By Cynthia Challener, CoatingsTech Contributing Writer
As discussed in the CoatingsTech June 2019 article “Durability Improvement Underlies Much Coating Innovation,” most coatings must serve two objectives—to protect and decorate. Although a balance must be achieved between durability and decoration, improving durability is always an important goal of new product development efforts. As a result, several new products and technologies are being introduced to enhance durability and protect against the harmful impact of weathering.
In the testing area, Atlas Material Testing has introduced the Ci4400 xenon arc Weatherometer®, which offers a high level of test precision, repeatability, and reproducibility for better laboratory testing when differentiating coatings performance, according to Allen Zielnik, global weathering applications manager with Atlas Material Testing. For outdoor accelerated testing, the company has introduced the UA-EMMAQUA and hybrid-EMMAQUA concentrated solar tracking technologies, which provide higher degrees of test acceleration than was previously possible with most outdoor techniques.
For the automotive market, Covestro continues to focus on simultaneously achieving a luxurious look and feel and chemical resistance in automotive interior coatings, according to Scott Grace, market segment technical support for Automotive with Covestro LLC.
BASF has developed Joncryl OH 8314, an adaptive direct-to-metal (DTM) hydroxyl functional epoxy-modified acrylic hybrid dispersion for two-component polyurethane coatings designed with an indication of end of useful life (pot life). The unique synthesis platform allows for performance advantages and provides characteristics comparable to solventborne systems in an ultra-low VOC package, according to Shiona Stewart, industry marketing manager, Transportation, Industrial, Furniture and Floor Coatings at BASF. Coatings formulated with Joncryl OH 8314 exhibit good durability and feature a low viscosity, low isocyanate demand with excellent flow and leveling, as well as low foaming and reduced water sensitivity.
In the protective and marine space, PPG is focused on self-healing coatings, self-cleaning coatings, ultra-durable weathering resistance, and novel corrosion mitigation, according to Jim McCarthy, technical director with PPG’s protective and marine coatings business. One example is PPG Pitt-Char NX, an epoxy intumescent coating system that offers reduced coating thickness, lower weight, and faster application while providing excellent strength and durability due to its unique flexible technology, McCarthy says. The patent-pending technology is designed to protect against severe hydrocarbon hazards, including pool fires, jet fires, and explosions, for both onshore and offshore environments in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. PPG NOVAGUARD 810 ER is a new two-component, high-solids, amine rapid-cured novolac epoxy coating. The one-coat, DTM formulation delivers very fast application times and faster return to service after coating (with touch-ups possible using a thin-film epoxy), and is ideal for protecting fuel tanks, ballast tanks, and the internal and external superstructures of tugs and barges, according McCarthy. The PPG ONE Series is a collection of two individual coating products (AMERCOAT® ONE 1K epoxy and PSX® ONE 1K isocyanate-free acrylic-siloxane coating) developed to provide industrial-level protection in an easy-to-use, one-component package.
PPG has also continued to advance polyester coating chemistries for the exterior building markets, according to Sarah Mueller, coil technical manager for Industrial Coatings at PPG’s Springdale plant. “The key is identification of the ideal combination of polymer architecture, crosslinker selection, and UV stabilizer enhancements. Certain combinations of pigment chemistries have also shown advances in color fastness not seen in the past,” she says.
The newest offerings from allnex include the ACURE® platform, an exterior, durable offering that is isocyanate-free yet improves application drawbacks of existing technologies by extending the pot-life. It also improves the return to service with extremely fast cure times, according to Tim Kittler, global segment lead for Marine and Protective from allnex. The low-VOC, user-friendly system has been targeted across key markets such as flooring, industrial metal and wood, ACE, and marine and protective.
Sun Chemical recently launched the DEFENSA OP series of UV-reactive low refractive index resins with high transparency for products that make use of optical materials, such as polymer clad fiber and clad sheathed materials. “This technology is a major advancement in easy-clean, stain-resistant hardcoat coatings and is suitable for a wide range of substrates, providing great durability for stainless steel, flooring, lenses, and glass decoration,” says Michael T. Venturini, marketing director for Coatings at Sun Chemical.
At Axalta Coating Systems, advances in exterior products have focused on improving durability and color space in exterior products across a wide range of substrates and markets, many of which are highly customer-specific solutions, according to James Hazen, director of Industrial Technology Planning at Axalta Coating Systems. In the interior products space, he notes that advances include specialized improvements in casegood paints and building components, not only for performance but also appearance and added benefits relating to increased customer efficiencies, often as more environmentally friendly solutions. New introductions for flooring surfaces offer improved scratch, mar, and moisture resistance.
Coil coating advances at AkzoNobel include CERAM-A-STAR® Expressions and POLYDURE® Expressions products, which combine wrinkle technology with print to provide a unique appearance with a textured feel, according to Chris Bradford, AkzoNobel’s segment marketing director for Coil and Packaging Coatings. CERAM-A-STAR Matte and TRINAR® Matte coatings provide low gloss/sheen characteristics that reduce glare but also provide a rich soft appearance. They are also beneficial for reducing the appearance of “oil canning” in metal roofing.
For wood coatings, AkzoNobel introduced the Rubbol WF 3310 system in 2018 for exterior use. Based on novel core-shell acrylics technology that enables a low particle size and low particle size distribution and an optimized formulation ensures long durability, according to Anthony Woods, AkzoNobel’s segment marketing director for Wood Coatings. NaturaMatte™ is a new low-gloss UV coating system for flooring that provides a long-lasting natural matte finish with excellent scratch- and mar-resistance and angular gloss, which provides a uniform appearance when viewed anywhere in a room.
Dow Coating Materials (DCM) has a product line and toolkit to draw on to continually advance the performance of interior and exterior architectural coatings. Recently, DCM has been looking to leverage technologies from its Industrial group for the development of versatile products designed for formulation into architectural coatings, according to Stan Cook, North American architectural marketing director at Dow Coating Materials. He further states that understanding the direction of the market is one thing, but working closely with customers to deliver specialized raw materials for their specific needs really enables formulators to be able to put their individual stamps and product claims on the can as well. This is generally a win-win for everyone, he notes.
A new dispersing agent from Evonik for exterior wall paints functions via electrostatic and steric stabilization mechanisms, particularly for red and yellow iron oxide pigments, according to Brünink. As a result, a much higher color strength can be achieved along with increased hydrophobicity for greater wet scrub resistance.
In addition to its resins for industrial and protective applications, BASF has developed a high performance, all-acrylic latex designed for exterior flat to semi-gloss paints. Acronal EDGE 4247 is an ultra-low VOC latex with excellent primer and topcoat attributes, including excellent film formation and adhesion capabilities and superior dirt pickup resistance, surfactant leaching resistance and grain cracking resistance for good washability, scrub resistance, and stain blocking performance, according to Charles Johnson, market segment manager for Architectural Coatings at BASF. Acronal EDGE 4750, meanwhile, can be formulated into interior coatings with excellent stain resistance, dirt pickup resistance, and scrub resistance.
PPG’s new products for the architectural market include OLYMPIC® SmartGuard clear multi-surface sealer, a super-concentrated formula in a lightweight, easy-to-handle pouch package that covers as much as two-gallon cans, according to Brian Osterried, product marketing manager for the PPG paint brand. It seals wood, concrete, masonry, and weathered composite, penetrating the substrate to provide advanced durability and protection. It can be applied after rain or cleaning and dries in one hour (compared to 24–48 hours for traditional products). It is formulated to be extremely fast and easy to apply, especially from a pump sprayer, but also applies easily with brush or roller. The newly reformulated PPG PAINTS™ PERMA-CRETE® product assortment for interior and exterior concrete and masonry help protect and improve appearance while extending the painting season and reducing costs. Osterried notes that several of these products now come in low-VOC formulas while retaining their original performance features, including PERMA-CRETE Plex-Seal™ Clear Sealer and PERMA-CRETE Color-Seal™ Acrylic Concrete Stain, which now have a VOC content of < 100 g/L and PERMA-CRETE High Build and PERMA-CRETE Alkali Resistant Primer, which are now available with a VOC content of < 50 g/L.
AkzoNobel has also introduced new powder coatings for the architectural market. Interpon D2015 Précis is a weather-resistant, super-durable, ultra-matte powder coating with a gloss level of 5–15 (a typical matte is 25) that can mimic the anodizing finishes currently popular on commercial buildings, but without the common problems associated with anodizing, according to Jean-Paul Moonen, AkzoNobel’s global segment manager for Architectural Coatings in the Powder Coatings business. Interpon D3020 Brilliance is a single-coat, hyper-durable powder, bright, sparkling metallic architectural powder coating designed to meet the 10-year Florida requirements of AAMA 2605 and Qualicoat Class 3.
An important new pigment from Sun Chemical is Benda Lutz COMPAL PC, a highly concentrated aluminum preparation for powder coatings that comes in a pelletized form and virtually eliminates dusting to minimize housekeeping, simplify equipment clean-up, and reduce worker exposure, according to Venturini. It is easy to handle and store and can be added just like aluminum powder during the paint manufacturing process. Notably, the pellet is not classified for shipping and storage in the European Union and is shipped in compact bag-in-box packaging that is eco-friendly and recyclable.
Clariant has added Hostatint™ A-100 ST, a range of dispersions made from highly transparent pigments that do not contain halogens in their molecular structures, which is a major requirement for the recovery of precious rare earth metals in the recycling process, according to Romesh Kumar, senior technical sales manager for Clariant Plastics & Coatings USA LLC. The line includes nine highly chromatic and bright “candy color” shades for metallic and non-metallic (e.g., wood stains) formulations. The company also now offers a Hostatint UV line comprising more than 20 unique products that are compatible in many resin systems, have very high shelf life and/or storage stability, and crosslink via a UV curing processes. Kumar notes that in UV-cured wood coatings, the specified film thickness can often be reached in just one pass with products from this line.