Environmentally Advanced Technology for Semitransparent Deck Stains

By Greg Monaghan

With new types of decking being introduced and pressure to formulate using greener sustainable technology, new binder approaches are needed for semi-transparent deck stains. Many conventional acrylic waterborne semi-transparent stains have poor adhesion to the new types of wood treatments such as copper azole, leading to early failures on exposure. Other alkyd-based waterborne stains can have slow dry and poor early water resistance on high tannin woods such as cedar and redwood.

There is also a need for a highly UV-resistant coating which will help preserve the distinctive colors and appearance of exotic wood species such as Ipe and mahogany. At the same time that these substrates are being introduced, environmental initiatives have created a demand for a binder which is free of alkyl phenyl ethoxylate (APEO) surfactants, has low or zero volatile organic compounds (VOC), and which can be formulated without heavy metal driers.

The development and testing of a new semi-transparent stain binder which meets these environmental goals and also offers improved performance is presented