When you are looking for a way to spruce up your commercial property, a fresh coat of paint may be the best answer. Paint on its own may not be enough to meet the requirements for your interior or exterior walls, ceilings, and even floors. Luckily, your commercial and industrial painting professionals have the solution – coatings! You must be wondering how coatings can change your painting experience? Read as we explain.
The Difference Between Paint and Coatings
If you are stuck on which you should have applied to your building, gaining a basic understanding of the two may help you decide. Coating can be paint, but paint can’t be a coating. There are distinct differences that you should observe before you and your painting specialists decide.
What is Paint?
The primary purpose of paint is to help improve the aesthetic value of your building. Depending on the surface, there is likely a paint type that is made specifically for it. Paint can also be applied using different techniques that may enhance the look.
Even though some paints have protective qualities about them, it is not the intended purpose. Using a paint application on any surface can make it look more vibrant, cleaner, and seem newer.
What are Coatings?
Coatings step in to pick up where paint can’t perform. You could think of coatings as paints that perform specific purposes. These are the types of jobs that coatings can do that paint can’t:
- Flexibility
- Elasticity
- Color retention
- Water shedding
- Waterproofing
- Self-cleaning
- Rust and corrosion – containment and prevention
- Breathability
- Antimicrobial
Coatings are a better selection for commercial and industrial properties because they can hold up better to the test of time and weather.
Types of High-Performance Coatings
Most commercial paint coatings are applied in an industrial setting to protect metal and concrete structures that require paint protection from chemical, mechanical, and environmental ruin. Different commercial and industrial coatings have different purposes. You don’t have to know what each one is. You just need to hire the experts that do.
The majority of coatings fall into organic and inorganic categories – with popular choices found in each of these. re:fab is experienced in handling the commercial and industrial coatings required for buildings (interior and exterior). If you are unsure which you need, we can guide you in the right direction.
Organic Coatings
These types of coatings contain carbon and refined or modified petroleum products. They also include different solvents, additives, pigments, and fillers. You would likely find the following:
Epoxy Coating Systems – The term “epoxy” defines a large group of coating products that are considered to be high-performance coatings. Epoxy coatings have short curing and drying times. They can bond with many different surfaces, such as zinc, steel, aluminum, and galvanized components. This coating is the premier choice for many industrial settings because it can withstand the demand and provide maximum protection against wear and tear.
Polyurethane Coating – Polyurethane is enhanced with special additives that make it exceptionally resistant to corrosion, abrasion, weathering, and chemicals. As a result, the coating is considered versatile and can be used in many different industrial and commercial settings.
Inorganic Coatings
Inorganic coatings are formulated using ingredients like enamels, additives, and pigments to help provide protection against various stressors in industrial environments. You will likely see these types of inorganic coatings:
Ceramic Coating – The use of ceramic paint coatings exhibits unique characteristics due to their chemical and corrosion protection, thermal insulation, and chemical and dimensional stability. Industrial painting projects may use ceramic polymer coatings to protect tank or piping systems against water, moisture, chemicals, UV radiation, and higher ranges of operating temperatures.
Acrylic Coating – Acrylic coatings contain higher amounts of additives and fillers and are designed to meet high-performance standards. Acrylic coatings also have fewer pigment dispersants, rheology modifiers, and surfactants that negatively affect corrosion resistance.
How Using Industrial Coating Makes a Difference
Industrial coatings are an integral part of maintaining and protecting various substrates such as concrete or steel. When these need to be reapplied, waiting can cause more harm than good. Keeping up with the maintenance of your industrial coatings is a must, and you should always hire professionals to apply it.
These are the reasons you should always stay up to date with industrial coating maintenance:
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- These coatings provide protection – such as flooring that holds heavy machinery. Industrial coatings stop the floor from being ruined or broken down.
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- These coatings provide safety – to prevent slip and fall accidents, many flooring may use a slip-resistant coating.
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- These coatings prevent corrosion – rust and other corrosive debris can be devastating to equipment; coatings can preserve them.
- These coatings keep surfaces clean – this can even include antimicrobial properties. Many facilities and buildings need to maintain a certain level of cleanliness, so using industrial coatings makes this possible.
Why Choose re:fab For Your Industrial Coatings?
Isn’t it time to find the contractor who can do what they say and finish what they start?
For over 25 years, re:fab has been the choice of companies nationally and regionally, providing a line of full renovation, painting, and specialty application services.
We take pride in our excellent project management team and offer support every day until the project is finished, and you are completely satisfied.
Our projects start with a phone call. We thoroughly discuss and document your needs and requests. We come up with a plan that delivers your project on time and on budget. Next, we provide you with project managers who maintain transparency. We work around your needs, even if it requires working nights and weekends. The final step of the re:fab process is to ensure you are completely satisfied with the work we have done. Contact us today!