Sika SikaCeram-935 Floor Leveler Primer
A water-based Sika primer that tames thirsty screeds and gives levellers and tile adhesives a clean, dust-free surface to grip.
What is it?
A single-part, water-based synthetic-resin primer concentrate from Sika, diluted with water and rolled or brushed onto concrete and screeds before floor levellers or tile adhesives go down.
Where is it used?
Interior floors ahead of tiling and self-levelling work: cement screeds, dense concrete slabs, and calcium sulphate (anhydrite) screeds in homes, offices, retail and institutional fit-outs.
Why use it?
It controls how fast the substrate pulls water out of the next layer, locks down residual dust, and lifts adhesion on smooth or sound surfaces so the leveller or adhesive cures and bonds the way it should.
How is it applied?
Shake the container, dilute 1:1 with water, then apply a continuous pore-free coat by brush, roller or spray. Overcoat cement screeds after about 20 minutes; anhydrite needs about 24 hours.
About Sika SikaCeram-935 Floor Leveler Primer
On paper a primer looks like the least important item in a flooring package, yet it decides whether everything laid on top actually holds. SikaCeram-935 Floor Leveler Primer is Sika’s water-based, solvent-free answer to two problems that quietly wreck tiling and levelling jobs: substrates that drink water too fast, and surfaces that are either too smooth or too dusty to bond to. It ships as a milky-white liquid concentrate that you dilute 1:1 with water and spread as a thin, continuous film. That film changes how the slab behaves. A porous cement screed that would otherwise suck moisture out of a self-levelling compound and leave it powdery and weak is brought under control, so the leveller keeps the water it needs to hydrate and gain strength.
For contractors in Delhi NCR and across India, the appeal is practical. It is applied by brush, roller or spray, it penetrates well, and the waiting time on cement screeds is roughly 20 minutes rather than half a day, so a priming pass does not stall the programme. It suits underfloor heating build-ups, carries very low emissions for interior work, and binds the fine dust that grinding and cleaning always leave behind. As an authorised Sika channel, Space Arc Engineering supplies it in the standard 5 kg container to sites, applicators and consultants pan-India, and pairs it with the SikaCeram levellers and adhesives it is designed to work beneath.
The technical insight
The primer works on two fronts at once. First, the synthetic-resin solids seal and partially fill the open pores at the surface, cutting the rate at which the substrate wicks water out of the fresh leveller or adhesive above it. That matters because cementitious materials need to retain their mix water to hydrate fully; a thirsty screed that pulls it away too early leaves a chalky, under-strength skin and a weak bond line. Second, the resin film wets and grips the fine dust and laitance that survive cleaning, tying that loose material into a stable, adhesion-ready surface instead of a slip plane. On smooth, dense or low-suction concrete the same film raises surface tack so the next layer keys in rather than sitting on a polished face. Because it is water-thinned to roughly 150-200 g/m2 per coat, the layer stays thin enough to remain a bonding bridge, not a structural interlayer with its own failure plane. On very absorbent substrates a second coat closes the surface fully, and on anhydrite screeds the longer 24-hour wait reflects how much slower calcium sulphate releases moisture.
Where it is used
- Priming cement screeds before SikaCeram-488 or other self-levelling floor compounds
- Preparing dense or power-floated concrete slabs so tile adhesive keys into a smoother face
- Sealing calcium sulphate (anhydrite) screeds ahead of levelling or tiling
- Controlling suction on highly absorbent screeds in residential flooring
- Binding residual dust after grinding or scarifying so the surface is bond-ready
- Interior tiling fit-outs in offices, retail units and institutional buildings
- Priming build-ups over underfloor heating before levelling compounds
- Reducing porosity variation across patch-repaired or uneven floor areas
Key advantages
- Water-based and solvent-free, with very low emissions suited to enclosed interiors
- Low consumption at roughly 150-200 g/m2 per coat gives high coverage per container
- Short 20-minute overcoat window on cement screeds keeps the floor programme moving
- Good penetration and a continuous pore-free film that improves bond on smooth substrates
- Binds residual surface dust that would otherwise weaken the adhesive or leveller bond
- Compatible with underfloor heating build-ups
- Applied flexibly by brush, roller or spray, and can be used ready or diluted with water
- Backed by Sika’s system compatibility with SikaCeram levellers and cementitious tile adhesives
Limitations & considerations
- Interior floor primer for defined substrates (concrete, cement and anhydrite screeds); other substrate types need Sika Technical Services confirmation
- Not a structural or gap-filling product, voids and cavities must first be repaired with compatible Sika products
- Anhydrite screeds demand a long ~24-hour wait before overcoating, unlike the fast turnaround on cement
- Substrate must be sound, clean and free of standing water, with concrete at minimum 20 N/mm2 compressive and 1.5 N/mm2 pull-off strength
- Diluted material must be used within a week, and puddles must be avoided during application
- Application and substrate temperatures must stay between +10 C and +35 C
Selection & best practice
Start with substrate discipline: the floor must be sound, clean, dry (damp is acceptable, standing water is not) and mechanically prepared by grinding, scarifying or blast cleaning, then vacuumed free of dust. Confirm concrete meets 20 N/mm2 compressive and 1.5 N/mm2 pull-off strength, and pre-wet very porous screeds to a saturated surface-dry condition about two hours before priming. Shake the container, decant, and mix in water at 1:1 by weight or volume using a slow stirrer around 300-400 rpm. Apply one continuous, pore-free coat by roller, brush or spray, working out any puddles as you go; add a second coat on very absorbent surfaces. Then respect the wait, about 20 minutes on cement screeds and around 24 hours on anhydrite, and always check the overcoating time before laying the SikaCeram leveller or tile adhesive. Clean tools with water immediately, since cured film only comes off mechanically.
Specifications
| Product type | 1-part, water-based, solvent-free synthetic-resin primer concentrate |
| Chemical base | Synthetic resin liquid |
| Appearance / colour | Milky white liquid |
| Density | ~1.02 kg/L at +27 C (EN ISO 2811-1) |
| Dilution / mixing ratio | 1:1 with water (by weight or volume) on cement and anhydrite screeds |
| Consumption | ~150-200 g/m2 per coat (diluted); excludes porosity and wastage |
| Waiting time before overcoating | ~20 minutes on cement screeds / concrete; ~24 hours on anhydrite screeds |
| Application / substrate temperature | +10 C min. to +35 C max. |
| Packaging / shelf life | 5 kg container; 12 months from production (diluted material use within 1 week) |
Industry use cases
Residential flooring
Seals thirsty cement screeds in apartments and villas so self-levelling compounds cure evenly before tile or stone is laid.
Commercial and retail fit-out
Primes dense concrete and absorbent screeds across offices and showrooms, keeping tiling programmes on schedule with its fast cement-screed overcoat.
Anhydrite screed floors
Provides the required moisture control and adhesion layer on calcium sulphate screeds, which are otherwise difficult to tile or level over reliably.
Underfloor heating build-ups
Compatible with heated floor systems, priming the screed before levelling compounds without compromising the assembly.
Institutional and healthcare interiors
Its very low emissions and dust-binding action suit enclosed interior floors where a clean, well-bonded tiling or levelling base is essential.
Frequently asked questions
What is SikaCeram-935 used for?
How do I dilute and apply it?
How long before I can lay the leveller or tile adhesive?
What coverage should I plan for?
Which substrates does it work on?
What pack size and shelf life does Space Arc supply?
How we position Sika SikaCeram-935 Floor Leveler Primer
SikaCeram-935 sits at the base of Sika’s tiling and levelling system, so the natural companions from the same family are SikaCeram-488 Floor Leveler for the levelling layer above it and the SikaCeram range of cementitious tile adhesives for the final fix; buy them together for a warranty-friendly, single-source floor build-up. Where a project specifies a full epoxy floor rather than tiling, that primer role shifts to a solvent-free epoxy primer instead, which is a different system. Space Arc also carries equivalent bonding and priming aids across its other brands, so specifiers standardised on Fosroc, Dr. Fixit or MC-Bauchemie can be matched to a like-for-like product for the same substrate. Talk to our team to align the primer with the leveller and adhesive already chosen for the job.
Fosroc Nitobond SBR — Specifiers already standardised on Fosroc can use this SBR bonding and priming agent to control suction and improve adhesion on cementitious substrates, though it is an SBR latex rather than a like-for-like ready-to-dilute flooring primer.
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