CoatingsPro Magazine

SEP 2015

CoatingsPro offers an in-depth look at coatings based on case studies, successful business operation, new products, industry news, and the safe and profitable use of coatings and equipment.

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COATINGSPRO SEPTEMBER 2015 81 scratching as well. In addition to that, the foor had a slight texture to it, and the high spots were noticeably dull and scratched. Te lower areas of the surface texture retained a semblance of the original gloss, so the juxtaposition made the high areas look that much more damaged. Surface scratches and subsequent appearance changes brought about by surface scratches is a real tough call — too many times, the cause is related to inadequate maintenance and, unfor- tunately, school districts are prone to maintenance-related issues. Te usual suspects were evaluated: • walk-off mats (inside each door but laundered infrequently and contain- ing high amounts of free soil) • proximity to exterior soil (direct) • chair leg glides (plastic with embed- ded particulate) • chair casters (plastic with embedded particulate) After my evaluation, we all partic- ipated in a round robin of thoughts and ideas. As is usual, I attempted to give up as little information as possible while allowing everyone else to speak freely to their hearts' content. Naturally, everyone has his or her own take on the matter: both the manufacturer and the applicator are positive it's just a maintenance issue, the district and the specifying architect are adamant that the product is defective, and round and round it goes. Toward the end of the conversa- tion (just before it became a shouting match), I posed a simple question to the manufacturer's representative: After half a year of service in a middle school setting, should the foor look like this? And here's where attitude makes all the diference in the world. Te manufacturer's representative stated that the product is just fne and if I don't like that answer, then I should have it tested. I rephrased my question: Is there any chance that these appear- ance changes might exceed what would normally be acceptable? His response was, to me at least, priceless: "Get it tested yourself — you' ll see!" If he'd been more willing to work with us, then testing probably wouldn't have been necessary and a solution where every- one participated in the repair might have been possible. But because of his attitude, testing the foor was exactly what we did! A Plan to Test After talking to the third-party coatings lab, we came up with a sampling and testing protocol that would provide an evaluation of the coating in place as well as a compar- ison of a control sample coating. Te proposal was in the facilities director's email inbox the following morning, and he approved it in the blink of an eye. He was eager to get an answer and get his foor fxed. I arranged for coring in three locations: two areas where the Areas under the desks near the footrest areas were the worst, though primary traffic lanes showed a substantial amount of surface scratching as well. The usual suspects were evaluated, including chair leg glides, which were plastic and showed embedded particulate. Epoxy School Floor

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