Our Technology

UPCI is committed to environment protection. None of our products contain lead, a highly toxic metal that has detrimental health effects. Lead-based paints have been found to poison waterways and rivers, causing cancer and other illnesses. Our products are made with eco-friendly ingredients to support businesses which must meet very stringent conservation requirements.

Our high-performance, durable rust-preventive products can be produced at an affordable cost. The anti-corrosive properties of our products offer excellent UV and salt resistance; and our products can be color pigmented to any specification. Laboratory tests have shown that UPCI’s coatings outperform the existing paints in the market when subject to the same salt spray and UV tests.

Core Product Technology
UPCI's Core Products are distinguished from other competing products by its convenient, one-step application process. This eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming sandblasting, priming and sealing – processes which constitute 75% percent of most restoration expenses. These products provide maximum protection in highly corrosive environments, where salt, acidic, caustic, sulfuric and bleach fumes are present, and have been proven (under laboratory testing) to outlast the
competing products in the market. One of the key components in our products is microcrystalline wax, which gives our products full flexibility and pliability. While the product cures to a hard finish, the suppleness of the microcrystalline wax enables coated steel surfaces to accommodate expansions and contractions resulting from atmospheric changes, without cracking, peeling or chipping.

Specialty Product Technology
Epoxies
UPCI’s Specialty Products are a step above the competition in terms of corrosion resistance. While most epoxy products fail between 800 – 1000 hours of salt fog resistance and around 1000 – 2000 hours of UV resistance, UPCI’s epoxy products offer protection up to 2200 hours of salt spray and 4000 hours of UV exposure.  

Today, manufacturers have been forced to revise their rust-preventive products to water-based formulations to comply with regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB). However, water-based products are not as effective as solvent-based products for protection against rust and corrosion. They can rust plain steel and sometimes attack aluminum, leading to higher costs of maintenance resulting from the repeated paintings of the structures. Moreover, water-based coatings conduct high-voltage electricity much more readily than solvent-based coatings, and their application would require wetted equipment to be isolated from potential grounds to prevent electrocution. The challenge here becomes two-fold: (1) to design long-lasting and high-performance rust-preventive products which meet all requirements set by the EPA and CARB, and (2) to save the end-users time and money by eliminating the need for surface preparation and repeated maintenance. UPCI’s water-based epoxy has fulfilled both these conditions by using superior-quality and environment-safe raw materials in its formulations. Like our solvent-based epoxies, UPCI’s water-based epoxy provides up to 2200 hours of salt spray and 4000 hours of UV exposure. 

Enamels
UPCI’s enamel products are a cut above the conventional enamel available in the market today. In laboratory tests, the average enamel fails salt fog and UV exposure at a fraction of the hours that UPCI’s products have been tested for: 1000 hours of salt spray or UV resistance (standard enamel paint) versus 2200 hours of salt spray and 4000 hours of UV protection (UPCI’s enamel products). This translates to more frequent repainting of the surfaces, leading to increased product, labor and maintenance costs when using regular enamels. Through years of R & D, UPCI has created a proprietary formulation which resolves all of these problems, making UPCI’s enamels much more economical to use in the long run.
 
Calcium Sulfonate
UPCI’s UniSac Coating is based on a modified overbased crystalline calcium sulfonate technology which provides unparalleled protection for rust and corrosion control on metal surfaces. UniSac Coating dries to form tack-free, firm films which provide long-term protection by remaining slightly soft to the fingernail through their service life. These films do not blister, peel or undercut while in service, and the flexibility of these coatings contributes to their superb extended service life.

Rust-Reformer
UPCI’s Rust-Converto chemically converts rust to a tough and durable polymer protective coating. It contains ingredients to neutralize ferrous oxide, oxalic acid and tannic acid. These ingredients are mild and will not affect the structural integrity of the steel. A polymer is also blended in the composition of Rust-Converto™ which, upon drying, will result in a long-lasting black primer coating on the steel surfaces. This polymer coating will bond better to the paint than ferrous phosphate.

Today, there are two types of rust-reformer products available in the market: The first of these is the phosphoric acid-based products. These products react with the rust (ferrous oxide) to form ferrous phosphate, a gray film that forms on the metal. Paint can be applied over this surface. But there are numerous problems associated with this type of product:

1. The phosphoric acid, if left in contact with the metal for any appreciable length of time will affect the structural integrity of the metal
2. The gray ferrous phosphate film has a short life span before rust reappears
3. This product is non-biodegradable.

The second type of rust-reformer product, such as UPCI’s Rust-Converto™, eliminates the problems associated with the phosphoric acid rust-converters.

The acids used to neutralize the ferrous oxide are oxalic acid and tannic acid. Both are mild and will not affect the structural integrity of the steel.

A polymer is added to the acids so that upon drying, a long lasting black primer coating is left on the steel, which will in turn bond better to paints than the ferrous phosphate.

Glass Resin Technology (UniGuard Coat)
UPCI’s UniGuard Coat utilizes a technology whereby large glass platelets are suspended in a reinforced, but resilient vinyl ester resin base. Glass, being a natural barrier to water, is often used for this purpose. In glass-flake lining technology, this important property has been developed by incorporating glass flakes into a matrix of tough carrier resins. These, when applied in the form of a liquid coating, cure to create tough, glass-like products which form a powerful bond with a host of diverse substrates. This proven industrial utilization has been adapted successfully for marine use. Icebreaker strength coatings are a typical example.

As a homogenous coating providing hull protection which has mechanical antifouling properties, UniGuard Coatuses glass platelets specially designed to resist water ingress in the marine environment. The hull is conditioned to an exceptionally smooth finish after the curing process is completed and the vessel re-floated. Unlike other coatings, the hull roughness is brought down to a figure of less than 0.80 mils (20.32 microns), resulting in a more efficient hull and hence substantial fuel savings.

Since UPCI’s newly developed glass-reinforced platelet is larger than the conventional platelets used in similar products – and larger platelets offer better corrosion resistance – our UniGuard Coat provides much superior performance to the competition