In poorly formulated release agents fatty acids end up, unused, on the bottom of the container, especially when temperatures drop below 50 F. Test yours in a refrigerator or freezer. Producing a successful product for use over a wide temperature range requires a chemical trick to keep the fatty acids off the bottom of the container and in the carrier. Most commonly, manufacturers simply react the fatty acid with another material. Concrete technologists shorten this to calcium, which confuses chemists and any chemistry student reading this. Consequently, calcium dislodges the other material and attaches to the fatty acid at the same spot where the other material was attached.
Chemists call the calcium-fatty acid product a grease or metallic soap or salt.
This slippery, greasy, non-water soluble soap is the chemical that allows you to release your forms from hardened concrete . Selecting the correct ingredients for producing a release agent that balances concrete surface, appearance, clean forms, environmental and OSHA considerations, and exceptional performance over a wide temperature range is difficult. Because of the hundreds of possible combinations of ingredients, no two proprietary release agents produce the same concrete surface color and texture. And to provide a product that helps you produce very good-looking concrete under a variety of working conditions. Cresset Home Page Copyright 2001, Cresset Chemical Company.