Do you work in the food sector and are curious about epoxy coving? The half round that runs around the perimeter of your food-grade floor where it meets the wall is called an epoxy cove base. Epoxy coving makes your food-grade floor easier to clean, keeps water out of the corners, and prevents liquids from soaking into the wall, which leads to bacteria growth.
Often, when installing epoxy coving, you'll see a plastic or metal arrowhead (trim) at the top. The purpose of using arrowhead or trim is to keep the top of the cove in place, making it stronger, and to provide a seamless transition for water to run down the wall and onto the floor during washing. The arrowhead is installed at an average height of 100mm or 4in up the wall and 50mm or 2in onto the floor, depending on where you are in the world.
Epoxy coving is made out of epoxy resin and quartz sand from or a dry kiln sand. After the arrowhead is in place, an epoxy batter is applied to the floor and wall sections where the coving will be put. After a piece of the surface has been primed, the coving mixture is spread out and formed into position with a half round coving trowel, then left to cure, leaving you with a rock hard epoxy cove base that is solid against the wall and floor, meaning no water or liquid will be able to get in behind it.
It's time to apply the topcoat after the epoxy cove has been placed, cured, and cleaned. Even though the epoxy cove is extremely hard, it still requires a topcoat to seal it, and two topcoats are frequently required to achieve a nice, smooth finish. After masking the arrowhead, make up epoxy resin (colored or clear) and gently paint the coves using a paint brush, ensuring that any runs are brushed out. After the initial topcoat has dried, give it a light sand and re-seal it using resin with a brush and pull the tape.
