The speedshape held by Sean Purdy,
research chemist at PPG’s Allison
Park, PA facility, has a topcoat of a
newly-developed colorant based on
nanotechnology. The nanoparticles are
clear, but diffract light to impart color,
depending on the viewer’s angle.
are currently able, especially in the
red metallic color area.”
“PPG is committed to working
closely with automotive color designers to bring new technologies to market,” Koenigsmark added. “Coatings
and application methods will continue
to be explored, especially for specialty
niche vehicles, so that these future
technologies can be incorporated into
larger full scale production.
According to the color designers at
BASFCoatings, over the next few
years, coatings for automotives will
trend toward striking, mixed colors
that defy the definition of classic
color. Instead of traditional green,
blue or gray, new-trend setting colors
may be described in terms like
petrol-gray, “greige” (a blend of gray
and beige) or greenish-blue. These
colors will feature surprising special
effects.
BASF’s Glasurit Automotive
Refinish recently expanded its
Fantasy Color palette by adding
three new shades. The new colors,
Sunlight, Asteroid and Nightlife consist of a combination of popular subdued colors such as silver and black as
well as the entire color spectrum.
These iridescent colors impart a finish
that shines with a wide range of
shades, depending on the angle from
which it is viewed. In addition, the
paint systems provide an environmentally friendly solution to global sol-vent-reduction requirements.
LIGHT-TRANSMITTING
GLASS COATINGS
Coatings can do more than just provide visual enjoyment. A new breed
of coatings can actually help consumers conserve energy and save
money in their home.
PPG Industries has added two new
products to its family of Vistacool
subtly reflective, color-enriched glasses: Vistacool Caribia glass and
Vistacool Solargray glass. These two
new products feature color-neutral,
second-surface coatings that transmit
high levels of daylight while enriching the tinted substrates underneath.
As a result, each product in the
Vistacool glass collection delivers the
energy savings and interior brightness of high visible light transmittance without the mirror-like glare of
traditional reflective glasses.
Vistacool Caribia features the
enriched color of PPG’s aqua-green
Caribia tint along with excellent
solar control performance. In a standard one-inch insulating glass unit
with a clear inboard light, Vistacool
Caribia produces Visible Light
Transmittance (VLT) of 47%—nearly
twice the average of other tinted,
reflective-coated glass products on
the market—together with a Solar
Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of
0.34. The result is a Light to Solar
Gain (LSG) ratio of 1.38, which is
well above the U.S. Department of
Energy’s LSG designation of 1.25 or
greater for spectrally selective glass.
COOL COATINGS FOR THE HOME
Tex•Cote Super•Cote Cool Wall coating is an advanced coatings system
from Textured Coatings of America,
Inc. (TCA) that can help consumers
keep their homes cooler and save
money on their energy bills.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
tests conducted for more than a year
measured the performance of
Tex•Cote Super•Cote Cool Wall
and found that not only did the
product’s heat reflective finish significantly reduce exterior wall temperatures, it also dramatically lowered interior temperatures on
cement block, stucco and wood-frame homes, according to Jay
Haines, TCA’s president and CEO.
“The DOE tests confirmed that the
Cool Wall coating reduced exterior
wall temperatures by as much as
40˚F when compared to traditional
paints and coatings in many colors,”
said Haines. “What’s more important
is that the test data showed that the
Cool Wall coating would reduce the
interior temperatures as well, and
could lower the costs of cooling a typical 1,100-square-foot ranch-style
home by as much as 21.9% depending on the color chosen, substrate
type and climatic conditions.”
Cool Wall coatings take advantage
of the same heat reflective technology used by the military to reduce the
heat signature of planes and other
vehicles, Haines explained. “Since
the increase in reflectivity occurs
primarily in the infrared spectrum,
it is invisible to the naked eye. Yet
although the Cool Wall colors may
look the same as a traditional finish,
the DOE tests show that, on average,
they are up to 100% more reflective
than the conventional technologies.”
According to Haines, a dark-colored
home absorbs as much as nine percent
of the solar radiation that strikes it,
and even white walls can absorb solar
radiation. “By reflecting this infrared
radiation rather than absorbing it, the
Cool Wall coatings dramatically
reduce the load on a home’s air-conditioning system,” he said.
Tex•Cote Super•Cote coatings also
fight mildew and algae while reducing
exterior maintenance. They can be
applied to virtually any surface
including stucco, wood, masonry and
fiber cement surfaces. CW
