waterborne formulations are currently practical propositions for protective coatings. Alternatives include radiation
curing coatings and powder coatings. Also, thin ceramic or
sol-free coatings have become a popular material in recent
times in the protective coatings world.”
Other trends in the market, according to Kirmaier, are
surface tolerant protective coatings systems or coatings
providing universal adhesion. They use less coatings–up to
single coat application—and are combined with high film
thickness and high gloss.
Despite all the innovations, a coatings can only perform
at its best when it is applied correctly. Proper substrate
preparation is vital.
“Substrate preparation is the most important step of the
coating process,” said Mehrooz Zamanzadeh a NACE
(National Association of Corrosion Engineers) certified
materials protection specialist at Matco Associations.
“Adequate substrate surface preparation will result in long
life and high performance with minimum maintenance.”
One way to improve anti-corrosive properties of a protective coating is to achieve the best adhesion on the substrate. “Accordingly, the pre-treatment is a very important
factor and strongly influences the development of the protective coating,” said Kirmaier. “High-energy costs and
environmental legislation have driven research and development of alternative pre-treatment technologies. Among
them are new trends like nanotechnology, silane technology or phosphorus-free pre-treatment.”
Zirconium, vanadium, titanium or silicon-based compounds
are often used in combination or without organic or inorganic
polymerization, according to Kirmaier. “The combination with
an organic polymeric component has led to significant new
opportunities in pre-treatment,” he said. “Some automotive
producers have already replaced part of their conventional
zinc-phosphating pre-treatment with a so-called ‘
nano-ceram-ic’ method by using nano-scale particles such as zirconium
compounds and special organic substances, which generate
less sludge and are less harmful to the environment.”
Nanotechnology continues to offer some exciting possibilities for the anti-corrosion market.
Follansbee TCS II Roofs top the two main residential buildings at
Stonnington Commons, an historic restoration project that
shaped a mixed-use development from a 19th century foundry in
Stonnington, CT.
“Nanotechnology will most likely include some interesting
future perspectives for anti-corrosion applications, but the feasibility of that technology for industrial use especially in
respect to the handling and costs has not yet been fully
proven,” said Kirmaier. “Heubach is in close contact and forming cooperation with different universities and institutes, who
are engaged with nanotechnology and is currently focusing
much effort in research work regarding the use of this technology for modern anti-corrosive pigment development.”
For Substrate, Inc., nanotechnology is and has been the backbone of its anti-corrosion products. “This ‘new’ technology causes our anti-corrosion products to covalently bond to substrates-eliminating the need for costly surface profiles,” said Steele.
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There are a number of new products utilizing the latest
technology available for anti-corrosion coatings. On the
supplier side Heubach has developed an innovative anti-corrosion pigment.
“After the successful marketing of our wide spectrum
anti-corrosive pigments, based on modified phosphates
for universal applications, Heubach has recently developed a zinc-free anti-corrosive pigment based on silica,
which is designed for use in thin-film applications, especially coil coatings and will be introduced to the market
in the second quarter of 2008,” said Kirmaier.
Substrate, Inc. has developed Tega Teknology products, a
range of chemical-graft coatings, primarily focused on anti-corrosion coatings for steel and aluminum. “Our products
contain a carefully chosen selection of certain monomers,
combined with a proprietary graft/catalyst system, achieving permanent substrate modification,” said Steele. “The
primary application of our products is as a primer. Our
products require minimal surface preparation-scale free,
hydrocarbon free-and can be applied over tightly bonded
rust. Top coats can be applied directly over our primers and
no intermediate coats are required.”
According to Zamanzadeh, chromate, which is used in galvanized roofing and sidings, and lead containing coatings for
roofing materials are prone to corrosion and water wash out
due to rain, which may result in contamination of underground water. “Therefore, these coatings should be replaced
ASAP,” he said. Follansbee Steel offers roofing products, such
as TCD II, which are environmentally friendly panels that
provide a pleasant appearance, as well as corrosion protection.
Follansbee’s high performance corrosion resistant tin-zinc
coatings for coppers, stainless steel and carbon steel roofing
panels have passed over 17,750 hours of salt spray testing.
Jotun has recently launched Hardtop Flexi, a flexible
polyurethane and Hardtop XP, a traditional high solid
polyurethane. In addition the company will continue to develop environmentally friendly products. “Waterborne products
will be more important and we will increase focus on this,” said
Braekke. “In the future traditional technologies will have higher volume solids and contain less harmful solvents.” CW
