How does polyaspartic polyurea compare to traditional polyurethane?

With the advantages of high performance and high efficiency, polyaspartic polyurea is widely used in industrial coatings, waterproofing, anti-corrosion and other fields. Compared with traditional polyurethane, the reaction between polyaspartic polyurea secondary amine and polyisocyanate does not require a catalyst, so it is more environmentally friendly, and it can be coated thickly for construction, with better weathering performance and durability.

The water in polyaspartic polyurea does not react easily with polyisocyanates, while water vapor in the air promotes polyaspartic polyurea curing reactions. This creates a unique phenomenon in that the coating cures efficiently due to the exposure of its coating surface to air, but still maintains a suitable period of application. Earlier coating formulations were sensitive to temperature and humidity conditions due to traditional polyisocyanate trimers and diureas, which not only affected drying time, but also had an impact on repair recoat adhesion. In high temperature and high humidity environments, the coating reacts quickly and possesses high chemical resistance, but at the same time prevents the repair material from penetrating into the original coating, leading to interlayer adhesion problems. To address this challenge, second-generation isocyanate crosslinkers have been developed on the market that balance crosslink density, reactivity and chemical resistance to improve overall performance.

Thick film coating convenience is enhanced when users specify productivity. In addition to significantly increased productivity, it also saves material costs and reduces the complexity of construction. Thick film polyaspartic polyurea construction also has the advantages of low temperature curing, low voc, excellent edge retention, and weatherability.

Recently, many studies have evaluated single or double-layer polyaspartic polyurea coating technologies and concluded that single-layer polyaspartic polyurea can replace two-layer traditional material systems (epoxy primer + polyurethane topcoat), and that double-layer polyaspartic polyurea systems(zinc-rich primer + polyaspartic polyurethane topcoat) are equivalent to three-layer traditional material(zinc-rich primer + epoxy intermediate paint + polyurethane topcoat) in terms of performance. The development of fast-drying, high-solid primers and topcoats with good adhesion and high performance has always been a challenge for the coatings industry, and the combination of high productivity and curing speed is especially important for the construction crew to complete the coating construction in a timely and fast manner.

Can not be denied, polyaspartic polyurea coating has achieved great success, and as people now pay more attention to environmental issues, increasingly stringent environmental protection decree to reduce volatile organic compound (voc) emissions and energy consumption, governments around the world have also implemented stringent environmental protection mandatory measures. Polyaspartic polyurea with environmental protection, high solids and low VOC emissions, will bring new opportunities and development for coatings and painting enterprises.

Feiyang has been specializing in polyaspartic polyurea for 30 years and can provide polyaspartic resin, elastic hardener and formulations for coating manufacturers. Please feel free to contact us if you need any help: [email protected]