Duraguard Protective Coating Solutions
Commercial & Industrial Concrete Floor Systems & polishing
Durathane CR — Pigmented Aliphatic Urethane Topcoat
70% Solids, UV-Stable, Color-Retaining Urethane Finish for Commercial and Industrial Floors
A pigmented floor finish is only as good as its ability to hold its color. Standard epoxy topcoats yellow, fade, and lose their vibrancy under UV light and continuous lighting exposure — turning a carefully selected floor color into something unrecognizable within a few years. Durathane CR is Duraguard’s pigmented aliphatic urethane topcoat, engineered for installations where color stability, UV resistance, and long-term appearance are as important as chemical and abrasion performance.
At 70% solids with aliphatic urethane chemistry, Durathane CR delivers a pigmented finish coat that holds its color, resists chemicals, and maintains its appearance under the UV and light exposure that degrades standard epoxy pigmented finishes over time. Installed by Duraguard Protective Coating Solutions throughout Wisconsin and Illinois since 1993, Durathane CR is the pigmented topcoat specified when color fidelity and long-term finish performance are required.
What Makes Durathane CR Different From a Pigmented Epoxy Topcoat?
The answer is chemistry. Standard pigmented epoxy topcoats — including high-performance 100% solids systems — are based on aromatic epoxy resin chemistry that is inherently susceptible to UV degradation. Under fluorescent lighting, natural daylight, and UV exposure, aromatic epoxy pigmented finishes yellow, chalk, and fade. The color selected at installation is not the color the floor shows after two or three years of service under normal lighting conditions.
Durathane CR is based on aliphatic urethane chemistry — the same UV-stable resin technology used in high-performance automotive and architectural coatings where long-term color retention is a non-negotiable requirement. Aliphatic urethane does not yellow, does not chalk, and maintains the integrity of the pigmented color under continuous UV and light exposure throughout the service life of the floor.
For any installation where the color of the floor matters long term — food processing facilities, commercial spaces, institutional buildings, manufacturing floors with color-coded safety zones — Durathane CR delivers what pigmented epoxy cannot: a finish that looks the same years after installation as it did on day one.
Why Durathane CR?
Aliphatic Urethane — Exceptional Color Stability
Durathane CR’s aliphatic urethane chemistry is the foundation of its color stability. Where pigmented epoxy topcoats yellow and fade under UV exposure, Durathane CR’s aliphatic chemistry resists photochemical degradation and maintains the vibrancy and accuracy of the selected color over the full service life of the floor. For color-coded safety markings, brand-specific floor colors, and any installation where color fidelity matters, this is the defining performance characteristic.
UV Stable — Performs Under Any Lighting Condition
Fluorescent lighting, natural daylight through windows and skylights, and direct UV exposure all degrade standard epoxy pigmented finishes over time. Durathane CR is UV stable — its aliphatic chemistry resists the photochemical reactions that cause color shift and chalking in standard topcoats. The floor installed looks the same under any lighting condition years after installation.
Excellent Chemical Resistance
Durathane CR resists the oils, greases, cleaning chemicals, sanitizers, mild acids, and industrial chemicals encountered in food processing, manufacturing, and commercial environments. The cured aliphatic urethane film maintains its color and surface integrity under the chemical exposure that causes standard epoxy pigmented finishes to stain, soften, and degrade.
High Performance Finish — Durable Pigmented Wear Layer
Beyond its color stability, Durathane CR delivers the abrasion resistance, surface hardness, and durability expected of a high-performance urethane topcoat. The 70% solids formulation applies at a substantial film build, creating a tough, cleanable pigmented wear surface that handles the daily mechanical demands of commercial and industrial environments.
Pigmented Final Topcoat — Complete System Finish
Durathane CR is applied as the final pigmented topcoat in a multi-coat floor system — over epoxy base coats, over primer systems, and in any installation where a colored urethane finish coat is specified. It delivers the complete color and performance of the finish system in a single topcoat layer.
Standalone or System Application
Durathane CR can serve as the final topcoat in a complete multi-coat system or as a standalone high-performance pigmented finish over properly prepared concrete. Its versatility makes it the right pigmented urethane topcoat across a wide range of commercial and industrial floor applications.
8 to 12 Hour Cure
Durathane CR cures in 8 to 12 hours under normal conditions, keeping installation schedules on track and allowing facilities to return floors to service quickly.
Where Durathane CR Is Used
Food and Beverage Processing Facilities
Food processing environments combine UV exposure from facility lighting with daily chemical exposure from cleaning agents, sanitizers, and organic process chemicals. Durathane CR’s aliphatic chemistry resists both — maintaining color and surface integrity under the lighting and chemical conditions that degrade pigmented epoxy finishes. The result is a floor that stays clean-looking, correctly colored, and chemically resistant throughout its service life.
Commercial and Retail Spaces
Showrooms, retail floors, commercial lobbies, and customer-facing spaces specify colored floor systems for their visual impact. Durathane CR ensures that the color selected performs as intended under the fluorescent and natural lighting conditions of commercial environments — without the yellowing and fading that degrades standard epoxy pigmented finishes over time.
Manufacturing and Industrial Floors
Manufacturing facilities with color-coded floor zones — safety markings, traffic lanes, equipment areas, pedestrian paths — require pigmented topcoats that maintain their color accuracy over years of service under facility lighting and chemical exposure. Durathane CR keeps color-coded zones legible and accurate without the fading and yellowing that causes safety markings to lose their visual clarity.
Institutional and Educational Facilities
Schools, universities, healthcare facilities, and institutional buildings with colored floor systems benefit from Durathane CR’s color stability and chemical resistance. These environments combine heavy foot traffic, aggressive cleaning protocols, and continuous lighting exposure — exactly the conditions where aliphatic urethane chemistry outperforms standard epoxy pigmented finishes.
Any Installation Where Color Must Last
Durathane CR is the correct specification for any floor installation where the selected color needs to look right not just at installation but throughout the service life of the floor. If the color matters, the chemistry matters — and aliphatic urethane is the chemistry that holds color where standard epoxy cannot.
Durathane CR vs. Pigmented Epoxy Topcoat — The Color Difference
The most direct comparison for Durathane CR is a high-performance pigmented epoxy topcoat like Durapoxy TC. Both are high-solids, zero-odor finish coats with good chemical and abrasion resistance. The critical difference is UV stability and long-term color performance.
Durapoxy TC is the right pigmented topcoat for the majority of industrial and commercial floor applications — excellent performance, fast cure, zero odor, and proven durability. For installations where UV exposure and long-term color fidelity are not primary concerns, TC delivers outstanding value.
Durathane CR is specified when color stability over time is a requirement. The aliphatic urethane chemistry commands a premium over standard epoxy, and that premium pays back in a floor that holds its color and appearance under UV exposure and lighting conditions that would cause a pigmented epoxy to yellow and fade within a few years. For customer-facing commercial spaces, color-coded safety systems, and any installation where the floor’s appearance is part of its function, Durathane CR is the right specification.
The Duraguard Installation Process
Durathane CR is applied as the final coat in a multi-layer floor system after all base coats and intermediate coats have cured to specification. Surface preparation of the underlying coat — including light abrasion to ensure proper intercoat adhesion — is performed before application.
Duraguard’s installation crews are experienced in aliphatic urethane application and understand the mixing ratios, application conditions, and cure requirements that ensure Durathane CR performs to its full color stability and chemical resistance specification as a final pigmented wear layer.
We work around your production schedule, including nights and weekends, to minimize downtime during installation.
Service Area
Duraguard installs Durathane CR pigmented aliphatic urethane topcoat systems throughout southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois including Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, and surrounding areas.
Get a Free Floor Assessment
If your facility requires a pigmented floor finish with long-term color stability, UV resistance, and superior chemical resistance — or if your current floor color has yellowed or faded and you need a better solution — contact Duraguard today for a free on-site assessment.
Call us at (833) 387-2482 or use our contact form to request your free evaluation.
Duraguard Protective Coating Solutions is proud to align with leading industry organizations that set the standard for flooring excellence and business integrity. We follow the guidelines and technical standards established by the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI), ensuring every project meets rigorous industry benchmarks. As an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), we are committed to transparency, trust, and customer satisfaction. Duraguard is also recognized through Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), reflecting our dedication to Wisconsin’s manufacturing and business community.*