Industrial epoxy coatings protect concrete and steel from chemicals, abrasion and corrosion — but in Saudi Arabia most early failures have nothing to do with the product. They come from what happened before the first coat went down.
Preparation decides the outcome
A coating can only be as sound as the surface under it. Concrete needs to be mechanically profiled, not just cleaned: shot blasting or diamond grinding opens the pores so the epoxy keys into the slab. Power washing alone leaves a closed surface and the coating sits on top of it.
Two checks worth insisting on before anyone opens a tin:
- Moisture content. Concrete that reads above roughly 4% will drive vapour up through the film and lift it. New slabs need curing time no schedule can compress.
- Laitance and curing compounds. Both must be removed completely. They are the single most common cause of delamination we are called in to fix.
Heat changes the numbers on the datasheet
Pot life and cure times printed on a datasheet assume around 25°C. On a Riyadh site in summer the working window can be less than half of that. Practical consequences:
- Mix smaller batches than the datasheet implies, and mix them more often.
- Schedule application for early morning where possible.
- Watch the dew point, not just the temperature. Applying to a surface within 3°C of the dew point traps moisture under the film.
Specify film thickness, not coats
"Two coats" is not a specification. Two thin coats and two heavy coats give completely different chemical resistance and service life. Specify dry film thickness in microns and check it wet as work proceeds, because once it cures, the only way to verify is destructive.
Match the system to the exposure
- Standing water or wash-down areas need a system that tolerates it, and drainage falls that actually move water.
- Chemical exposure means naming the chemical and the concentration, not writing "chemical resistant".
- Heavy forklift traffic points to a thicker, aggregate-filled build rather than a thin roller coat.
Where BK Services fits
We handle interior and exterior painting, epoxy systems, waterproofing and wall textures as part of our construction and industrial finishing division, with the surface preparation and quality control that make the coating last. Where the specification is not settled yet, we survey first and specify from what the site actually needs.
If you have a slab, tank or structure that needs coating, tell us about it and we will come back with a specification and a programme.