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THE CHALLENGE:
Busy commercial facilities can ill afford the time and disruption necessary to
install advanced flooring systems. Consequently, when their flooring becomes
worn or damaged, they need an attractive but durable replacement that can be
installed economically with minimum interruption to daily business activities.
Introduced by TFT about 10 years ago, BIO-FLOR
182 was then a giant step forward since it allowed complete installation of a
three coat system with unrestricted use in 24 hours. TFT has since been
challenged to reduce this time to 12 hours while retaining excellent
performance over a variety of surfaces including vinyl composite tile (VCT),
vinyl asbestos tile (VAT), and concrete.
VAT is a high maintenance flooring requiring
constant waxing and stripping to prevent the release of airborne asbestos
fibers. Removal of the VAT is enormously disruptive and expensive, and after
removal, it is still necessary to install a new floor. TFT flooring epoxies,
however, are applied over and encapsulate VAT so removal is unnecessary.
THE SOLUTION:
TFTs new Hybrid Quick-Cure Flooring System combines the best qualities
of our established BIO-FLOR 182 product with a new BIO-GARD 488 water-born
primer and top coat. Advances in water-born epoxy technology now allow
significant reductions in cure times for both the primer and clear glaze coat
used on an attractive color-chip floor. Instead of having to wait more than 4
hours for the primer to cure sufficiently before overcoating, the new BIO-GARD
488 water-born epoxy requires only about 30 minutes. BIO-GARD 488 is also as
easy to apply as regular latex paint and has tremendous adhesion to many
surfaces from vinyl tile to concrete.
TFTs new flooring system safely and permanently
encapsulates VAT with an attractive, hardwearing, seamless epoxy layer. In
addition, immediate savings are realized in both personnel costs and chemicals
because the new floor requires only mopping or scrubbing with water to maintain
it.
The VAT application surface after stripping
INSTALLATION:
Following OSHA guidelines, the existing VAT floor in a busy aisleway was
stripped of existing wax residues. Masking tape was then applied and safety
markings set up before the first coat (primer) of BIO-GARD 488 was applied.
Tightly adherent marks such as the tire skid marks visible in the photograph
were not deemed a problem.
The gray primer coat of BIO-GARD 488 applied
with a standard 3/8 nap roller at the rate of 267 square feet per gallon was
as easy as rolling latex paint. Its initial drying (ready for overcoating with
BIO-FLOR 182) took place within 30 minutes.
Initial drying occurs when the water in the BIO-GARD
488 has evaporated. This process is easily visible since the film loses some of
its gloss and darkens in color. Ultimate chemical curing of the film then
proceeds over the next several days and continues even after it is covered over
by the balance of the system.
Once the gray BIO-GARD 488 primer dried, it was
time to apply the body coat of clear BIO-FLOR 182, a solvent-free pure epoxy
resin used to bind the color chips and give a gentle texture to the floor.
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BIO-GARD 488 drying -- note color and gloss change
BIO-FLOR 182 is thicker than the BIO-GARD 488
because it is pure resin and it contains no solvents. It was first poured onto
the surface and then spread with a straight edged squeegee. After squeegeeing,
the coating was rolled out using standard 3/8 rollers.
BIO-FLOR 182 being applied by squeegee
Immediately after rolling was completed, the
multi-colored chip mixture was broadcast by hand in a chicken-feeding
manner. After broadcasting all the color chips, the entire surface was
re-rolled to even out the chip distribution. This surface was then left for
about 4 hours after which time it was cured sufficiently to allow access with
spiked shoes.
The final glaze coat was
then applied with standard 3/8 rollers. Its milky appearance made uniform
application very straightforward. Approximately 20 minutes after application,
it became noticeably less milky and ultimately turned crystal clear after about
30 minutes.
BIO-GARD 488 -- drying in progress
Further curing over the next 90 minutes resulted
in a surface cured adequately for light foot traffic.
THE RESULT:
TFTs new Hybrid Quick-Cure Flooring System met all the clients criteria
for fast curing and high performance with minimal business disruption. It was
installed and ready for foot traffic in approximately 7 hours. Not only that,
but future maintenance will be far simpler and less expensive than maintaining
the VAT it replaced. As a bonus, its cosmetic appearance is also far superior
to the previous VAT flooring.
Final Result -- hard, glossy and clear finish
For technical details regarding TFT products used
in this project, contact:
Jeff Longmore, Technical Director
Thin Film Technology, Inc.
(713) 910-6200
Fax: (713) 910-6210
E-mail: jeff@thinfilmtech.net
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