Waterborne Wood Resins for Industrial Wood Coatings

By Terri Carson, Laurie Morris , Jim Bohannon

Industrial wood coatings encompass several market areas, including furniture, kitchen cabinets, building products, and decorative coatings.
Requirements for these markets largely depend on their field of application. Exterior performance is focused on high durability and protection against
humidity, while interior coatings require properties such as scratch, chemical and abrasion resistance. One of the largest sectors of the interior
market is the furniture industry. Several resin technologies are being used by coatings formulators in this market, including solventborne (SB), water-
borne (WB) UV polyurethane dispersions (PUDs), and self-crosslinking acrylics. Several criteria are of importance in considering which technology to use.

The dominant technology used in North America is solventborne, including nitrocellulose (NC) and acid cure conversion varnish. These coatings have many
benefits, including fast dry time and very high gloss, and they enhance the wood appearance. They are also very economical and can be easily applied by spraying,
rolling, curtain coat, and dipping.