Wet Surfaces • Water Displacement • Adhesion • Underwater

Water creates one of the most difficult conditions for coating adhesion.

On a wet substrate, water can occupy the microscopic spaces where a coating needs to make contact with the surface. Instead of bonding directly to the substrate, the material may be separated from it by a thin layer of water.

PANSEAL is engineered differently.

WATER CHANGES THE INTERFACE

For a coating to develop adhesion, it must establish intimate contact with the substrate.

On a dry, properly prepared surface, that process is relatively straightforward.

On a wet or submerged surface, water competes for that same interface.

The challenge isn’t simply curing in the presence of water.

The coating must first establish contact with the surface beneath the water.

WATER DISPLACEMENT COMES FIRST

PANSEAL is formulated to wet the substrate and displace water from the bonding interface.

As the material spreads across a properly prepared wet surface, it pushes water away from the areas where adhesion needs to develop.

That allows the epoxy system to make direct contact with the substrate.

PENETRATION BUILDS THE CONNECTION

Once contact is established, the material can penetrate surface irregularities, pores and profile created during preparation.

The epoxy flows into those microscopic spaces and develops a mechanical connection to the substrate as it cures.

Water may surround the repair.

The bond develops at the interface beneath it.

CURING IS A CHEMICAL REACTION

Two-part epoxy does not depend on evaporation to become solid.

When the resin and hardener are mixed, a chemical reaction begins.

Because cure is driven by that reaction rather than by drying, PANSEAL can continue curing in wet and submerged conditions when properly mixed and applied within its specified operating conditions.

PREPARATION STILL MATTERS UNDERWATER

Underwater capability does not eliminate the need for surface preparation.

Loose material, contamination, biological growth, weak concrete, corrosion products and other surface conditions can interfere with adhesion whether the substrate is dry, wet or completely submerged.

The fundamentals remain the same:

Prepare the substrate. Establish contact. Develop the bond. Allow the chemistry to cure.

WET SURFACE. STRONG BOND. LASTING PROTECTION.

Water changes the application environment.

It doesn’t change the fundamentals of adhesion.

PANSEAL combines water displacement, surface wetting, penetration and two-part epoxy chemistry to create a durable bond in conditions where keeping the substrate dry isn’t practical.

The science happens at the interface—even underwater.