Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire, UK
Lion enclosure
Hard wearing
Tolerates lion urine
Easy to maintain
Paradise Wildlife Park, a family-run wildlife park and charity situated in Hertfordshire, is a popular tourist destination and proud proponent of the education, conservation and preservation of wildlife.
The park’s team originally contacted Watco in 2019 to seek advice on the most suitable floor coating for the refurbishment of their lion enclosure.
The product needed to be ultra hard-wearing to withstand the wear and tear of the area, whilst also having the ability to tolerate lion urine.
On top of this, Paradise Wildlife Park put the safety and welfare of their animals first, therefore, researching and selecting an option which would allow them to maintain a clean and safe enclosure was paramount.
“The paint is extremely tolerant to chemicals and strong enough to withstand 95% sulphuric acid. An ordinary floor paint would fail to withstand the wear and tear”
Following a detailed analysis of the park’s requirements, and a physical inspection of the enclosure, Watco’s expert team recommended the use of Chemi-Coat Acid Strength. The paint is extremely tolerant to chemicals and strong enough to withstand 95% sulphuric acid.
For the lion enclosure’s requirements, an ordinary floor paint would fail to withstand the wear and tear, and more importantly the corrosion from the lion urine. However, the chemical-resistant properties of Chemi-Coat make it ideal for this type of environment. Furthermore, the chosen solution is virtually solvent-free with a 100% solids epoxy formula, which means that it is extremely heavy duty and will last for years. Due to the porosity of the surface in the lion’s enclosure, Watco’s experts also advised to prime the surface using the 4 Hour Epoxy Primer which prevented coating failures right from the initial application.
Priming is important as it ensures good adhesion and prevents defects occurring in the long term, for example loss of gloss, the formation of pinholes and cracking, which can be unsightly and cause health and safety hazards, such as slips, trips and falls.
The longevity of such a solution is a key consideration for businesses such as wildlife parks who want to keep maintenance costs manageable in order to prioritise animal welfare projects.
“Priming is important as it ensures good adhesion and prevents defects occurring in the long term.”
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