Polyurea & Elastomeric Coatings

What we treat

We apply polyurea and elastomers where a thick, flexible, seamless film protects better than a rigid coating. The most common assets:

• Secondary containment: dike areas around tanks, curbs and unloading pads (concrete protection).
• Concrete basins and pits: retention basins, sumps and channels, with existing cracks bridged.
• Tanks: exteriors, and some interiors in water or compatible products; the choice depends on contents and temperature (tank lining).
• Dump bodies, chutes, hoppers and transfer points subject to abrasion and impact, where a flexible abrasion-resistant coating absorbs the blow.
• Process roofs and equipment slabs, with a continuous polyurea membrane.
• Pipes and piping, exterior side, and some lines in abrasive service (pipe coating).

The service is for industrial sites only: no garage floors, truck bed liners or residential work. Work is carried out by our crews and qualified subcontractors.

Pure polyurea, hybrid, polyurethane or rubber

Four families of elastomers share this work. They look alike, but they do not perform alike.

• Pure polyurea: an isocyanate reacted with amine resins, with no polyol. Very fast cure, thick film in a single pass, good abrasion and water resistance. It is the usual choice for secondary containment and membranes.
• Hybrid polyurea: a blend of polyurea and polyurethane. Lower cost, but more sensitive to moisture during application and less resistant to chemicals and heat. It suits roofs and lightly exposed surfaces, not immersion or chemical containment.
• Polyurethane elastomer: slower reaction, flexible film with very high resistance to sliding abrasion. Used in chutes, hoppers and wear parts, sprayed or cast.
• Rubber lining: natural or synthetic rubber sheet, cold bonded or vulcanized onto blast-cleaned steel. It is the reference for slurry abrasion in mining and for some acid solutions, depending on the compound's compatibility.

Aromatic polyureas yellow and chalk in sunlight: outdoors, an aliphatic topcoat protects colour and surface. The manufacturer's data sheet sets thickness, temperature limits and the list of compatible products; the quote restates them.

Polyurea coating vs epoxy: which to choose

Polyurea wins on flexibility and speed; epoxy and novolac epoxy win on chemical and thermal resistance. The honest answer depends on what the coating has to take.

Choose polyurea when:

• The substrate moves or cracks: working concrete, joints, slabs exposed to freeze-thaw. Polyurea bridges fine cracks where a rigid epoxy breaks.
• Return to service is urgent: it cures much faster than epoxy, per the data sheet, which shortens a shutdown.
• The coating takes impact or abrasion: dump bodies, chutes, traffic areas.
• A continuous membrane is needed over a large area: dikes, roofs, basins.

Choose epoxy or novolac epoxy when:

• The coating is in severe chemical immersion: concentrated acids, strong bases, aggressive process streams (novolac epoxy).
• There is solvent contact: some solvents swell or soften polyurea.
• Service temperature is high, in immersion or constant contact.
• The surface must be rigid and smooth, as inside a process tank.

For tank interiors, the choice is made product by product: see our guide to industrial tank lining selection. For a concrete dike exposed to spills, compare the options in concrete secondary containment coating. Both families are part of our protective coatings.

Requirements and how the job runs

Polyurea bonds through the primer and the preparation, not on its own. Because it cures almost instantly, it does not wet out the substrate: sprayed over a poorly prepared or damp surface, it forms a skin that peels off in one piece. The job follows these steps:

• Survey: substrate, condition, cracks, moisture, products in contact, temperatures, access.
• Technical quote: system (primer, polyurea or elastomer, topcoat), thickness, inspections, schedule and exclusions.
• Preparation: on steel, abrasive blasting to the grade on the data sheet; on concrete, shot blasting or grinding per SSPC-SP 13 / NACE No. 6, with cracks and honeycombing repaired.
• Substrate moisture: tested on concrete before priming (for example per ASTM D4263 or ASTM F2170), and dew point monitored on steel.
• Primer: matched to the substrate and its moisture, applied within its recoat window.
• Spraying: heated, high-pressure plural-component equipment, with mix ratio and component temperature checked. Details (corners, anchors, joints, penetrations) receive reinforcement.
• Inspections and records: continuity, thickness, adhesion, hardness, conditions and photos.

Inspections and standards

A containment or tank coating is only as good as its continuity. Every inspection is recorded:

• Continuity on steel: holiday testing per NACE SP0188, low or high voltage depending on thickness (holiday test).
• Continuity on concrete: ASTM D4787, on a substrate made conductive or by the method the standard provides.
• Adhesion: pull-off testing per ASTM D4541 on steel and ASTM D7234 on concrete.
• Hardness: durometer per ASTM D2240, to confirm the mix has reacted properly.
• Thickness: magnetic gauge on steel per SSPC-PA 2, readings or witness samples on concrete as the specification requires.

Defects found (pinholes, blisters, holidays) are repaired and retested before return to service (coating failure modes).

Site conditions and safety

Polyurea spraying is done under product- and site-specific safety measures, settled in the quote:

• Isocyanates: spraying requires supplied-air respiratory protection, a marked-off area and ventilation of confined spaces.
• Confined space: tanks, pits and sumps call for entry permits, atmosphere monitoring and a rescue plan.
• Overspray: tarps and containment to protect nearby equipment, vehicles and buildings.
• Winter: substrate and air must stay within the data sheet range; a heated enclosure is often needed, and the concrete must be dry.
• Operating plant or planned shutdown: work by zones, dikes emptied and cleaned, coordination with operations.

Pricing: by quote

Polyurea and elastomeric coatings are priced by quote. The cost depends on these factors:

• Area and geometry: a dike with curbs, anchors and penetrations takes more detail work than a flat slab.
• The substrate and its condition: steel or concrete, cracks, repairs, moisture.
• The system: elastomer family, primer, thickness, aliphatic topcoat.
• Access, confined space and the containment required.
• The work window: shutdown, winter, nights, work by zones.

Send photos, approximate dimensions, the product in contact and the location with your quote request: we reply within 24 business hours.

Where we work

Induscoat applies polyurea and elastomeric coatings across Quebec and in Ontario, working from LaSalle:

• Montreal and Montérégie
• Quebec, for the province as a whole
• Abitibi-Témiscamingue
• Côte-Nord
• Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
• Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec
• Ontario

When polyurea is not the right answer

Polyurea is not the right answer in severe chemical immersion, with solvent contact or at high temperature: its chemical limits are real, and the data sheet gives them product by product. In those cases, a novolac epoxy or another barrier lining is the way to go, within our protective coatings.

For a plant floor under traffic and washdowns, industrial epoxy flooring is often the better fit. If concrete leaks through active cracks, concrete crack injection comes before any coating. And for a wear part that has lost thickness, rebuilding falls under cold bonding.

Typical Problems We Solve

• Rigid coatings cracking on concrete that moves with freeze-thaw
• Shutdown windows too short for a slow-curing lining
• Wear and impact damage on chutes, hoppers and dump bodies
• Polyurea peeling in one sheet after application on a damp or poorly prepared substrate

What You Receive

• Technical quote stating the elastomer family, primer, thickness, chemical limits and planned inspections
• Substrate prepared and tested for moisture, then primed and sprayed with plural-component equipment
• Continuity tests per NACE SP0188 or ASTM D4787 and adhesion tests per ASTM D4541 or D7234 on record
• Close-out file with hardness readings per ASTM D2240, conditions, batch numbers and photos

Timeline

Standards & Certifications

• ASTM D4541 / ASTM D7234: pull-off adhesion on steel and on concrete
• NACE SP0188: holiday testing of protective coatings on conductive substrates
• ASTM D4787: continuity verification of coatings on concrete
• ASTM D2240: durometer hardness of elastomers

Industries We Serve

• Mining: chutes, hoppers, dump bodies, tailings and process basins
• Chemical and petrochemical: secondary containment, tank exteriors, unloading pads
• Energy: containment around transformers and tanks, process roofs
• Water and wastewater: concrete basins, channels and sumps

Service FAQ

Technical guides

• Industrial tank lining selection
• Concrete secondary containment coating
• Coating failure modes and diagnosis
• Cold-weather coating application and winter shutdowns

Related applications

Concrete industrial use cases where this service is applied.