I get a lot of calls each day from people asking me about Pond Shield epoxy.  I get questions that are about almost anything but the one thing the majority of them have in common is whether or not Pond Shield epoxy is the right product for the project in question.  So I will try and clear some of that up for you here by giving you three things to look for in a quality epoxy sealer.

As long as your project is sturdy in construction there is no reason why an epoxy sealer will not work for you.  The biggest problem though is that most people do not understand what makes a good, quality sealer.  Knowing that puts a pond builder that much closer to finishing a successful pond.

The first thing you need to find out is whether the sealer is designed for under water use.  This is probably the most important thing to find out.  An epoxy sealer that is meant to just provide nominal sealing to the surface applied does not mean that the epoxy or the bond will not break down after being subjected to an under water environment.  You would be surprised how many epoxies there are on the market today that cannot stand up to the punishment of an underwater service environment.

The second thing to consider is how much of the epoxy is made up of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  For lack of a better analogy, these are the amounts and types of solvents that are present in the epoxy sealer.  What happens with these volatile organic compounds is they will evaporate from the epoxy as the sealer cures.  Guess what happens when that evaporation takes place?  The coating looses some of its body and can shrink.  The problem with shrinking is that if you are counting on the sealer to waterproof the surface applied, there can be repercussions if that coating surface diminishes after it has cured, especially in joint areas.

Finally, you have to consider how a sealer works.  A proper coating is not just applied like paint.  What I mean by that is when you apply a coating you are not just putting whatever color you chose onto the pond surface.  Because of this, you have to consider the minimum application thickness of the coating after it has been applied.  The reason there is a minimum thickness is because the sealer is going to be put under very specific stresses and has to be thick enough to take the punishment.  A mere 2 mil thick sealer, just is not going to withstand the forces placed against it and the pond will have problems.  Sometime I have customer ask me if they can stretch a kit that covers 60 square feet to 65 square feet.  I tell them no because if they do, then somewhere the coating is not going to be at the recommended minimum thickness and that are will have problems.

So keep these basics in mind when you are getting ready to coat your pond or water feature.  You will find that following the basic rules of coating will give you a much better outcome and greater chances of a successful project.

You know, ponds are not the only types of projects that water proofing coatings can be used on.  There are a lot of other things that are perfectly suited for apply a coating like Pond Shield epoxy.

Remember that just because this coating was designed with ponds and housing aquatic life in mind, that does not mean that this is its only use.  Pond Shield epoxy is in comparison to other epoxies a very high performance type of epoxy.

It can be used in a whole lot of other situations and you’d reap the benefits of the coating in doing so.  So let me stop this paid advertisement type of speech right now.  I got carried away.  Instead let me just run down a list of things that you may never have thought of using the product for.  These are in no particular order.

Garage Floors – Garage floors need a coating that is chemical resistant and that can take a lot of physical punishment.

Hydroponics Tanks – Yes, growing your own vegetables these days seems to be a keen way of saving money.

Below Grade Waterproofing – Places with high water tables are susceptible to water seeping through concrete walls and into basement areas.  A coating with a high hydrostatic barrier rating can stop this.

Man Holes/Storm Drains – For you city engineers out there, most of these units are made of concrete so the bond of the epoxy to the concrete would be just like that in a pond. 

Baptisteries – You’d need something tough enough to constantly walk on with some baptismal units.

Industrial Kitchen Walls – In any kitchen, especially industrial kitchens, the areas need to be easily cleaned.  Having an ultra smooth surface means less time getting the cleaning job down.

Public Showers/Restrooms – A very inexpensive alternative to stone tiling.

Rot Damaged Wood – In cases where a portion of a wood structure has rotted, Pond Shield can be used to repair those areas and put them back into service.

Broken Tile/Ceramic – The high elongation break strength will allow you to successfully bond broken pieces of tile or ceramic back together.

Abrasion Proof Decks – Use in conjunction with woven fiberglass to create an abrasion proof exterior deck.

Repairing Wood Trim – Some wood trim will have knots or other flaws that can be repaired with Pond Shield.

Sealing Plaster/Drywall – Especially useful when trying to keep a tub or shower area sealed against water damage.

Wooden Post – posts like those use on porches or for fencing would benefit from being sealed off from the environment.

Anchor Bolts – Used where extra holding strength is needed for anchor bolts in concrete.

Post and Beam Splicing – Any time you need to splice a new section of post or beam into and existing section.

Sagging Beams – Beams that have begun to sag over time can be reinforced and straightened out.

These are just a handful of ideas that you may be able to use around the house right now.  Yes, Pond Shield epoxy was created with ponds in mind, but it will definitely work better than any other epoxy you’ll find in your local hardware store.

This is just a brief article to get your creative thinking going.  I am the type of person that likes to construct things that are unique, things that people just do not see everyday, things that people take a look at and think, “Well there’s something you don’t see everyday”.

This is not done for praise, but rather I like people to appreciate the finished effect and hopefully get ideas from what I have done to go and build something that is unique for them and that they can enjoy.  So with that said, I’d like to talk about using paint in your pond.

If I have said it once, I have said it a million times.  You can’t just put paint on your concrete pond and expect it to stick.  Yep, but here I am talking to you about painting your pond.  Well there is a way to do it.

First consider what you plan to do with the paint.  Are you going to put some sort of mural down in the pond?  Are you going to paint it in a fashion that makes the bottom of the pond blend in with the natural surroundings?  I have seen golf courses put logos and such in the bottoms of their ponds.

So, if paint does not stick to concrete very well, how are you going to paint the pond and get any sort of life expectancy out of it?  That’s pretty simple.  You will end up sandwiching it between two coats of Pond Shield epoxy.

You prepare the surface for the first coat of Pond Shield epoxy and then let it cure for at least 24 hours.  If you plan to paint the entire surface, you can almost use any color of Pond Shield epoxy that you want.  If you want to maintain any natural rock for example you may want to use clear as your first coat.

After the first coat has cured for 24 hours, it can be sanded to give the surface some tooth for the paint to stick to.  What you use to paint the surface now will be a very important choice.  The first kind of paint that probably pops into your head would be latex paint.

Latex paint would probably be the worst choice in my opinion.  The problem is not how well it would stick to Pond Shield epoxy, but how well Pond Shield epoxy would stick to it.  This is because in attempting to prepare a latex surface for the purpose of sticking epoxy to it, you may inadvertently destroy the latex finish you have created. 

Think about what the latex might look like if you accidentally sanded through it, especially if you have just finished a nice faux look to the paint job.  Trying to touch that up and make it blend properly can be very difficult to say the least.

You might even consider an exterior oil based paint.  While these pains are pretty good and can be prepared easier than latex, the real problem comes from how they cure.  Oil based pains have quite a bit of solvent material in them and it is the evaporation of this solvent that acts as the drying method for the paint.

When oil based paints dry, they tend to shrink.  This shrinking, not to mention solvent release can cause issues later when the project is complete.

So if this is something you really want to consider, I would recommend that you use an automotive type of paint; either an acrylic, enamel or a polyurethane.  Any of these types of paints are made to stick to other plastic surfaces too.

The trick will be this.  You will need to apply the paint to the prepared Pond Shield epoxy and if the painted surface is small enough apply Pond Shield clear over the top just after the paint has flashed.  By flashed, I mean when the paint has just cured enough to be hard but still susceptible to having a coating applied over top of it without sanding.  This flash time will be described in the instructions for the paint you purchased.

Now, if you surface area is large and you are forced to sand, sanding an automotive paint is pretty easy.  It’s harder than a latex type of paint so the likelihood of you sanding through is a lot less, especially if you’re careful.  Just sand it and then wipe it clean and the surface will be ready for the top coat of Pond Shield clear epoxy.

So that’s basically all there is to it.  If you do not know where to get automotive paint, just call a local auto body shop and ask them.  Usually there are one or two automotive paint stores in any given town or at least in a town close to you.

Remember to think out of the box here.  There’s a lot you can do with paint as long as you do it correctly.  You need a base coat of Pond Shield epoxy, then the paint and finally a top coat of Pond Shield epoxy clear.