2023 CoatingsTech Conference: Technical Highlights
[…] at 325 °F can result in a 75% reduction in energy usage at the manufacturing facility. Jeffries also discussed how the use of waterborne coatings can reduce both emissions and a company’s carbon footprint. For example, 2K waterborne polyurethanes that perform well enough can offer an alternative to solventborne 2K polyurethanes that rely on exempt solvents (e.g., Oxsol 100) to reach VOC targets. Application Technology Several very interesting presentations at the CoatingsTech Conference focused on new technologies for the coating application process. Brian Rearick and Ron Kralic of PPG gave a joint presentation titled “Precision Application Technology: Potential Benefits and Current Challenges,” describing a new coating application process that enables customization in two-tone automotive painting. Along with the trends of individualization and customization, two-tone color schemes for autos are becoming more popular. However, the traditional electrostatic spray process to paint a car in two colors is complex and labor and material intensive; it involves applying the first color (basecoat and clearcoat), curing, and then masking the car to enable application of the second color (basecoat and clearcoat) and another stage of curing. In the new process, the first color basecoat is applied, followed by precision application of the second color basecoat, and finally the clearcoat. Then the entire system cured. During this process, the second color coating is applied with precision jets onto the surface, resulting in very high transfer efficiency (>98%) and high edge resolution. The high resolution creates crisp lines, enabling printing of designs […]