Waterborne architectural coatings are expected to deliver a high level of performance. Considering that these films are at most a few thousandths of an inch, these coatings are incredibly resilient. Over the next couple months we will compare and contrast a few related but significantly different tests for interior coatings. The first test we will discuss is abrasive durability.

A must-have performance characteristic of any interior waterborne architectural coating is scrub resistance. Scrub resistance is the ability of a paint surface to resist wear when rubbed with a brush, sponge or cloth. A coating with good scrub resistance protects the substrate, mitigating exposure and damage, and maintaining aesthetics among other properties. A paint’s ability to be scrub resistant is especially important in high traffic places like play areas and around doorways and windows.

At 1st Source, ASTM D2486 (Standard Test Methods for Scrub Resistance of Wall Paints) is routinely used for testing paints. Testing using ASTM D2486 requires appropriate controls and coating thickness. The use of a constant temperature/constant humidity room ensures consistent drying conditions for all tests. Appropriate substrates, conditioning of the scrub brushes and the type of abrasive scrub media are specified. Coatings that provide the highest number of scrub cycles before wear through are considered superior to others from a durability perspective.

A related test is the washability test; the ability of coatings to release stains. We will discuss it in more detail next month and contrast it to scrub resistance.

Current U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s cost on the loss of infrastructure due to paint and coatings failure is estimated at over 1 trillion dollars. In order to combat this, according to Bloomberg (April 20, 2017), the current administration wants a trillion dollars’ worth of infrastructure work on the ground. Two hundred billion dollars will come directly from the government. This will be applied to roads, airports and other public works, of which improved impact of epoxy coatings will play a part.

Ongoing government legislation and consumer demand also requires the reduction of solvents (VOCs) in epoxy coatings. Coating manufacturers must find alternate products that lower viscosity, provide impact and flexibility, and improved hydrophobicity, while simultaneously lowering the overall cost and carbon footprint of epoxy coatings.

Stop by the 1st Source booth #423, at the Western Coatings Symposium in Las Vegas, (Oct 15th to 18th) and learn how we can help you develop low cost epoxy modifiers for your application that will help you reach your performance goals. Testing includes corrosion resistance, viscosity, flexibility, impact resistance, tensile, adhesion, abrasion and gloss among many others.

1st Source Research has a strong coatings team that allows us to combine these techniques with other sophisticated analytical tools to diagnose paint quality problems, validate raw materials, and optimize processes that may be holding you back. Feel free to contact us. We’ll be happy to lend our expertise and analysis techniques to help you meet your goals.

The coatings industry is continually innovating to produce products with lower VOCs while maintaining properties and productivity. This is particularly true for the Maintenance and Marine markets where solvent borne or 100% solids epoxies are used to impart excellent protective properties to valuable steel and concrete substrates.

Reducing VOCs in epoxy coatings are particularly challenging since the reduction of solvents generally leads to significant viscosity increases. This increase causes difficulty in mixing and application of these two component systems. In order to counteract this problem, lower viscosity, lower molecular weight resins are employed. This in turn embrittles the final epoxy coatings reducing impact resistance and flexibility. These epoxies also contain higher levels of functional groups requiring more of the costly hardener to cure. This not only increases costs but also increases the latent heat of the system greatly reducing the workable pot life.

In subsequent posts, we will report on a new breakthrough technologies that improves the impact resistance and flexibility of low VOC epoxy systems while maintaining surface hardness. Simultaneously pot life, gloss, and corrosion resistance are substantially improved.