Bayer MaterialScience will introduce new developments in UV-curing coatings with four presentations and at an accompanying exhibition at RadTech Europe from 18 – 20 October 2011 in
According to the company, the technology is characterized by high productivity and environmental compatibility, and has proven effective in numerous applications for polyurethane coatings. This year the focus is on the industrial coating of wood, furniture and parquet flooring. A new technology for the on-site use of parquet coatings is also being presented.
In recent years, waterborne UV-curing coatings have gained an increasing market share. Manufacturers of office furniture, for example, advertise the fact that such systems are used to coat their products in a low-emissions, environmentally compatible process. Such requirements can be met cost-effectively with coatings based on raw materials from BMS's Bayhydrol UV range, which cure in seconds under UV light.
One example is the solvent-free waterborne dispersion Bayhydrol UV XP 2775 for white-pigmented, UV-curing coatings and topcoats. The surface is characterized by good chemical and stain resistance, even with a high pigment content. Coatings formulated to contain this product also have good gloss and hardness, making them suitable for use in wood and furniture finishing, including for kitchen cabinetry.
Bayhydrol UV 2792 XP, a new UV-curing, cationic urethane acrylate emulsion, provides for fast drying and thus the efficient industrial basecoating of furniture and parquet flooring. Primers formulated with this product offer good chemical and stain resistance in addition to high pendulum hardness. However, this cationic emulsion is characterized in particular by good adhesion on problematic woods and the suppression of staining wood constituents such as tannins. The primers also accentuate the grain of the wood.
For the typical uses for parquet flooring, it is important that surfaces are resistant to abrasion and chemicals. UV-curing clearcoats formulated with100 % solids systems from the Desmolux line or with waterborne coatings based on Bayhydrol UV satisfy these requirements very well, says BMS. The rapid UV curing also ensures high speed and efficiency in the production of prefabricated parquet.
In addition to industrial applications, it is now also possible to renovate floors on-site using portable devices to cure the newly applied coating. Thanks to the UV drying, the floor can be walked on again shortly after coating. Previously, waiting periods of one to three days were required before floors could be used.