Whether it's splash pads or cross walks, bike lanes or play courts, our communities are a lot more colorful these days! With the innovative designs and product technology offered by GAF and StreetBond – including a versatile line of Epoxy Modified Acrylics (EMA) coatings – your decorative pavement projects can be installed quickly and remain durable, colorfast and easy to maintain for years to come.

What is EMA?

Epoxy Modified Acrylics are two-component waterborne coatings that perform well on both textured (stamped) and non-textured (flat) asphalt pavement. With proper surface preparation and primer, they are a great solution on concrete substrates as well. Colin Keinath, Field Operations Manager for StreetBond, points out the advantages of the epoxy/acrylic combination: "The epoxy is modifying the acrylic component. It is a much more durable alternative than your typical paints or your one-component acrylics. Epoxy gives it more robustness; it can withstand water and chemicals better."

StreetBond SB120 and SB150 are innovative EMA pavement coating solutions that are known for a wide range of performance advantages, including:

• Enhanced Adhesion - EMA's have excellent bonding strength on both asphalt and concrete, reducing the incidence of peeling or delamination.

• Superior Resistance to Abrasion - EMA coatings withstand pedestrian, bike and skateboard traffic. Depending on the formulation, they can also be used for a certain amount of vehicular traffic. Keinath elaborates: "We categorize SB120 as our pedestrian version, and SB150 is our vehicular version. They both are similar technology. The aggregate size and the amount of epoxy modifier is a little bit different. SB150 is a bit more robust, so we promote that for light to medium volume traffic areas."

• Impact Resistance - The flexibility and toughness of EMA coatings help resist cracking from impact loads.

• Slip Resistance - ADA requirements for slip resistance are met with the textured finishes of EMA's, which provide excellent traction for pedestrians, cyclists and recreational users.

• Weather Resistance - The acrylic component of EMA coatings protects against fading, chalking and other forms of degradation from sun exposure. They perform well in all outdoor environments, including rain, humidity and extreme temperature swings.

Multiple Project Applications

Because of their durability, versatility and almost infinite design options, StreetBond Epoxy Modified Acrylics (EMA) coatings are ideal for multiple project types, including:

• Recreational Surfaces - sport courts, splash pads and playgrounds

• Commercial Hardscapes - plazas, courtyards, retail centers and mixed-use developments

• Multi-Family Residential and Hospitality Projects - pool decks, amenity areas, parking areas and pedestrian pathways

• Municipal Projects - Crosswalks, bike lanes, bus lanes, medians and traffic-calming features

In terms of the most popular applications, Keinath reports that they are seeing "a little bit of everything," although school playgrounds and recreational sport courts – especially pickleball – make up a large percentage of recent projects.

Installation Benefits

• Fast Curing - Downtime is minimized, resulting in quick installation and return-to-service (12-24 hours), while reducing prep and staging costs.

• Installer Safety - Since EMA coatings are water based, "your PPE requirements are much lower, and you don't have to worry about hazardous waste," says Keinath. And because EMA's are cold-applied, there is no open flame or specialized equipment for hot applications, resulting in fewer safety risks.

• Suitable for Various Substrates - Because EMA works on both new and old substrates, the need for costly tear-outs and substrate replacement is greatly reduced.

• Brick Paver Alternative - A quick, cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing substitute for brick pavers is stamped asphalt with StreetBond EMA coating. In fact, StreetBond made its name decades ago because of its innovative stamped asphalt technology. It is available in a variety of patterns and colors, and is much less expensive and labor-intensive to install than brick pavers. It's also more durable and easier to maintain. As Keinath explains: "If you get a brick that pops up or you have to do a utility cut, you've got a ton of money and effort tied up into repairing those bricks. With asphalt, you could just warm it up and stamp it or even do it at the beginning when it's being paved." In the future, if the ground shifts, stamped asphalt provides built-in relief joints: "If your asphalt starts flexing with the ground, it will crack in those brick lines rather than cracking right through the brick."

• Ease of Maintenance and Repair - Surfaces with EMA coatings can be cleaned with standard power washing (anything under 5000 psi) as needed. In terms of recoating, Keinath says: "The only time that you might have to start going back and doing recoating is if you have some wear through. A lot of people will put jobs on a four to six year recoat cycle, and put another couple of coats on it to refresh."

Manufacturer Track Record

GAF and StreetBond bring their well-established reputations to your decorative pavement projects. Here are some advantages to you as a contractor:

• National Brand Recognition - The GAF name and proven track record can help you win contracts on commercial and institutional projects.

• Integrated Systems - The fact that primers, coatings and aggregates are included as a complete system reduces the possibility of product compatibility issues and simplifies the submittal approval process. Comprehensive product documentation is easily available for design professionals and facility managers.

• Technical Support - GAF and StreetBond can provide the technical training and field support that help your crews get up-to-speed quickly, enhance worker safety, and minimize installation errors. Says Keinath: "We have a certified applicator program. We don't let anybody use our product unless they've had some sort of education on it. We typically do on-site training prior to a job. We'll even go out and do initial job starts to make sure that they know what they're doing."

Sustainability at the Forefront

StreetBond EMA products have a number of sustainability benefits:

• Low VOC Formulations - Our regulatory-compliant products meet environmental requirements for municipal and institutional projects.

• Heat-Island Reduction - Water-based Epoxy Modified Acrylics (EMA) coatings have solar-reflective options that help reduce urban heat-island effects by cooling pavement surfaces an average of 10 degrees.

• Lower Carbon Footprint - The fact that StreetBond coating products extend substrate life means that there is less need for resurfacing or replacement, thus lowering overall carbon footprint.

Visit StreetBond to find your local StreetBond or GAF representative, to learn more about Epoxy Modified Acrylics or any of our other pavement coating and marking technologies.