Deck Coatings Systems They Can Save Your Garage

June, 2003

Deck coatings are designed to prevent leaks, corrosion, chloride intrusion and degradation in both interior and exterior concrete structures, while improving aesthetics, maintenance costs and slip resistance -- all in a two-step process. This one is a solvent-free urethane-based traffic-bearing membrane system. It is designed to protect the structure and keep moisture from penetrating the substrate while allowing the concrete substrate to "breathe" or release moisture contained within.
The design is a direct response to the unmet needs of structure owners, engineers/consultants and contractors. While they all agree that concrete substrates must be protected from chlorides, moisture, acid rain and other elements that contribute to the structures' premature degradation, we must weigh the protection required against factors such as inconvenience, cost, timing and odor to name a few.
It was designed to reduce installation costs and time and provide substrate protection that meets the needs of the structure owners and has the distinction of being the only traffic-bearing membrane system for vehicular traffic that requires two coats rather than the industry-standard three coats.
The two-coat design saves time (a minimum of 24 hours), installation labor and money when compared to a three-coat designed system. 3M's proprietary technology permits a two-coat design that meets and exceeds industry requirements for wear, performance and durability. This claim is supported by internal testing as well as independent certification of performance under ASTM C-957 and ASTM E-108.
Another unique attribute of the system is that when the time comes to recoat the structure, a one-coat application of top coat will be all that is required (as long as the integrity of the base coat has not been compromised) thereby saving installation time and cost.
Installation of the system is not only user-friendly, which leads to fewer mistakes or problems, but is designed to be rapid curing. The rapid curing attribute promotes less down time for the facility, which means less inconvenience and disruption of revenue for the owner. This system was designed to allow for a weekend coating. That is, prepare the substrate on Friday evening, install both the base coat and top coat on Saturday and turn the facility over to the owner on Monday morning.
The system is comprised of two elements. First, a waterproofing base coat that was designed to expand or move with the substrate. This allows for maximum bridging of cracks to maintain the integrity of the waterproofing requirements. Second, a top coat that provides durability for long-term wear, UV stability, aesthetics and slip resistance. It is a non-solvent based formulation that is relatively odor free and is VOC compliant in all 50 states in the U.S. It can be used in a wide variety of applications, including, but not limited to, concrete parking structures, pedestrian walkways, balconies, plaza decks, sidewalks and stadiums/ballparks.
Development of this product began three years ago. Once in the testing stage, it became clear that this system exceeded original expectations. It started out as an attempt to create an evolutionary addition to the existing line of concrete protection products. The result was revolutionary addition to the product line. This two-coat system will meet the needs of the industry, to protect and prolong the life of concrete structures.

Patrick Thiel is National Sales Manager for 3M Concrete Products. He can be reached at pathiel@mmm.com. Technical data was supplied by Tom Galush, 3M Laboratory.