A coating of many colours
When a major office supplies distribution company recently refurbished several office rooms and turned them into a chillout-lounge for staff, the goal was to create a comfortable atmosphere with one key requirement: the floor colour had to be the neon green of company’s branding.
Chris Bauer, head of flooring at Hychem, said the coating company decided to apply the new Viasol Elastic UV coating system due to its seamless finish, customisable colour range and colour stability.
“The client didn’t want their neon green floor to end up a yellowish someday – it was important that their corporate neon green would endure,” Mr Bauer said.
“We can colour match or create new colours with Viasol Elastic UV so it’s an excellent option for when a company’s corporate colours need to be matched and guaranteed not to fade over time.
“As the coating is made from an elastic polyurethane, it has very good UV resistance, which keeps the flooring colour stable.
“Other features such as impact sound reduction, walking comfort, hygienic properties and slip resistance were also appealing for this type of recreational space.
“The coating is also a perfect way to seal new flooring in schools, hospitals, public buildings, exhibition areas and restaurants.
“It has light to medium mechanical and chemical resistance which is excellent in areas such as hospitals and child care centres, where hygiene and ease of cleaning are important considerations.”
Applying the coating
The original office floors were anhydrite, with various openings for old sockets and cable tunnels which meant the first job was to do substrate preparations to fill the holes as well as grinding the surface said Mr Bauer.
“Then the first layer applied by the applicator was a water-based coating (VIASOL EP-P285) which has great adhesion to anhydrite.
“For optimal further processing, a binder (VIASOL EP-P203) was used in conjunction with a biaxial texture for the lamination and scratch coat.
“In order to close the pores and to produce a homogenous surface, a third layer was then used (VIASOL PU-C52).
“The top coat (VIASOL PU-C500) was an aliphatic, solid colour polyurethane coating that corresponded to the client’s corporate colour.
“Chips were applied to this PU-coating to create a special textured effect across the surface.
“Finally, the high-gloss surface received a colourless, matt seal (VIASOL PU-S688N).”
According to the company, Esselte Leitz, the room has an impressive atmosphere thanks to this designer flooring in the company’s corporate colours and the unique texture.
A bespoke flooring solution 
Mr Bauer said when searching for the right flooring solution, architects and specifiers may be surprised at the high degree to which solutions can be tailored to meet their very specific requirements.
“The contractors in this job, for example, didn’t know that it was possible to combine products in this way, particularly concerning the lamination and the colour stable coating.”
“This feature can be particularly useful in these types of situations where colour matching is important
Mr Bauer said the openings and anhydrite floor dictated that the system was modified a bit and a special primer chosen.
“The EP-P285 primer doesn’t destroy the anhydrite flooring and creates an excellent combination with no tensions in between the primer and anhydrite.
To solve the problem with the openings on the floor for old sockets and cable tunnels, Mr Bauer said the contractor first filled them up with stones and concrete, then applied a thick biaxal texture (glass fabric) that was layed above to “cover” the filled up holes and also to allow the moving of the concrete and flooring.
“The glass fabric layer was an adjustment which has been made for this special project.”
Mr Bauer said Hychem were pleased to be the sole distributor of the Viacor range in Australia.
System benefits
- Low emission tested according to AgBB guidelines
- Very high UV- and colour stable
- Individual designs and wide range of colours
- Gentle to knees and joints, durable elasticity
- High abrasion resistance, suitable for castor chairs
- Self-leveling, seamless and jointless
- Homogeneous and anti-skid surface
- Hygienic, no pores, impermeable to liquids
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Suitable for floor heating
- Fire resistance class Bfl-s1
- Impact sound reducing up to 23 dB