Controlled Oxidative Curing of Tung Oil

By Nicholas M. Martyak, Daniel Alford, Robert Picker, Conor Dowling

Antiskinning agents are used to control the oxidative curing of tung oil catalyzed using a cobalt drier. Additives agents that are too volatile result in the premature formation of a cured oil (e.g., skin), whereas antiskinning agents that are slow to release from the fatty oil may delay drying altogether.

Methyl ethyl ketoxime is currently the most popular antiskinning agent; but due to its relatively high volatility coupled with associated health hazards, new antiskinning agents are being sought for aqueous and solvent-based alkyds. In this article, new formulations con­taining an antiskin agent and a co-promoter to activate the metallic drier, provid­ing excellent antiskinning performance while providing improvement in dry-through performance, are presented.