Protect Work Trucks with Abrasion & Slip Resistant Coatings

Construction, emergency, and utility vehicles are all integral parts of day-to-day life in various industries. Heavy-duty equipment is expected to function indoors and outdoors. It must face weather and road hazards year-round, including extreme temperatures, dirt, rocks, and other road debris. It should also be able to handle the frequent movement of heavy loads.

Without protection, these conditions can erode and wear surfaces, causing scuffs, scratches, and dents. These defects can then generate rust and corrosion that reduces the longevity of your equipment.

An abrasion and slip resistant coating is desirable for protecting open and enclosed work trucks from the damages mentioned. With a textured grip, they can also reduce the sliding of cargo to prevent interior damage. This can help limit slip accidents and injury during cargo loading and unloading as well.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Protective Coating

Before choosing a protective coating, there are several factors you should consider. Assessing the following will help narrow the best one for your project.

• Hardness. Coatings with higher durometers tend to have good abrasion resistance and prolong the lifespan of the surface. However, the harder the coating, the more brittle it will be. If a coating is too hard, impacts can cause cracks and delamination from the surface. Finding a coating within the 40-60 D range will offer durability with some flex for withstanding abrasion and impacts.
• Flexibility. While these coatings must be hard, they also need some elasticity to prevent wear from weathering. A good balance of hardness and flexibility will keep the coating intact during temperature extremes. This prevents cracking or failure. It also keeps the watertight seal intact so water, dirt, and other debris can’t cause rust and corrosion on the underlying surface.
• Properties. Tensile strength, tear strength, and elongation are important for the coating’s longevity. These properties are part of what makes the material durable, so it holds up against heavy wear without deforming, tearing, or cracking. Other properties allow the coating to support heavy loads, prevent high friction, and maintain adhesion to the surface.
• Surface Finish. Depending on where you spray the coating, you might want a textured finish for increased grip. If you’re applying the coating to work truck floors, you don’t want a smooth surface as this could cause people or cargo to slip, causing accidents or damage. Some coatings come with an inherent texture or allow you to customize the texture to your liking.
• Thickness. When a coating is applied thicker, it takes more abrasion and impact to wear away and expose the substrate to the environment. An abrasion resistant coating is often applied at 80 mils for extensive protection.

What Is the Best Protective Coating for Work Trucks?

Some of the best coatings that combat abrasive wear are made of high-performance thermoset polymers. They are commonly used when work trucks require a high degree of protection as they provide the needed amount of hardness and flexibility. The coatings VFI recommends are polyurea and polyurea hybrids.

Coatings like these that are hard yet flexible and applied thick tend to be the best at preventing wear. They work well over metal surfaces, such as steel and aluminum, making them perfect for reducing damage that can deteriorate your fleet. By applying these coatings, you are extending the life of your coated parts. They maintain their structure and appearance even after prolonged wear.

Another desirable quality of these coatings is chemical resistance. Since many work trucks are used in the oil and gas, agriculture, and automotive industries, it’s important for the coating to resist damage from oils, fuels, solvents, and more.

Spray coatings are also highly customizable. Polyurea and hybrids can be tinted if you want a custom color to match the vehicle or company branding. Not only do you get the function of using a protective coating, but you get the aesthetic benefits as well. However, VFI coatings and most coatings on the market are aromatic. This means they will fade if exposed to UV rays for long periods. Applying an aliphatic topcoat is essential to prevent this from happening.

Polyurea coatings are the premium option when it comes to protecting your work truck. They tend to offer higher tensile strength, tear strength, and elongation due to the raw materials used to make them. They are also more moisture-insensitive, allowing you to use them in environments with high levels of moisture or humidity.

However, if you don’t require premium properties or characteristics of a polyurea, a hybrid coating is a great option. It offers a good balance of cost, properties, and performance. Hybrids have some polyurethane content, making them more sensitive to moisture. If you can avoid applying them in moist or humid environments, this shouldn’t be a problem.

What Are Common Applications for These Coatings?

From pickup and dump trucks to tractors, trailers, and service bodies, it’s essential to keep your vehicles in good condition so they don’t break down when you need them. When they do break down, money is lost from excessive downtime for repairs. There’s no limit to what parts of work vehicles you can protect, with the most common being:

• Floors and ramps. By applying a coating with a textured finish on surfaces you walk on, you’ll have better traction for secure footing when loading and unloading. Anti-slip protection is especially helpful for open work trucks that might get wet from outdoor conditions. It can also help prevent cargo from shifting in transit, protecting the cargo itself and your work vehicle from dents and dings.
• Outer vehicle parts. When you apply a coating to critical areas of your vehicle like rocker and bumper panels, fenders, and wheel wells, you’re protecting them from road and weather hazards. So, rather than finding dents, nicks, and rusted-out spots on your vehicle, you have ensured seamless protection.
• Toolboxes. Spraying the inside of work truck toolboxes and compartments can also prevent damage from the movement of tools and equipment you store on the drive. This will keep the underlying surface protected from scratches, impact, and more that could result in rust and corrosion.

Contact VFI for more information on the best coating solutions for your work trucks.