The evolution of resin-based coatings for cruise ships means new and creative appearances that are lightweight, easy to maintain and durable.

At MAPEI, Guido Sardi, business development manager, and Mike Daniels, technical service manager, presented some of the company’s current and future marine products in a recent webinar, highlighting both floor and wall applications.

“Our Mapedeck Teak Evolution is a self-leveling polyurethane resin coating that forms a seamless teak effect finish on internal and external decks. It is a two-part polyurethane flooring with a natural wood grain, ideal for pool areas as well balcony floors,” Daniels said.

An alternative to real teak, the synthetic flooring offers less weight and needs less maintenance. It is also slip resistant, color fast, and will not crack and leak, thus protecting the underlying steel subfloor from corrosion.

“Polyurethane resin is by design slip resistant even when wet,” Sardi added, “and we can also enhance the traction.”

The Mapedeck Terrazzo flooring combines a two-part epoxy binder and a combination of natural aggregates. “The flooring can be applied with different colors and you can mix in metals, glass, the limit is only your imagination,” Daniels noted. “It allows for many different effects.”

The trowel-applied Mapedeck Mirum is a two-part aliphatic polyurethane based thixotropic moldable coating for walls, ceilings, floors and pools, available in what Mapei calls nearly unlimited colors and textures.

The Mapedeck Monodesign is a fine-textured single-component, aliphatic polymer, trowel-applied coating, forming seamless decorative effects for floor and wall applications in internal areas, and can be used in galleys as well as for restaurant flooring.

Sardi gave several examples of how the products were applied on cruise ships, while meeting literally any kind of design and effect that shipowners, designers and architects may want.

Ships’ flooring may not get the level of attention it deserves from passengers, but the webinar demonstrated that there is a whole science that goes into the preparation of the steel, self-leveling underlay, resin coating and top sealer.

A variety of Mapei resin-based coatings are used for ships’ jogging tracks, sports courts, open decks, swimming pools, galleys, technical and service areas, corridors and lobbies, other public areas and balconies.