About Fosroc Nitocote EP405

Nitocote EP405 is Fosroc’s answer to a very specific problem: how do you protect the inside of a water tank or food-grade vessel without contaminating what it holds. It is a two-pack epoxy supplied in pre-measured base and hardener quantities, and because it is 100% solids there is no solvent to flash off — nothing to leach into stored water, and no fumes to trap you inside a confined RCC sump during application. Once mixed and brushed on, it cures to a smooth, glossy, tough film that is genuinely non-toxic, meeting the requirements of IS 9833-1981, the Indian standard for coatings in contact with potable water. That single certification is why consultants specify it for drinking-water reservoirs where an ordinary industrial epoxy would never be allowed.

Beyond potable water, the cured lining is a workhorse chemical and abrasion barrier. It bonds directly to both mild steel and concrete, so the same product lines an RCC overhead tank and the steel effluent vessel next to it. It contains no metallic particles, so it will not itself corrode, and it stands up to a broad spread of industrial chemicals — the reason it turns up in dairies, breweries, water treatment works and meat and food processing plants as much as in domestic water tanks. It is available in blue and white, and applicators typically run one colour for the first coat and the other for the second so full, unbroken coverage is easy to verify by eye. For engineers and contractors across Delhi NCR and the rest of India, it is the default lining when a tank has to be both watertight and safe to drink from.

The technical insight

The performance comes from a fully reacted, 100%-solids epoxy network. Because there is no solvent carrier, the wet film you brush on is the dry film you keep — 100 microns wet becomes essentially 100 microns dry, so a two-coat application lands reliably at the specified 200-micron minimum DFT without the shrinkage and pinholing that plague solvent-borne coatings. That dense, cross-linked film is what blocks water ingress and chemical attack, and its lack of any metallic filler is what stops the lining itself becoming a corrosion site. Adhesion is the other half of the story: bond strength to concrete exceeds 1 N/mm² (ASTM D4541), achieved by grit-blasting the substrate to open blow-holes and create a mechanical key. The epoxy is deliberately tolerant of damp concrete — a real advantage on Indian sites where a substrate is rarely bone dry — but the chemistry cannot displace liquid water, so any standing or running water must be eliminated first or the film will not wet out and bond.

Where it is used

• Internal lining of potable water storage tanks, overhead tanks and underground RCC reservoirs
• Coating of RCC sumps, wet wells and water treatment plant structures
• Lining of steel and concrete vessels in breweries, distilleries and dairies
• Protection of tanks and floors in meat, poultry and food processing plants
• Chemical-resistant lining of industrial process vessels and containment structures
• Corrosion protection of grit-blasted mild steel tanks and pipework interiors
• Hygienic coating of silos and dry-goods storage where washdown is frequent
• Refurbishment lining of existing water-retaining structures after concrete repair

Key advantages

• Certified non-toxic to IS 9833-1981, so it is approved for direct potable-water contact
• 100% solids and solvent-free — no odour, safe to apply inside confined tanks and sumps
• Bonds directly to both concrete and mild steel, covering mixed-material structures with one product
• Cures to a smooth, glossy, easy-to-clean film that resists bacterial harbourage
• Broad chemical and abrasion resistance without any corrodible metallic fillers
• Tolerant of damp (not wet) concrete, suiting the reality of Indian site conditions
• Two-colour system (blue/white) makes full coverage and missed patches obvious on inspection
• Non-flammable, simplifying storage and handling on active sites

Limitations & considerations

• Must not be applied over existing coatings — the substrate has to be blasted back to bare concrete or steel
• Although damp concrete is fine, there must be absolutely no standing or running water during application or cure
• Not colour-stable in direct sunlight; a white surface bloom can form in cold or humid curing conditions (cosmetic only)
• Do not apply below 10°C, when temperature is 10°C and falling, or when relative humidity exceeds 90%
• Short pot life once mixed (about 60-80 min at 20°C, 45 min at 30°C), so mix only what can be used quickly
• Full potable-water cure needs the specified curing period before the tank is filled and commissioned

Selection & best practice

Specifications

Industry use cases

How we position Fosroc Nitocote EP405

Nitocote EP405 is the potable-water and food-grade lining in Fosroc’s Nitocote coating family. Where the substrate simply cannot be kept free of moisture, its close sibling Fosroc Nitocote EP403 is the damp/wet-tolerant epoxy coating to specify instead. Surface preparation usually pairs it with Fosroc Nitomortar FC to fill blow-holes and imperfections before lining. For our clients weighing brands, comparable potable-water and protective-lining systems are available from Dr. Fixit, Sika and MC-Bauchemie in our range — talk to our team for a like-for-like specification. Space Arc Engineering is an authorised Fosroc distributor and applicator serving Delhi NCR and pan-India.

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