Fresh Paint
oven. In addition, the environmentally responsible process simplifies
conventional metal pretreatment by
reducing it to a two-step coating
process, therefore reducing the production footprint by up to 40 percent. The Aquence Co-Cure process
results in energy and cost savings,
process efficiency, and reduces environmental impact since it contains
no heavy metals or sludge. Henkel
was first to introduce this new lean
paint shop process. For the award,
Henkel partnered and recognized
Valley Towing Products (formerly
Thule Towing Systems) in Lodi, CA,
where the first dedicated commercial Aquence Co-Cure line was
installed.
ARCH COMPLETES INDUSTRIAL
COATINGS DIVESTITURE TO
SHERWIN-WILLIAMS
Arch Chemicals, Inc. reported com-
pletion of the previously announced
divestiture of its industrial coatings
business to The Sherwin-Williams
Company for approximately € 40 mil-
lion ($54 million). With operations
located in Italy, UK, France, Spain,
North America and Singapore, the
industrial coatings business manu-
factures and supplies a wide range of
industrial coatings used for surface
protection and decorative finishes in
furniture and joinery applications.
The industrial coatings business had
sales of $147.1 million in 2009 and
an operating loss of approximately
$2 million.
JOTUN LAUNCHES
NANO-BASED FLOOR COATING
Jotun has introduced a new high-end
floor coating—Jotafloor Rapid Dry
WB—specially formulated to be user
friendly and have low environmental
impact. Jotafloor Rapid Dry WB is
the first floor coating based on nanotechnology, according to the compa-
LIQUID METAL AS AN AUTOMOTIVE PAINT
Daimler and BASF Coatings have joined forces to
develop the Alubeam paint for the F 800 Style
Mercedes Benz. BASF’s Liquid Metal basecoat
immerses the car in a radiant deep gloss, making it
look as if it were made of chrome rather than painted.
The research vehicle’s latest appearance was at the
Geneva Motor Show. The new coating gleams like liq-
uid metal. Alubeam stretches around the body like a
metallic skin, lending the F 800 Style coated in gray
metallic a highly dynamic note. The integration of a
special-effect pigment into a waterborne paint system
is the key to the unique metallic look, according to the
company. Liquid Metal paints use aluminum flakes as
effect pigments. For the latest generation of Liquid
Metal paints, BASF uses so-called PVDA pigments
(physical vapor deposited aluminum). As a result, the
paint has a more uniform appearance and seems to
stretch across the car’s body like a metallic skin,
emphasizing the important lines and contours of the
vehicle design more significantly, the company said.
The surfaces can reflect light with greater intensity
and are given additional gloss. The resulting metallic
look has an intensity that could not previously be
achieved with conventional metallic paints. BASF
Coatings’ Liquid Metal is available today as an envi-
ronmentally friendly waterborne basecoat and com-
plies with the required specifications for adhesion and
weathering. Add-on parts can be painted in the color of
the vehicle as well.
