Modern flooring techniques can withstand UV fade and avoid disappointment
By Jeremy Waterhouse, Flooring Product Manager, Sherwin-Williams.
Discussions around durability in the flooring industry can sometimes focus too much on withstanding footfall, impact and chemical attack. However, one consideration that is frequently undervalued for resin floor systems is ultra-violet (UV) stability.
Expensive and high-quality resin flooring such as ground terrazzo and coloured quartz systems are designed to be enjoyed as long lasting aesthetically pleasing products and as such are regularly sold or promoted in bright colours. However, many of these products are not UV stable and when they are exposed to light become extremely vulnerable to colour change – sometimes even within the first year of their intended life.
Similarly, for food and beverage manufacturers who use UV lighting to kill bacteria in a commercial kitchen, the lighting can affect the finish of the industrial flooring which has been installed.
This discolouring can be acceptable so long as the customer is forewarned from the outset to expect the change, however on some occasions this isn’t the case and it can become an unwanted surprise.
I have seen high quality quartz screed systems applied in areas that were not fit-for-purpose due to the heavy exposure to light. In one particular instance, the product was a high-quality blend of grey aggregates bound together with a clear resin. While the screed was well applied with a smooth finish which hadn’t structurally deteriorated, the finish had discoloured under the light from a clean grey to an insipid yellow over a period of just a few years. The result was a flooring aesthetic which belied the age of the installation and had a dated feel that had lost all sparkle. This was a classic case of misaligned priorities and expectations, where the sole focus on functionality meant that the aesthetics weren’t properly thought through.
Many resin floors are installed in situations where functionality is paramount, namely being resistant to heavy duty industrial usage, with the long-term aesthetics of the screed a lesser priority. Again, disappointment comes from expectation. If a customer is well briefed about the potential of discolouring from the outset, then they can make a clear decision whether that is acceptable for their needs.
As resin floors are used more widely in commercial and domestic situations, customers are demanding the best value for money and that means both performance and aesthetics. This demand for quality is a trend across the whole industry where budgets are scrutinised more than ever, and clients are looking for added value in choices they make.
There are many benefits to epoxy resin flooring and at Sherwin-Williams it is an important product in our range due to its adhesion and hard-wearing performance. However, most epoxy floor coatings are not UV stable and shouldn’t be sold as such. Light colours in resins are particularly prone to some degree of colour change over time and an inferior or poorly manufactured product could change dramatically over a short space of time. Sometimes with pre-planning anticipated colour change can be taken into consideration when choosing and specifying colours so that any colour shift is minimised or accommodated within a design.
For substance and style, consideration should be given to other products such as polyurethane and polyaspartic in areas where good UV stability is essential. At Sherwin-Williams, our Resutile product, a solvent based polyurethane, has been supplied around the world for 25 years and is popular due to its UV stability and exceptional chemical resistance. Resutile has been particularly successful in areas such as airport hangars - where resistance to fuels and lights are paramount - and the floor continues to shine brightly in light shades after 10 years.
Our very latest technologies developed at Sherwin-Williams achieve a similar performance with water-based polyurethanes which are more hygienic and solvent-free. Even more recently our polyaspartic resins have enabled the development of 100 per cent solids high build finishes which have a very low VOC while also providing UV stability and a fast curing schedule.
The research and development of this technology opens up a wider market for resin flooring as UV stable multi-coat decorative systems can now be installed in a single day, ensuring high performance flooring can withstand the bright UV rays and shine bright for many years to come.
Expensive and high-quality resin flooring such as ground terrazzo and coloured quartz systems are designed to be enjoyed as long lasting aesthetically pleasing products and as such are regularly sold or promoted in bright colours. However, many of these products are not UV stable and when they are exposed to light become extremely vulnerable to colour change – sometimes even within the first year of their intended life.
Similarly, for food and beverage manufacturers who use UV lighting to kill bacteria in a commercial kitchen, the lighting can affect the finish of the industrial flooring which has been installed.
This discolouring can be acceptable so long as the customer is forewarned from the outset to expect the change, however on some occasions this isn’t the case and it can become an unwanted surprise.
I have seen high quality quartz screed systems applied in areas that were not fit-for-purpose due to the heavy exposure to light. In one particular instance, the product was a high-quality blend of grey aggregates bound together with a clear resin. While the screed was well applied with a smooth finish which hadn’t structurally deteriorated, the finish had discoloured under the light from a clean grey to an insipid yellow over a period of just a few years. The result was a flooring aesthetic which belied the age of the installation and had a dated feel that had lost all sparkle. This was a classic case of misaligned priorities and expectations, where the sole focus on functionality meant that the aesthetics weren’t properly thought through.
Many resin floors are installed in situations where functionality is paramount, namely being resistant to heavy duty industrial usage, with the long-term aesthetics of the screed a lesser priority. Again, disappointment comes from expectation. If a customer is well briefed about the potential of discolouring from the outset, then they can make a clear decision whether that is acceptable for their needs.
As resin floors are used more widely in commercial and domestic situations, customers are demanding the best value for money and that means both performance and aesthetics. This demand for quality is a trend across the whole industry where budgets are scrutinised more than ever, and clients are looking for added value in choices they make.
There are many benefits to epoxy resin flooring and at Sherwin-Williams it is an important product in our range due to its adhesion and hard-wearing performance. However, most epoxy floor coatings are not UV stable and shouldn’t be sold as such. Light colours in resins are particularly prone to some degree of colour change over time and an inferior or poorly manufactured product could change dramatically over a short space of time. Sometimes with pre-planning anticipated colour change can be taken into consideration when choosing and specifying colours so that any colour shift is minimised or accommodated within a design.
For substance and style, consideration should be given to other products such as polyurethane and polyaspartic in areas where good UV stability is essential. At Sherwin-Williams, our Resutile product, a solvent based polyurethane, has been supplied around the world for 25 years and is popular due to its UV stability and exceptional chemical resistance. Resutile has been particularly successful in areas such as airport hangars - where resistance to fuels and lights are paramount - and the floor continues to shine brightly in light shades after 10 years.
Our very latest technologies developed at Sherwin-Williams achieve a similar performance with water-based polyurethanes which are more hygienic and solvent-free. Even more recently our polyaspartic resins have enabled the development of 100 per cent solids high build finishes which have a very low VOC while also providing UV stability and a fast curing schedule.
The research and development of this technology opens up a wider market for resin flooring as UV stable multi-coat decorative systems can now be installed in a single day, ensuring high performance flooring can withstand the bright UV rays and shine bright for many years to come.
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