8 Most Common Problems with Armorseal 8100
ArmorSeal 8100 is the next-generation water-based epoxy floor coatings. It is a two-component polyamine epoxy with excellent chemical and abrasion resistance that is breathable. It is suitable for marine coatings.
But no product is free of problems.
After going through the customers’ feedback, I have gathered the 8 most common problems with ArmorSeal 8100 epoxy coatings.
1. Curing Issue
Many people complain about facing problems with curing. And almost always, it’s about epoxy mixture not being cured under the suggested time. The use of hardener and temperature determines the cure time and how it will be.
Basically, you have to use the right amount of hardener that is prescribed. It will affect the cure time and promptness if it’s a little more or a little less.
A convenient way to tackle that is to strike an equal amount of resin and hardener. And temperature matters because at low-temperature, curing slows down. So, apply heat if you want fast curing and vice versa.
Incompatibility of epoxy resin and hardener can cause curing problems. As epoxy resin gives the desired result with other bands, you should check if both resin and hardener are in agreement.
2. Epoxy Bond issue
Failing to bond Armorseal 8100 epoxy is a very common problem that a lot of people face. There can actually be several causes for bond failure.
The insufficient cure is one of them. While curing itself is important, it also determines good bonding. So, you need to cure the epoxy sufficiently if you want good bonding.
An adulterated surface can also cause bond failure. What you would want to focus on is surface preparation. When the surface isn’t clean and properly sanded, the epoxy bond will not withhold.
And sometimes, the clamping pressure is too much that eventually squeezes epoxy out of the joint. What you need to do is use just enough clamping pressure.
3. Paint over Epoxy problem
The complaint with painting or varnishing over Armorseal 8100 epoxy is the painting won’t set. If this is the case, the first thing you should check is if the paint is compatible with epoxy.
It is mainly because some paints are incompatible with hardeners, this problem occurs. An important suggestion would be to choose hardeners that are compatible with most paint or varnishes.
Epoxy is not totally cured, or epoxy surface isn’t prepared can be other reasons for this problem. Do the curing properly as instructed and sand the epoxy surface thoroughly. Then you are good to go with painting or varnishing.
4. Saggy Coating
If the coating seems runny or saggy, in the case of Armorseal 8100, there are two possible causes for this. And it is either the applied layer is thicker than required or epoxy coating is curing too slowly.
In both cases, increasing temperature will help. As you would want to make the thick coating thinner, try setting the temperature higher. And after it gets to a certain thin level, it would be easier for the coating to flow out smoothly and tip it off with a foam roller brush.
Now, curing gets faster in higher temperatures, so the increasing temperature will eventually help with the saggy coating situation.
5. Cloudy coating
Often people complain about bad coating, and most of the time, they are not satisfied with the clarity of the coating.
Two possible causes for experiencing coating turning cloudy with Armorseal 8100 are when moisture reacts with epoxy harden elements that are uncured and when air gets trapped in epoxy.
The latter usually happens if the roller is belligerently applied.
Now, applying heat can actually remove the moisture that is causing trouble, and ultimately the coating will get clearer. But if the reason is entrapped air, the best thing would be to be careful with rolling and if it’s already cloudy because of air, just make the coating thinner using heat.
6. Overheated Epoxy
Epoxy gets hardened faster at a higher temperature. Thus when epoxy gets overheated, you will face problems coating. Also, overheated epoxy that is put in a comparatively small area can burn surfaces.
Now, Armorseal 8100 epoxy can also get overheated for reasons like large batches, excessive thickness, or if the temperature is too warm for the hardener.
Firstly, if you are facing problems regarding overheat, try changing the batches into smaller sections. When a lot of heated epoxies are put together, it takes more time to cool down. So, making the batch smaller will help to cool the epoxy faster.
Secondly, to tackle excessive thickness, try applying thick areas of fill in several thin layers of epoxy. And lastly, change the hardener if it gets heated because of warm weather.
7. Sanding issue
The complaint of Armorseal 8100 regarding sanding is that it’s too difficult to sand because the fairing compound sags. Now it only happens because while preparing the fairing compound, the materials aren’t thick enough.
In these situations, what is ideal is to add more filler to epoxy until it reaches a certain thickness required – you want to look for peanut-butter consistency.
Also, before applying the fairing material to vertical surfaces, you should allow the wet-out coat of epoxy gel.
8. Color Change
Many people complain about the color change of hardener, primarily to red, brown, or purple. It basically happens because of the moisture that gets into contact with the hardener or its metal container.
Now, this isn’t really a problem because it will not affect epoxy handling or curing strength. Just try to avoid this change hardener in clear coating or where color is expected.
Final thoughts
The ArmorSeal 8100 has curing issues but it doesn’t lack the essential features. It gets popular day by day for its beneficial water-based features.
Indeed, there are some issues with this coating.
But you need to consider that all of the consumers didn’t encounter all the problems. So, take time and follow the steps properly. And don’t forget to comment down below about your experience with the ArmorSeal 8100.