Bonding Agents
Bonding agents are high strength adhesives that are used for industrial jobs on both commercial and residential developments. Good quality bonding agents can provide effective adhesion for plaster, concrete, ceramic tiles and more. Ensuring a long-lasting result every time.
What are the strengths of bonding agents?
Bonding agents have a range of characteristics that make them ideal in the construction process whether in building offices or houses.
- Bonding agents reliably reduce the cracks that can occur during shrinkages.
- They are simple to use and apply to surfaces.
- The absorbency of concrete is decreased
- A powerful bonding agent can improve the fusion between the concrete layers.
- Bonding agents increase the flexibility and strength of the bond of the concrete.
- They are weather-resistant against colder weather such as frost.
What can affect the success of bonding agents?
Whilst bonding agents are exceptionally successful in most environments, they can be impacted by the surfaces they are applied to. Bonding agents support the different layers of concrete by making them act as a single unit of concrete. However, when the new layer of the agent is applied to the old layer you must make sure that the surface has been properly prepared. If the surface is dirty this may affect the agent's ability to bonding. Additionally, if the strength and integrity of the old surface are in question, this could potentially cause issues.
What types of bonding agents are there?
There are a variety of different bonding agents:
Acrylic Latex
This bonding agent is commonly used when attempting to bond new concrete with old concrete. The agent is applied through rollers, brushes or trollers and the substance looks white when the polymers and copolymers are combined.
Epoxy
Many builders and tradesmen will use this resin in lighter concrete. A key characteristic of epoxy bonding agents is that they wet out quickly and can be used not only to bond concrete layers but also steel and concrete.
PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate)
If you need to repair concrete, then PVA is the perfect option due to its water resistance, UV stability and its long-lasting nature. Furthermore, it has grown in use owing to its strong relationship when applied to cement.
