Why We Invested in the Graco Plural Component Pump — And What It Means for Your Project

We recently added a Graco plural component proportioning pump to our equipment fleet — and it's already changing the quality of results we deliver on high-performance coating projects. If you've ever had questions about how multi-component coatings like epoxy, polyurethane, or polyurea are actually applied in the field, this post explains the technology and why it matters for the durability of your protective coating system.

What Is a Plural Component Pump?

Most high-performance industrial coatings are two-part systems — a resin (Part A) and a hardener or catalyst (Part B) that must be mixed at a precise ratio before application. Traditionally, these were batch-mixed by hand: a crew would manually combine the components in a bucket, then apply the mixed material within a limited pot life window.

A plural component proportioning system automates this process entirely. The pump draws from separate supply drums for each component, meters them at exact programmed ratios, and blends them dynamically at the spray gun — delivering perfectly mixed, fresh material on-demand throughout the entire spray application. No batch mixing, no guesswork, no human error in the ratios.

Why We Made the Investment

After 35 years in industrial painting, we've seen what improperly mixed coatings look like five years later — or sometimes five months later. Off-ratio mixing is one of the most common causes of early coating failure: soft spots, delamination, loss of chemical resistance, and premature corrosion under what should have been a durable coating system.

The Graco plural component system eliminates that failure mode. Every pass of the spray gun delivers material at the exact manufacturer-specified ratio. The chemistry is right every time.

Benefits You'll See on Your Project

• Precise, consistent mixing — Ratio accuracy is maintained electronically. The system alerts operators if proportioning drifts out of specification.
• Less material waste — Because material is mixed on-demand, there's no pot life to race against. Leftover mixed material doesn't get thrown away at the end of each shift.
• Faster project completion — Continuous spray without batch-mixing stops allows larger areas to be coated per shift.
• Better film quality — Consistent chemistry means consistent cure, consistent hardness, and consistent chemical resistance throughout the applied film.
• Reduced solvent use — Only the static mix tube requires flushing between uses, not the entire system — reducing solvent waste and VOC emissions.
• Extended pot life options — With on-demand mixing, slow-reacting formulations that would be impractical with batch mixing become viable.

"The Graco system lets us apply fast-cure epoxies and polyurethanes with the same confidence on a 50,000 sq ft job as we would on a controlled shop coating. The ratio never drifts."

Which Coatings Benefit Most

Plural component technology is particularly valuable for the high-performance coating systems Endurance Painting specializes in:

• 100% solids epoxy — No solvent, very fast cure, demanding mix ratio requirements
• High-build epoxy tank linings — Thick film builds require consistent chemistry throughout
• Polyurethane topcoats — Two-component urethanes cured with isocyanate hardeners benefit greatly from on-ratio mixing
• Zinc-rich epoxy primers — High pigment-volume coatings that can settle in batch mixes
• Polyurea spray coatings — Fast-reacting systems that are nearly impossible to batch mix

The Result: More Durable Coatings on Every Project

For facility managers and plant engineers, this investment translates directly to coating systems that perform as specified, on the first application. Fewer callbacks. Longer recoat intervals. More years of corrosion protection before the next project is needed.

If you have a project that calls for high-performance two-component coatings — epoxy tank linings, chemical-resistant floor systems, structural steel primers, or urethane topcoats — our Graco plural component system is ready to deliver.