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Listed below are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions about
All Tech Industries' coatings and
sealants. Feel free to submit your own questions through the "Contact Us"
 portion of this Web Site. We will publish new material
as we receive it. If you don't see your
system listed,
contact an All Tech Industries engineer today
(989-826-9999)
for a deeper discussion about your specific sealant
or coating requirements.
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What are All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants?
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Can anyone apply
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants?
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Where can All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants be used?
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What kind of temperatures will
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants withstand and will it burn?
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Are
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants hard or soft?
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What is All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants abrasion resistance?
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How well does All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants adhere to steel?
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What factors should be considered about
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants ability to adhere to concrete?
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What is the life expectancy of a
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants spray elastomer system?
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How should All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants be prepared for over-coating after initial cure of the
All Tech Industries coatings and sealants?
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What's the difference between aromatic and aliphatic
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems?
· What is
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants?
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants is an organic polymer that is the reaction of isocyanate with an amine terminated polyether resin, forming a plastic-like or rubber-like compound that may be used in many of the same ways as older technologies
including: polyurethane, epoxy, vinyl ester, neoprene.
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· Can anyone apply
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants?
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants requires
special training and equipment for field
application, whether used as joint filler or as a
field applied coating. All Tech Industries has an ongoing program of
contractor training in place. There are qualified
applicators in all regions of the U.S. and an
expanding network of qualified applicators
throughout North America.
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· Where can
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants be used?
As a general rule,
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants can be employed to contain any substance.
Examples of extreme environments where
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants can be
used:
• Acidic compounds with a
total composite pH range equal to or below 2
• Basic compounds with a total composite pH range
equal to or above 13
Note: See our project
gallery of Containment Systems of
Hydrochloric Acid and
Sulfuric
Acid. As well as many other extreme
chemicals.
• Halogenated Solvents:
1. Carbon tetrachloride
2. Chloroform
3. Methylene chloride
4. Tetrachloroethane
5. Trichlorethene
6. Trichloroethane
• Non-Halogenated Solvents And Ketones:
1. Acetone
2. Acetonitrile
3. Acetophenone
4. Benzene
5. Butanol
6. Camphor oil
7. Cyclohexanone
8. Diethyl ether
9. Diisobutyl ketone
10. Ethyl acetate
11. Hexane
12. Methyl ethyl ketone
13. Methyl isobutyl ketone
14. Pentane
15. Phenol
16. Toluene
17. Xylene
• Amine Attacking And Amine Containing Compounds,
Strong, inorganic acids, organic acid halides, aldehydes, isocyanates, organic anhydrides.
1. Aminoethylethanolamine
2. Aniline
3. Ethylamine
4. Methylamine
5. Pyridine
6. Toluenediamine
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· What kind of temperatures will
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants withstand and will it burn?
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants begin to develop their physical properties within minutes of application. Among several very desirable properties are their quick gel time and their glass transition temperatures that average -40 degrees F and +480 degrees F.
Heat of deflection under no load is +250 degrees F.
Safe upper limit of working temperature is +350
degrees F, under no load.
While All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants has high glass transition and heat of deflection temperatures, it will burn when exposed to direct flame
for extended period of time. It will self extinguish when flame is removed.
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· Is
All Tech Industries coatings and sealants hard or soft?
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants may be either hard or soft depending on the particular formulation and the intended use. Durometer ratings may range from Shore A 30 to Shore D 80.
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· What is
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants abrasion resistance?
All Tech Industries
has run abrasion resistance testing according to ASTM D 4060 using the most aggressive abrader, the H-18 wheel. The abrasion loss is as noted in our material specification data sheets for the appropriate material.
This test was utilized because it most nearly typifies the type of abrasion attack found in industrial environments.
The industry standard testing for polyurethanes uses the abrasive CS-17 wheel. This wheel is a much smoother, less abrading mechanism than the above mentioned H-18 abrader wheel.
The most severe utilization of polyurethanes is found on parking deck coating systems. The hard polyurethane topcoats used in these systems generally have CS-17 losses between 5 - 10 milligrams.
FSS 45DC and FSS 50DM report H-18 loss between 180 and 250 milligrams. This loss is actually much less severe than a loss of 5 – 10 milligrams on the CS-17 wheel.
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· How well does
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants adhere to steel?
All Tech Industries coatings and sealants may be applied to properly prepared A-36 metal substrates. The metal should be blasted to Near White or White, and have a blast profile of 5 mils. Adhesion values will exceed
3000
PSI without using primer.
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· What factors should be considered about
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants ability to adhere to concrete?
There is no hard and fast number that is useful to the designer. Generally, an adhesion value is a compromise between the type and condition of concrete substrate, the stresses placed upon the membrane prior to project completion, and the requirements of the membrane to withstand in-place use stresses. Where possible, concrete should have all surface paste removed and be free of latency of any kind. A texture similar to 80-grit sandpaper as a minimum is desirable.
Since concrete has low tensile properties, especially at the surface faces of large plan areas, one rule of thumb is to expect adhesion to range around ten percent (10%) of ultimate compressive strength of the concrete. The best that can be expected is in the range of
450
PSI to 650 PSI for 4,000 PSI concrete properly cured and of sufficient age to acquire its maximum physical properties.
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· What is the life expectancy of a
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants spray elastomer system?
The following letter by Dudley Primeaux
of Primeaux and Associates, was made in response to numerous inquiries for an answer to the probable life expectancy of
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants when subjected to immersion in salt water and
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants subjected to ultraviolet light. The original
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants formulations alluded to in this letter are those that All Tech Industries uses in manufacturer of its aromatic and aliphatic spray materials. Note: Dudley Primeaux is the holder of several patents for
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants Technology secured while he was the lead chemist for Texaco Chemicals and Huntsman Corporation. Mr. Primeaux is currently employed as a consultant and has been president of the
All Tech Industries' Coatings and Sealants Development Association. The testing processes cited in this letter are those that are current industry standards. The evaluations and conclusions drawn in this letter are those of Mr. Primeaux and are considered the most expert opinions available within the industry. (Electronic File of Letter from Dudley Primeaux, Primeaux and Associates, to David Cerchie, President, All Tech Industries Incorporated)
Dear David:
A question has recently been asked as to the life expectancy of a
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants spray elastomer system as it relates to an application in an immersed saltwater environment. While this question is really not new to the technology, it seems that there has not been any published data or information to support any direct claims that may have been made. But we still would like to know, “How Long Will it Last”?
As you are aware, the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants spray elastomer technology is relatively new to the industry with respect to conventional polyurethane and epoxy type coating systems. Since the development in 1986 and first commercial use in 1988, true life history is only slightly over 10 years. This has provided somewhat of a “brick wall” if you will as to the real performance of the material. There is data and information available on the technology though that might suggest the long-term performance. This data includes accelerated testing on the technology compared to the basic physical properties.
The first most common testing with regard to accelerated exposure is
weatherometer testing. During the development work on the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants technology at Texaco Chemical Company, several aromatic based
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems were exposed to ASTM G 53 (Practice for Operating Light- and Water-Exposure Apparatus (Fluorescent UV-Condensation Type) for Exposure of Nonmetallic Materials). This has commonly been referred to as accelerated
weatherometer testing. The number of hours exposure can be extrapolated to years of outdoor service.
During that work, the aromatic systems were exposed to a total of 3800 hours, using the UVB-313 bulbs, 50oC. The type bulbs have been shown to give higher UV output, faster testing and improved uniformity in the test. After this exposure, the samples were re-tested and compared to the original physical property data. What was shown was that the physical property retention was at least 80% of the elastomer's original physical property results. While the surface of the elastomer did show discoloration (yellowing) this was only at the surface. There was no chalking or cracking of the elastomer surface after exposure.
That testing was halted at 3800 hours for no particular reason. The test samples were good the data was just required at that moment. I have attached an original chart of that data as published by Texaco Chemical Company.
We also performed a similar study using the aliphatic-based
All Tech Industries coatings and sealants spray technology, which is the
color stable version. For this, samples were exposed to over 6000 hours under the same test conditions. Elastomer physical property retention here was greater than 90%, with little to no
color fade in the elastomer samples.
From this data on the aliphatic
All Tech Industries coatings and sealants systems, they have then been evaluated for use in automotive interior trim applications. The available test data here suggests that dash and door panels made of the aliphatic system would have at least a 20 year life. That is significantly improved of the conventional plasticized PVC that has been used for years and tends to show cracking after about 5-8 years of exposure. Source of information here is from Goodyear Tire & Rubber.
I have attached a sheet that addresses many of the questions as to how does this data equate to real life data. Though no one will put the information in writing, it has been suggested that 2000 hours equates to about
20 years of exposure.
The other testing that has been done is the ASTM B 117 (Practice for Operating a Salt Spray (Fog) Apparatus). This has commonly been referred to a Salt Spray Testing. For this, similar aromatic
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems were applied to prepared steel substrates and then a crosscut was made through the coating system to the steel substrate. The coated panels were placed in the salt fog cabinet and exposed to the salt environment, 50oC, for a period of 3000 hours. The panels are removed and inspected for corrosion at the scribe, adhesion of the
All Tech Industries coatings and sealants to the panels and any deterioration of the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants samples.
While this test (ASTM B 117) is a comparative test, the results showed that the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems gave excellent performance after the 3000-hour exposure when compared to comparable polyurethane and epoxy coating systems. It has recently been suggested that the new ASTM G 85 (Practice for Modified Salt Spray (Fog) Testing) is an improved method of testing. This is sometimes referred to a
prohession testing. I am not aware at this time of this work being done with
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants system.
Another unique testing procedure is that involving polymer morphology.
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants elastomer systems are amorphous in nature, not crystalline like polyurethane systems. This amorphous nature is similar to that of epoxy type systems except that
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants system do not have a true glass transition temperature. Instead, 2 distinct Tg
‘s can be noted, one corresponding to the melting
point of the soft block in the polymer and the other
corresponding to the melting point of the hard block
in the polymer.
Dynamic Mechanical Spectroscopy evaluations of typical
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants elastomer systems, a low temperature Tg is noted at about -50oC with a high temperature Tg of about 230oC to 260oC. The response curve between these two points remains relatively flat. This would be the performance range, temperature wise, for a
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants elastomer system. In lay terms, the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants elastomer systems would tend to show some significant stiffening at temperatures less than -50oC with some polymer softening, or possible decomposition, at temperatures above 230oC to 260oC.
As you are aware, there is a major construction project in Boston, MA, the CA/T Project or Big Dig as some call it. This is a project under the direction of Bechtel, Parsons Brinckerhoff, a major engineering firm. In the initial stages of the project, Bechtel decided to use the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants spray elastomer technology as the primary waterproofing system for the tunnel section. The
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants elastomer would be applied to the exterior of the concrete tunnels for both the cut-and-cover sections as well as the harbor immersed tube section. This is a saltwater environment.
Bechtel had required a 75-year life expectancy on the applied coating system and contacted Texaco Chemical Co / Huntsman Corp. While Texaco / Huntsman could not directly supply that information, we did supply all of the above noted information of this letter. Upon review and evaluation of the elastomer physical properties, Bechtel was satisfied that the coating system would provide the expected service of the project. The applied thickness of the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants coating system is 100 – 120 mils.
Another major project is the San Mateo Bridge Upgrade project in the San Francisco, CA area. Here, a
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants system is being applied to the concrete beam and piling to protect from the salt environment corrosion issues. It has been reported that CalTrans has given a 100-year life span on this project. A large part of the decision to complete this work with the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants technology was due to the available accelerated testing and elastomer physical property information. Applied thickness of the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants coating system here is about 60 – 70 mils.
While maybe not directly applicable, there is some additional data on some nuclear irradiation evaluation of
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants spray elastomer systems. The basis of this information has provided for the use of the aromatic
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants spray elastomer technology is a variety of nuclear facilities, and continues to be used today. This includes Westinghouse Savannah River Works, Hanford Nuclear Site and the Department of Energy.
While this is a considerable amount of data and supporting application work, we still have not fully addressed the question of life expectancy. I am of the opinion that there is no exact answer in general as many factors come into play. However, we should be able to provide for some sort of calculation of such.
It has been shown that polymer durability / toughness is a factor of the elastomer physical properties, applied thickness and environment of exposure. Given that, the best elastomer physical property relationship possible should be used for the application areas. This sounds somewhat confusing but I will explain. Life expectancy of the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants system should include not only the physical properties but factors such as long term adhesion, applied film thickness and chemical exposure / environment.
Urea has been described as an organic rock. The
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems are a derivation of that “rock”. As the reaction mechanism proceeds without the use of a catalyst, as opposed to polyurethane system, there is no catalytic breakdown evident in the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants polymer system like that of a polyurethane.
In addition to the accelerated and other testing done as described in this letter, I would suggest another accelerated test commonly performed with polyurethane foam systems. This is a humid age / thermal age test. The following ASTM methods have been used and are suggested:
ASTM C 1246: “Effects of Heating on Weight Loss, Cracking, and Chalking of Elastomeric Sealants After Cure”
ASTM D 5510: “Heat Aging of Oxidative Degradable Plastics”
For each of these, the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants system would be exposed to an elevated temperature, normally 80oC (175oF), and the elastomer properties monitored over the exposure time. Given the high thermal resistance of the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants technology, this nominal temperature will have little to no effect on the polymer. It is suggested that a higher temperature be used, say 100oC (212oF).
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems have also shown excellent results in freeze/thaw cycling testing. This would take the polymer from -20oC to 50oC in 9 cycles.
From the accelerated weatherometer testing, thermal aging and typical performance values for
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems, one could apply the following conservative calculation:
Evaluate the hours until there is a 50% loss in elastomer physical properties or other “failure”,
For every 2000-hours QUV plus 1000-hours thermal aging = 20-year life span
This applied to the polymer, not necessarily the application.
I would feel very comfortable with this calculation and moving into the environment of application of the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants system provided the following parameters are met:
1. Applied film thickness is as follows
Pedestrian Traffic 40-60 mils
Vehicular 60-80 mils
HD Vehicular / High Abuse 80-125 mils
Immersion Service 50-100 mils
Walls (non-immersion) 30-60 mils
Below Grade Waterproofing 50-60 mils
2. Proper substrate preparation and application techniques are employed
Based on the available information we have to date, it is felt that a properly formulated and prepared
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants elastomer system, like that of the All Tech Industries product line, would survive a minimum of 75 years in your saltwater application area. This is based on the testing, flexibility of the system, chemical resistance and thermal properties. This does not take into account extraneous circumstances such as high abrasion, undo impact and highly corrosive chemical / solvent introduction into the environment.
I know that I have been somewhat longwinded here but I did want to provide you with sufficient background and information to address your questions. I trust that this information will be of help to you. Please feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions.
Sincerely Yours,
Dudley J. Primeaux II
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· How should
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants be prepared for
overcoating (re-coating) after initial cure
(first few hours) of the
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants?
Prior to overcoating
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants make sure it is
basically clean. For the first several hours after
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants has gelled it may be suitable for overcoating without further preparation.
If the base coat material has been in place for longer than 3 hours there could be
minor problems with inter-coat adhesion (as the
product is fully cured). To assure inter-coat bond apply liberal amounts of
an aggressive solvent such as acetone or MEK to All
Tech Industries' coatings and sealants and allow it
to evaporate completely. This will re-tack the base coat and allow proper adhesion of the follow-on overcoat.
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· What's the difference between aromatic and aliphatic
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems?
Actually there are two different types of aliphatic
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems currently on the market. One is the typical high pressure/temperature sprayed systems and the other is what is known as a "polyaspartic
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants" type system. This polyaspartic system is different in that it uses an ester based resin component and has a longer pot life. It can be hand applied using close nap rollers; brushes; rakes or even airless sprayers. The aspartic systems are not the high build coating typical of the "hot spray"
All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems.
The typical aromatic All Tech Industries' coatings and sealants systems must be processed through high pressure, heated plural component pumps and sprayed through an impingement type spray-gun. This is true also for the aliphatic version of this type of system, the primary difference being the
color stability of the aliphatic systems.
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