High temperatures and constant cleaning can eventually degrade coatings, causing costly shutdowns to repair damaged areas. This was the scenario the owners of Hill Country Bakery’s new facility in San Antonio wanted to avoid, and they turned to Tnemec’s StrataShield line of floor and wall coatings to ensure a long life for their interior floors and walls.
Bakeries present special challenges to coating materials due to the extreme temperature fluctuations caused by the enormous commercial ovens found in the facilities. These temperature swings quickly stress a coating and can result in cracking and delamination. Thankfully StrataShield offers a complete floor and wall system that is capable of withstanding this environment, all the while keeping the facility easy to clean and hygienic.
Series 245 Ultra-Tread S was selected for the facility’s concrete floor. This polyurethane modified cement floor topping is applied in a slurry in one coat and cures within hours. Because it shares physical characteristics to that of typical Portland cement, it resists severe thermal cycling and stands up to impact and abrasion. Series 243 Ultra-Tread V, a vertical version of Series 245, was used as a coving material to form a transition between the floor and the wall, in some areas reaching 4’ high. Series 287 Enviro-Pox, a waterborne epoxy, was used for striping along the edges of the floor.
Walls in the room where the bakery racks are washed were abrasive blasted and then filled with Series 130 Envirofill, a waterborne cementitious acrylic, followed by a high-build, fiber-reinforced epoxy called Series 270 Stranlok. The fibers embedded within this unique product create an extremely durable surface that resists impact, abrasion and aggressive cleaning. A topcoat of Series 290 CRU, an aliphatic polyester polyurethane, was applied for additional protection and color fastness.
The owners were so impressed with the performance of the StrataShield coating systems that additional Hill Country Bakery facilities received similar applications.