Epoxy resins are a versatile polymer class that yields excellent coating properties such as resistance to humidity and chemicals, and strong adhesion to various substrates while maintaining good mechanical properties. Due to this, epoxy finds massive utility in many sectors and product lines such as construction, adhesives, sealants, and coatings. For the scope of this article, we will restrict ourselves to epoxy-based paints and coatings.
Epoxy Paints and Coatings
The first thing that comes to mind when one says epoxy coatings is that of heavy-duty corrosion protection. Think of shipbuilding activities, offshore installations, and heavy engineering structures such as bridges. All these are protected with solvent-borne, water-borne, and solvent-free coatings, cured with amine and amide class polymers
Car bodies are E-coated (electrodeposition coating) using epoxy amine adducts. Epoxy-based paints and primers find extensive use in protecting the under-body parts of any car such as chassis, axles, engine castings, and other metal parts.
The use of epoxy-based powdered resins in powder coatings is significantly increasing in the general industrial coating space. When epoxy resins are combined with suitable hardeners, such as dicyandiamide (DICY), acid anhydrides, phenol novolac, or polyisocyanates, the outcome is thermosetting powder coating systems that possess outstanding properties. These resins can also be blended with polyester resins to enhance the flexibility of inherently rigid epoxy powder coats; thus yielding hybrid finishes which give protection and flexibility for exterior use.
Another widespread application is that of internal can coating. Food-grade cans such as those used for filling beverages are internally coated with a stoving epoxy coating. Owing to their strong yellowing, these epoxy-resin-based coatings are also called “golden lacquer”. They are cured with cresol resols at elevated temperatures. The use of these chemistries for food-grade applications is now under severe scrutiny because of the presence of BPA that seeps into foods and can cause unwanted health effects on humans.
Epoxy resins are also successfully employed in UV-curable epoxy resin systems in UV-curable solder resists and protective coatings for printed circuits. Epoxy can be combined and modified with many other resins to produce paints and lacquer with a myriad of properties. Foremost among these are alkyds etherified or esterified with epoxy, Carboxyl terminated acrylic and polyester resins that react with the OH groups of the epoxy resins, and amino resins, such as melamines, which are able to respond with epoxy resins at elevated temperatures are prominent industrial examples.
Epoxy Systems by Pearl Coating
We have experience in formulating custom-made epoxy coatings for more than two decades. Below are some of our high-performance product lines
- High Build Epoxy for long-term protection. Can achieve a DFT of more than 300 microns in 2 coats giving a Salt Spray resistance of 3000+ hours. Crafted for application on railway parts and process and storage vessels
- Direct-to-metal (DTM) Series are offered to eliminate the use of primers entirely. This saves the cost of procuring primer as well as the time required to spray the primer coat. Used as casting sealers and industrial-grade protection for structures
- Chemical Resistant Epoxies are highly customized to provide resistance against specific chemicals such as certain acids, alcohols, and other corrosive liquids. Finds extensive use in the metal packaging industry of drums and barrels wherein various chemicals are stored and transported.
- Internal Epoxy for cans and tubes is another workhorse offered at Pearl Coating. These are industry standards widely used to protect tins and aluminum packaging products
Questions on what more epoxy solutions we can manufacture for you?
Reach out to us at sales@pearlcoating.in or call us at +91 9822068834.
References
[1] H. Kittel, Textbook of Paints and Coatings, Vol. 2, S. Hirzel Publications, Stuttgart, 1998, p. 267–318
