James Burton of Bradite examines what’s involved when undertaking the painting of flooring in warehouses, workshops, schools, hospital kitchens, underground car parks or even aircraft hangars or helipads.
Whether you’re painting flooring in a domestic setting, a warehouse, a workshop, a school or hospital kitchen, an underground car park or something a little more challenging like an aircraft hangar or helipad, site preparation and product selection are the keys to success.
It’s important to remember not all floor paints are the same. Generic products include alkyds, polyurethanes, epoxies, single pack, twin pack, water-based, solvent-free, moisture cure, chlorinated rubber and more. They may be described as domestic, industrial, garage, hardwearing, tough, and flexible. Here I’ll provide advice for selecting the correct product for the job.
For domestic use, you may require a quick drying, low-odour product that’s easy to apply such as a single pack, cross linking water-based paint. For a light industrial situation, the coating should be hardwearing, grease-resistant and able to cope with light to medium traffic. A single pack polyurethane, or a water-based cross-linking product may work well. For heavier traffic areas, such as a workshop floor where oil and grease are present, you could try a moisture cure, chlorinated rubber, or twin pack epoxy. To achieve quick-drying and recoat times, try a water-based cross linking moisture cure or chlorinated rubber. In a work environment, such as an area for food preparation, you should use an odour and solvent-free product. Consider water-based cross linking or twin pack water-based epoxies.
There are certain circumstances where the coating must resist specific chemicals. In these cases, identify the chemicals and check the coating suitability directly with the product manufacturer.
In settings where regular deep cleaning is required such as a brewery or kennels, consider chlorinated rubber or twin-pack epoxies.
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