How Protective Coatings Can Prolong the Lifespan of Essential Machinery
Protecting the integrity of the structure and surfaces of your machinery is key to saving on costs and maintaining a healthy budget.
Damage can build up over time, with problems such as corrosion and rust causing equipment to break down, require expensive repairs, and a delay in fulfilling orders. Using a protective coating like Durabak can help prevent corrosion and prolong the lifespan of the equipment, you need to run your business each day.
Corrosion of Machinery
One of the biggest threats to the lifespan of essential machinery is corrosion. Moisture, and acidic substances corrode steel, galvanized fittings, and aluminum over time. If your machinery is used outside in humidity or precipitation, you run the risk of eroding the steel frames of your equipment.
UV Ray Damage
If you have windows in your workspace or leave equipment outside UV rays may be able to reach your appliances. These rays are incredibly destructive. Not only do they cause machinery to heat up, which could lead to overheating when in use, but they interact with the physical materials in the machinery.
UV rays can change the molecular structure of many materials, including various metals. While a polyurethane coating will suffer some degradation from contact with UV rays, it provides an essential layer of protection that lasts for many years.
Wear-and-Tear
Daily use of essential machinery, especially those with multiple moving parts, vibrations, and in high-traffic areas, can wear your machinery down over time. Abrasions and scratches to equipment also make it vulnerable to corrosion more quickly.
Even dust can eat away at metal over time, with dirt and grime penetrating the deeper layers of machinery and raising the risk of corrosion. Areas of machinery that are touched continuously or handled are vulnerable to the oils in the skin, which can also harm equipment.
By applying a protective coating of polyurethane, you can protect the structural integrity of your equipment. Polyurethane can also withstand abrasive elements that flow through machinery, including sand and gravel.
Temperature Variations
Some facilities have wildly differing temperatures, especially when a lot of equipment is running in a contained area. Over time, these variations can degrade machinery and affect the structural integrity of certain metals.
Thermal protection is essential to any commercial business using machinery. Polyurethane coating offers protection against these temperature fluctuations so that your equipment lasts as long as possible.
Whilst other paints and coatings will develop spiderweb cracks as they expand and contract in hot cold cycles, Durabak polyurethane coating is formulated to be completely flexible and elastic so that it shrinks and expands with the machinery and withstands constant temperature of up to 254 F.
What Is a Polyurethane Coating?
Polyurethane coatings are known as polymers. In the industrial world, they are renowned for being very hard-wearing and challenging to penetrate. Although they are exceptionally strong, they are also supple and able to stretch, making them ideal for coating machinery that may vibrate or move during operation.
As many factory environments include combustible materials, polyurethane is a practical choice because it is fire resistant and retardant.
Some types of coatings may need additional materials to cure or may take a long time to set. This delay can lead to downtime and increase the chances of contamination before the coating is ready. In addition to being complicated and frustrating to apply mixing precise amounts of various ingredients together in perfect ratios makes the coating process unnecessarily overcomplicated.
Moisture cured, one part Polyurethanes, like Durabak, dry quickly and do not require additional chemicals to cure. These coatings are also waterproof and can protect your equipment from chemicals.
Durabak’s polyurethane coating provides a protective layer to almost any surface material. Whether looking to protect steel or aluminum from corrosion, rubber or plastic from abrasion or plastic and fiberglass from impact, the Durabak formula is designed to be a one stop solution for all those needs.
How to Use Polyurethane Coating on Your Machinery
Applying Durabak’s polyurethane coating can help keep your machinery in excellent condition and protect it from harmful elements. You can easily brush or roll the coating onto the equipment. It does not need any extra chemicals for curing, there is no need to mix the covering.
Prime your equipment using the manufacturer-recommended primer. Allow the primer to dry, and sand it down with sandpaper (grit number is according to surface type) to create a surface the Durabak polyurethane protective coating can adhere to easily.
Our polyurethane products set quickly, in just 1-2 hours per coat. Allow the coating to sit overnight to dry. Your Durabak coating will last for several years, depending on where you store your machinery and how often your machinery is exposed to the elements.
Durabak polyurethane protective coating can be applied to most surfaces, including:
- Epoxy
- Aluminum
- Steel
- Concrete
- Wood
- Plastic
- Rubber
- Fiberglass
Regular polyurethane coating of equipment can increase the resale value of your equipment when you are ready to upgrade. Preventing corrosion is key to keeping your machinery in good, resellable shape.
Because it is flexible, you can use polyurethane around moving parts. The durable coating will protect your essential equipment from UV rays, moisture, rust, and corrosion, while still being a safe covering in environments with combustible chemicals.
For more information on how Durabak can help protect your business’ investments, call us at (303)-690-7190.
