Then you need to know the frequency at which it is likely to be exposed (a few times a day, a few times a month etc), and how long it would remain on the floor before being cleaned. It may seem like a lot to know, but chemicals can be incredibly damaging, so it is best to be prepared.
The final type of exposure is UV. UV rays are very damaging to all types of paint, but UV resistant paints will protect the surface for a much longer time.
Step 4: Know your Limitations
The most important things to know are your budget, your legal requirements, and your time frame. If you only have a couple of days to work with then you may need a quick drying coating, which may cost more.
But also, know the limitations of your skills. If you’re not comfortable in doing a self-assessment of the floor, or if you need advice on how to tackle some of the issues mentioned above, then give us a call. We have a team of experts on hand to answer questions, provide products, and also provide the labour if it is needed.
