Professional polyurethane foam: features of choice

Polyurethane foam is a versatile building material that is excellent for finishing works of any category and degree of complexity. Its main purpose is sealing seams, insulating, fastening various objects, as well as fixing plastic doors and windows.

Polyurethane foam is of two types:

• professional (you need a special separate sprayer for use);
• semi-professional or household (with a special built-in spray).

It is also divided according to the indicators of resistance to negative weather conditions:

• winter (use is allowed even at subzero temperatures);
• summer (can be used exclusively in the warm season);
• all-season (suitable for work at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions).

When choosing foam for installation, it is necessary to take into account the quality of the material. In this case, you need to carefully compare the expensive and cheap options. Usually, in expensive copies, the cylinder is much heavier in weight than the cheap one. Also, the economical option shows poor performance in terms of sealant resistance. After curing, professional foam is characterized by small and uniform cells, while household foam has a larger and more bumpy cell structure. Professional polyurethane foam is deservedly more expensive due to better quality, larger cylinder volume and technical characteristics.

Household polyurethane foam is a balloon with a special plastic tubethat comes with the tool itself. To start working with such material, you just need to connect the tube to the built-in valve and press gently to get the required amount of foam. This method is suitable even for those who have never encountered a similar tool before. To fill small gaps or holes in the wall, it is enough to purchase a can of household foam.

The professional foam cylinder has a special thread onto which a gun equipped with a dispenser is screwed. This tool makes it possible to distribute the sealant as accurately as possible to the work area. Typically, there is enough foam for a large amount of work. The material is consumed sparingly, which cannot be said about household polyurethane foam, which tends to run out very quickly in the cylinder. In addition, an unused semi-professional sealant can be safely thrown away, even if more than half of the material remains in the bottle, because after several hours in the open form, it hardens inside and cannot be used further.

The professional foam canister is reusable. The dispensing gun and cylinder valve can be flushed with a special solvent and continue to work with the agent at another time. This advantage allows you to evenly distribute the workflow. It is much more convenient to use the dispenser, because with the help of a pistol you can get a uniform stream of foam, which will not contain an excess amount of the product. For example, to fix a plastic window, you need to use only one cylinder of professional foam, taking into account the use of a special gun.Using household polyurethane foam, you will have to spend three cylinders at once.

The products are packed in cylinders that meet the requirements of GOST. On average, the volume of polyurethane foam is from 300 to 850 ml, there are also large packages of 1000 ml. Foam cylinders are under high pressure and must be handled safely.

Currently on the market there is a large selection of foam manufacturers for installation. Let's consider briefly the most popular modern brands.

Professional means "TechnoNIKOL 65" is used for fixing walls, metal sheets, insulation of doors and windows. This material is considered to be all-season, as it can be used in various temperature ranges, ranging from –10 to + 35ºC. This feature makes this foam one of the most demanded building materials on the market. "TechnoNIKOL 65" has an increased output of the product. Its high performance and yield of up to 70 liters are key benefits.

TechnoNIKOL Imperial is also a professional product, which is a polyurethane material in a bottle with a plastic thread. A special dispenser gun is attached to the cylinder, which carries out a moderate consumption of funds and is used for many finishing works. "Imperial" has a high capacity for filling cracks and holes.

Stayer is a versatile polyurethane foam that is used to anchor window and door blocks, to fill voids and seams. She has excellent technical characteristics, which ensure the strength of the sealant for a long service life, and also allow the material to be used in both warm and cold seasons. It can withstand temperature loads from –10 to + 35ºC.

Bostik is a product that is suitable for general use as well as for work with fire-resistant structures. It provides reliable adhesion of working surfaces, which is why it is used even in shipbuilding. Bostik sealant is simple to work with and cures easily when exposed to materials and air. The temperature range of foam application is from +5 to + 30ºC.

Moment is a material that has excellent resistance to temperature changes from –55 to + 90ºC. Such excellent performance makes the product popular among many construction companies. It is chosen for joining joints, pipe passages, thermal insulation of door and window blocks.

The "moment" is quickly distributed over the working surface and has excellent void filling ability. The cylinder is equipped with a special valve, which is required for the use and attachment of a separate dispensing gun. When working with the product, there is a faint odor that disappears on its own in the hardened form of the material. The foam-cured surface dries in about 10-15 minutes. This foam solidifies completely on average per day.

From the video below you can learn how to properly use the foam gun.