Bond failure at the substrate occurs when the coating or flooring system delaminates at the bond line, which leads to the finish being easily removable from the underlying substrate.

Identifying Bond Failure

Bond failure has typically occurred when the floor coating breaks apart, peels, chips or otherwise separates into pieces so that the concrete beneath is clearly visible.

Once this delamination and chipping has happened the facility can be left facing a substantial repair bill, as more than likely the only remedy will be to completely recoat the floor area.

Causes of Bond Failure

The symptoms of substrate adhesion failure can usually be linked to one of the below  causes:

• During the preperation process the substrate was inadequately shot blasted, which would prevent a good mechanical bond with the coating.
• The presence of surface contaminants such as water, humidity, oil, dust and grease will act as a bond breaker.
• Being beyond the recoat window (if the coating was applied after the recommended time for recoating).
• Improperly mixing the resin flooring components.
• If the resin coating doesn’t properly cure.
• Undercured or smooth concrete is a common bond failure culprit.
• Other obstacles to look out for include previous coatings, concrete treatments or sealers.

Preventing Bond Failure

• The foundation of any coating or flooring system is the surface preparation. The purpose of surface preparation is to create a surface profile that will promote mechanical adhesion by removing all contaminants such as concrete laitance, existing coatings, hardeners, sealers and curing compounds that can interfere with this adhesion. All of these should be removed using a floor grinder as a part of the floor preparation process.
• Use a suitable water or solvent based primer prior to applying the coating.
• Make sure that newly poured concrete is given sufficient time to cure.

If you’d like to find out more about getting the perfect resin floor finish, get in touch with Flowcrete India’s experts by clicking here. You can see also watch a Flowcrete India presentation covering a long list of industrial flooring problems here.