Polyurea, an advanced waterproofing and protective coating solution

Polyurea coating technology constitutes a superior system from the traditional ones used in waterproofing and protective coating applications. Its exceptional properties result to fast completion of work and immediate return to service, while making it capable for a wide range of applications, especially under highly demanding conditions.

Polyurea’s technology started back in the 1980s and is becoming extremely popular these days. It is a hot-spray applied membrane based on the reaction of an isocyanate component and an amino or amino-polyol resin in the case of pure and hybrid polyurea respectively. The isocyanate can be of aromatic or aliphatic composition. The combination of the two components takes place in high pressure and temperature. This reaction is rapid, proceeding to completion within a few seconds, thus requiring specialized mixing and application equipment to be used by trained installers.

What are the advantages of polyurea coatings?

With further developments taking place in the construction industry, the use of polyurea grew rapidly in recent years. One reason polyurea coatings are exploding in popularity is the wide variety of positive attributes they exhibit. The product’s physical, mechanical and chemical properties make it ideal for special applications and demanding construction requirements, such as minimizing project completion time, maximizing efficiency, and using low VOC materials. ISOMAT has developed a range of polyurea membranes, both 100% pure and hybrid, to cover all possible requirements for your project. The major advantages of our polyurea coatings can be summarized as follows:

ULTRA-FAST CURING

Return-to-service comes a lot faster than traditional coatings. Gel time is achieved within seconds, allowing foot traffic after a few minutes and use of the facility in less than one day, significantly reducing downtime. In particular, ISOMAT-PUA 1240 hybrid polyurea offers a gel time of 15 seconds, while ISOMAT-PUA 2230 pure polyurea the impressively fast gel time of 5 seconds! Furthermore, fast curing makes polyurea applicable even to vertical and curved surfaces, making them ideal for complex architectural structures and details. They are spray-applied with high-pressure and high-temperature plural-component spray equipment, allowing trained installers to build up a finished thickness with accuracy in a single pass.

EXTRAORDINARY CHEMICAL RESISTANCE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

When fully cured, polyurea turns to a monolithic, seamless membrane with high resistance even to heavy mechanical or chemical loads. Furthermore, these membranes are vapor-permeable, preventing moisture accumulation. Polyurea provides impressive chemical resistance and exceptional mechanical properties like elongation, tensile strength, tear strength, abrasion resistance, and crack-bridging ability. ISOMAT-PUA 2230 offers remarkable values of all the aforementioned technical characteristics and is an ideal solution as a protective flooring coating.

ADVANCED WATERPROOFING PROPERTIES

One of polyurea’s main application fields is waterproofing of roofs, flat roofs, terraces, bridges, tunnels, tanks, swimming pools, etc. Polyurea provides exceptional waterproofing performance, along with extraordinary mechanical strength and chemical resistance, namely the main criteria for a wide range of projects. ISOMAT-PUA 1360 combines both high elasticity, exceptional tensile strength, crack bridging ability and excellent waterproofing properties, which constitute it supreme for waterproofing applications.

EASY APPLICATION AND PERFECT ADHESION

Our polyureas can be rapidly applied with a special two-component, high-pressure and high-temperature spray machine to a variety of different substrates (concrete, metals, wood, etc.) even under high humidity and extreme temperatures. Relative humidity or residual moisture has little to no effect on adhesion or coating performance because polyurea is hydrolytically stable. In addition, fiber reinforcement is not required for detail applications.

LONG WORKING LIFE

Thanks to polyurea’s thermal stability to temperature variations, weather variations hardly influence coating performance or adhesion properties. The final polyurea surface is easy to clean and due to its chemical resistance can withstand the most cleaning processes in industrial projects. By offering high resistance to aging and abrasion, ISOMAT polyureas could be a permanent solution for any project.

ENVIRONMENT

With a 100% solids formula and very low VOC emissions, polyurea products are an excellent environmentally friendly waterproofing option. Additionally, their exceptional durability means they require less maintenance and repair over time, ultimately extending the lifespan of buildings and reducing waste generation.

What about the fields of application?

Polyurea is used in a myriad of waterproofing and protection applications, especially those where high mechanical and chemical resistance, fast completion of works, and immediate return-to-service are critical considerations, e.g. industrial, residential, and infrastructure projects, wastewater treatment facilities, water tanks, the automotive industry, and even the ballistic industry.

To be more specific, polyurea can be used for waterproofing of bridges, tunnels, roofs, terraces, parking garages, swimming pools, aquariums, water tanks, biological wastewater treatment tanks, pipelines, foundations, and more. From our range of products, ISOMAT-PUA 1240 and ISOMAT-PUA 1360, hybrid and pure polyureas respectively, best fit as waterproofing coatings. On the other hand, ISOMAT-PUA 2230, given its high chemical and mechanical resistance, is the ideal protective layer in industrial floors, fuel containers, truck trailers, kitchens and bars, agriculture and food facilities.

What’s really interesting is the polyurea’s ability to absorb energy. Research has shown that polyurea coatings can increase walls’ resistance to shock waves after an explosion. Most injuries originating from fragments released during an explosion can be limited by polyurea coatings, which act as a secondary load-carrying structure. Of paramount importance is the adhesion of the coating on the wall, in order not to be detached during the blast.

As far as the UV radiation is concerned, we should point out that most polyurea membranes are aromatic, consequently should not be left exposed to UV radiation. In these cases, a UV-stable protective coating, such as TOPCOAT-PU 720 or TOPCOAT-PAS 760, is recommended as a final layer.

Is finally polyurea the most cost-efficient solution for projects?

Opting for a polyurea coating is a kind of investment for the future, a one-time cost. Polyurea’s supply costs shouldn’t be compared to other waterproofing coatings because none of them can be compared to polyurea, since no other coating can combine polyurea’s mechanical, physical and chemical properties. Its reliability, long working life, low maintenance costs, and excellent performance not only counterbalance the initial cost but also exalt polyurea over other waterproofing and protective coatings. In addition, polyurea prevails over synthetic membranes (PVC, TPO, EPDM) by providing equally effective properties at a lower cost, without seams and joints. In any case, you can always opt for a hybrid polyurea, such as ISOMAT-PUA 1240, which is a cost-effective solution, offering the extraordinary above-named characteristics at competitive prices.

For all the aforementioned reasons, ISOMAT has developed a range of polyurea membranes, both 100% pure and hybrid, to offer you the optimal solution for your demanding project. Find out more about our Advanced Polyurea Wateproofing and Coating Systems’ technical data, fields of applications and directions for use on www.isomat.eu.