September 14, 2022

Project: Coating at the Farmer

To stay closer to the end application of our products as a manufacturing company, we occasionally do our own projects in the local area. This week we applied our agricultural epoxy coating to a feed alley in Terwolde.

Agricultural coating remains popular
Coating agricultural substrates continues to rise in popularity. The often concrete substrates are subject to many both mechanical and chemical stresses. Not only in feed passages, but also in tank basins, workshops, technical areas and on grids. In this case, the porous concrete surface in the feeding alley caused a lot of food and saliva migration from the cows. The acid from the food and saliva dissolves the top layer of the concrete, leaving a rough surface. The rough surface is very difficult to keep clean, and a hard layer of food, excrement and saliva forms here. The hard layer is a breeding ground for bacteria, which worsens a cow's healthy feed intake.

Applying a coating layer prevents the build-up of this hard layer. The coating layer not only seals the porous concrete surface, but also has a high chemical resistance, preventing the entry of further bacteria. The smooth surface ensures that the feed alley is then easy to clean.

Cleaning
First, the substrate was thoroughly cleaned in the evening. Because the concrete surface had been considerably dissolved by the acids from the feed over the years, high pressure with hot water was necessary to get the feeding alley completely clean. The next morning the feeding alley was almost dry. We burned any wet spots dry with a gas burner. A dry surface is necessary for coating the feed alley.

Two-coat system in 1 day
Our agricultural system consists of only two coats that can be easily applied with a roller. First, a layer of 2-component epoxy primer. A very easy to apply product that can be mixed up with a stick. After a drying time of 4 hours, an opaque 2-component epoxy layer with very fine anti-slip was applied (RAL 7001). After a drying and curing time of 12 hours, the feed alley was ready for feeding again. In total, both layers can thus be applied within 4 to 6 hours (excluding drying time of the second layer). The next day, the farmer could feed again.

Emission-free
Besides being very easy to process, the agricultural system is also completely water-based and emission-free (tested according to EN16516). Many epoxy coatings today contain solvents and plasticizers that can fume/migrate out for a very long time. This is not only harmful to the processor, but in this case also to the animal being fed back here the next day.

Want to know more?
Want to know more about our agricultural coating system? Then get in touch!

 

 

 

Written by: Polcoatings

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