If the support does not meet the necessary conditions, we will not be able to apply the microcement with guarantees.
Preconditions to the application
Cleaning.
The support must be clean, free of dust and grease.
Flatness.
The microcement is applied in layers not exceeding 1mm, and the sum of these will not exceed four millimetres, so we will not be able to resolve flatness issues with this material, we must solve the irregularities of the support before starting the application. The Microcement it can be applied on floors, walls and even ceilings, the final result will depend on the support and the work of the applicator.
Consistency.
The application base must be stable. Supports with powdery mortars or loose tiles are not suitable, depending on their condition they will need to be removed or consolidated with quick-setting mortars, with compensated shrinkage.
Free from dampness.
In case of moisture in the support, we will not be able to apply microcement. It will be necessary to first determine its origin and eliminate it, we advise using a moisture meter in order to ensure that the humidity never exceeds 5%.
The support must have gone through a sufficient curing process. We must take into account that the temperature and relative humidity of the environment along with the ventilation of the workspace, affect the drying process of the mortars and accelerate or delay the curing process.
Work area protection
We must properly protect the work area and surfaces that we are not going to cover, the microcement adheres very strongly and is difficult to clean when dry. We will use common protective material in painting jobs, such as painter's tapes, paper to protect, all-covering plastics...
Recommended support in the pool system
It is applied on sprayed or gunned concrete, with the support being clean, consolidated and in good conditions of planimetry.It should not be applied on gresite.
Preparation of the support
The application of microcement will begin with the priming of the support using adhesion promoters and with the placement of the fibreglass mesh.
Primer with adhesion promoters
Los promotores de adherencia cumplen varias funciones, aseguran una mejor adherencia sobre cualquier tipo de soporte, aumentan la cohesión de éste, mejoran la velocidad de aplicación de la primera mano del microcemento, y evitan la pérdida prematura de humedad del micro-mortero.
The supports have different absorption capacity, consequently we must use solutions for each of them, promoters for non-absorbent surfaces, for absorbent surfaces, for surfaces that need a certain degree of consolidation or promoters for surfaces that may have moisture problems.
Microcement on stoneware, terrazzo, hydraulic tile or marble
To coat this type of little or non-porous supports we must use Primacem Plus, promoter for non-absorbent surfaces, the process will be as follows:
- Fill the joints with Microbase and let dry for 24 h. If the joints are very thin we can use Microdeck or even Microfino.
- Apply a layer of Primacem PLUS using a roller along with the Builtex mesh.
- Allow to dry for a minimum of 30 minutes and apply the first coat of Microbase.
- Let it dry for 24 h, give it a coat of Primacem PLUS and apply the second coat of Microbase.
Here we see a different application system with Impoxi
Microcement on plaster, plasterboard, DM boards
On absorbent supports we will use Primacem Abs, following these steps:
- Apply the primer with a common painter's roller.
- Allow the bonding bridge to act for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 24 hours before placing the mesh along with the first coat of microcement.
Microcement on cement mortar, sprayed or gunned concrete.
For absorbent surfaces that may require a certain degree of consolidation, we should proceed as follows:
- Apply the Acricem primer with a common painter's roller.
- Allow the bonding bridge to act for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 24 hours before placing the mesh along with the first coat of microcement.
Microcement on supports that may present moisture
On consolidated supports where moisture may appear, we should apply a barrier based on epoxy resins to prevent moisture from affecting the microcement. Primapox Barrier solves moisture problems by allowing microcement coatings to be applied on the support.
- Roller priming with Primapox®100 Barrier A 0.35 kg/m2
- Sprinkle with dry silica sand of 0.3-0.8 mm at 1kg/m2
- Let dry for 24 hours
- Remove the excess silica sand by sweeping and vacuuming.
- Application of Primapox Barrier using trowel at 3 kg/m2
Mesh installation
The Topciment microcement does not crack, as long as the base on which it has been placed does not do so. The Topciment mesh is an additional insurance in microcement applications, it is a high-performance, flexible, resistant and very easy to work with mesh, it is easily covered with Microbase, without making bags. The mesh allows the coating to be detached from the application support.
Mesh fixation:
The mesh can be fixed with the adhesion promoter Primacem Plus, or when used as a promoter Primacem ABS or Acricem resin, with the first hand of Microcement Base. The mesh strips should overlap, no more than 1cm, and we will always apply two coats of Microbase to completely cover the framework.