Targets For Resin Development In the New Millennium

By Frank N. Jones

This paper was written as a “keynote” presentation for a symposium called “Resin Technology for the Next Millennium” at the International Coatings Exposition (ICE) in October 1999. It was originally published in the Proceedings and is reprinted here in revised form. The eight other papers in this symposium all concerned low-VOC technologies: waterborne—latex and dispersion, high-solids, and UV cure.

The primary objectives of the projects appear to be: cost reduction, improved product—new resins and new crosslinkers, and very low VOC. This is a small sample, but it may represent today’s research goals in the coatings industry fairly well. All that is obviously lacking are papers on electrodeposition and powder coatings and basic research on such subjects as corrosion protection, weatherability, and rheology. It is hard to fault the objectives.