Colombia. Qpros, a company dedicated to the representation and marketing of raw materials, maintains that open time is a crucial property for the development and design of a cement-based adhesive for tiles and coatings.
"This property is defined as the maximum time interval in which the tiles can be placed on the adhesive after application," the Medellin, Colombia-based company states.
"The open time depends largely on the environmental conditions in which the adhesive is exposed, which can lead to the surface drying of the product reducing the adhesive properties, causing the detachment or incorrect gluing of the tiles," he says.
"For this reason, to be successful in the works, adhesives with more open time must be chosen, in order to avoid lifting the tiles as a result of the setting of the adhesive surface," adds the company.
"Glues with extended open time can optimize the application time, allowing a greater number of tiles to be placed before the adhesive dries superficially," concludes the organization, which has in its portfolio redispersible polymers (RPP) with modifications to achieve greater open time, which allow compliance with extended open time (E) for cementitious adhesives.
These polymers also fulfill their binding function and give strength, adhesion and flexibility properties to ceramic glues and mortars to comply with the standard.
Also, according to the company, in the sustainable field these polymers have low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), allowing the manufacture of finished products with eco-labeling.
