Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Dirt Pickup Resistance

By Scott C. Brown, Michael Diebold, Daniel Kraiter, Carlos Velez, Peter Jernakoff

Exterior architectural coatings represent a significant percentage of the volume and value of the coating market. The global exterior architectural coatings market size was valued at over $20 billion in 2017 and is anticipated to approach $30 billion by 2025.1,2 With increasing demands for latex exterior paints and more stringent volatile organic content (VOC) restrictions, dirt pickup has become an area of attention for the paint industry.

Compared to solventborne paints, latex paints, and particularly those with low VOC content, tend to be more susceptible to dirt pickup on exterior surfaces. Dirt pickup resistance (DPUR) is an important performance attribute for exterior architectural coatings, especially in growing, highly populated markets that have poor air quality. DPUR refers to the ability of a surface to resist discoloration due to the deposition of particles from the environment.

Durable exterior coatings of high DPUR maintain their attractiveness for longer periods of time and offer more sustainable coating solutions due to reduced consumption of coating ingredients and related waste generation.