Product fails in shower, only recommend for dry places
At first the product seemed great, easy to install although quite time consuming taking 2+ weeks to install and allow drying time. 6 months later the varnish has already failed in the shower even though this was the recommended product to use in the shower.
I have shared pictures of cracks forming because the varnish has failed sooner than it should have(The expected life of varnish is 2-3 years). They share with their laboratory who have every excuse under the sun why it's the installers fault and not the product failing.
As a tradesperson myself I followed guidelines to the T, but still accused of applying too thick which has caused the cracks, even though in situations where paint etc is too thick, these cracks will appear in weeks not months.
I don't recommend using this in the shower even though they give the all clear to do so.
Customer service have let me down, with their excuses and obvious recommendations to fix it. I will be resorting to resin instead which is more reliable for these areas.
Also concerning how hard it is to find anything about warranty on their website anymore.
Edit:
Since I can't respond to your reply, I can confirm your statements simply aren't true. There have been 3 spots which have all been primed correctly, and layered as per manufactured specs. I am confident it has been applied correctly and the varnish has failed after 6 months due to water sitting on it for long periods of time.
I can no longer respond to your email to discuss this privately, as it seems you have blocked my email or your email service just doesn't work, regardless a little disappointing when a customer is raising a serious issue with the product.
Reply from Smartcret
Hi, Craig. We are sorry to hear about your experience. We haven't received complaints regarding the application of our product in showers. In fact, this is one of the most common types of renovation carried out with our product and one of those with the highest level of customer satisfaction. We have also reviewed your case with our customer service department, who informed us of the sequence of events, some of which you have not mentioned in this review. We believe it is important to refer to the facts accurately so that the full context is taken into account. This is not about avoiding responsibility. We take our work very seriously and, when there is a product failure on our part, we are the first to acknowledge it and act accordingly. As a professional, you will know that the varnish must be renewed depending on the level of use, usually after one year or even two. This is especially relevant in bathrooms, which are areas subject to frequent use and constant exposure to humidity. However, as you yourself have said, if the issue had been caused by the varnish, it would have appeared within a few days of completing the application, not six months later. Regarding the varnish, our laboratory analysed the sample and confirmed that it was in perfect condition. In your case, based on the photos provided to our customer service department and later sent to the laboratory, two issues could be observed. Firstly, there was an excessive amount of product applied. Our ready-to-use microcement must be applied in thin coats. The greater the thickness, the higher the likelihood of cracks appearing, as the product cannot dry properly, which is what appears to have happened in your case. This is closely related to the long execution times you mention, precisely because the excessive thickness prevented correct breathability and drying. Our product dries quickly, with 6 hours between coats, and our varnish requires 4 hours between coats. The two-week timeframe you refer to, supported by the images we mention and which are included in the email, illustrates the issue of incorrect application and improper drying. In addition, dark moisture stains can be clearly seen and are perfectly visible to the naked eye. Proper preparation of the substrate is essential to avoid this type of issue, which you are attributing to the varnish, although it has nothing to do with it. Negative moisture already existed in that substrate, which was not treated with a suitable primer to block the moisture and prevent it from passing through to the microcement. The issue does not lie in the microcement or the varnish, but in a substrate that was not in optimal condition. This can cause adhesion problems and/or cracks over time, as in your case, due to an unsuitable substrate: untreated excessive moisture, coats thicker than those recommended for this system, and so on. Regarding the product guarantee, this information appears in the FAQ section of our main ready-to-use microcement page: https://www.smartcret.com/en/pages/ready-to-use-microcement However, this information refers to the product’s expiry date, which is one year from its manufacturing date. Since this is a product intended for application by private individuals, we cannot provide a fixed guarantee period for the final result, as this depends heavily on the application process, the condition of the substrate, and the subsequent use and maintenance of the surface. We are sorry that your experience has been negative, but on this occasion, the issue lies in the application and not in the product. In fact, we did not receive any response from you to our last email, in which we detailed these issues after they had been analysed by our technical team and laboratory department. Kind regards.