FAQ

What does Solvent free mean?

The majority of traditional epoxy coatings use water or VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds)  laden solvents as the vehicle to keep the coating in a liquid state so it can be transferred from the container to the surface to be coated. The drying process of these coatings relies on solvent or water evaporation.

VOC’s are harmful to the environment and are also detrimental to the coating system performance. A coating inadvertently applied too thickly may not be able to allow the solvents to fully evaporate out of the coating leading to solvent entrapment. This can result in blisters, voids, pinholes, or soft spots in the coating.

EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings eliminates the solvent risk in its coating. An additional benefit of EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings is edge retention that is better than solvent based coatings. As EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings cures it does not shrink like solvent-based coatings and pull away from surface edges, thus significantly increasing surface protection.

What surfaces can I apply EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings to?

EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings  have excellent adhesion to a variety of surfaces. When applied over blasted steel, typical values exceed 2,000 psi. Even on rusted steel with a hand tool cleaning, pull off values exceeded 1,000 psi. Adhesion to concrete is excellent, with all pull off failures being in the concrete and generally exceeding 600 to 700 psi.

EPOX-Z coatings have been applied to metal, pressure treated lumber, fiberglass, drywall, wood and CMU with excellent results and no known adhesion failures.

Once Applied, how long will it take to dry?

One of the past difficulties with solvent free epoxies was managing the cure times. Research with a new epoxy resin has made it possible for EPOX-Z to provide a one hour pot life, is dry to the touch in 4 hours and cures overnight without forced heat.

How thick is the EPOX-Z High Performance Coating?

The EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings can be applied as thin as 4 mils in a single coat, or built up to 65 mils.

Will EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings  ”curl”?

An outstanding feature of EPOX-Z High Performance Coating is its low surface tension. It is well-known that the damaged edge of an existing coating will curl after being topcoated. When applied to a surface where the existing coating film was not completely removed, EPOX-Z will creep under the exposed edges of the previous film because of its “flow” properties. EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings , unlike the more commonly used solid resins cut in solvent, have excellent penetrating properties & flow until they are truly “chemically” cured, as opposed to partially cured through solvent evaporation alone. Combined with the lack of shrinkage, this “gluing down” will circumvent the curling effect.

Is there an odor during application?

All coatings give off an odor during application. For the most part this odor comes from the evaporating solvents. This is eliminated with EPOX-Z High Performance Coatings. Only a very low level of “epoxy” smell might be detected during the application. This odor disappears very quickly, unlike conventional materials that may “smell bad” for hours or even days.

What does 100% Solid Mean?

100% Solids does not mean that the material is a single solid piece. In the coatings industry, it refers to a liquid material that will change to a solid state without losing its mass.