Customers’ key demands for coatings performance probably haven’t changed much over the years. They want application efficiency, improved production speeds and, for exterior coatings, durability – and coatings manufacturers’ ongoing R&D programmes are working hard to meet these needs.
“Customers demand hassle-free, durable performance from a wide choice of products which meet industry standards,” said Teknos GB managing director Michelle Alcock.
And meeting these demands is vital to timber’s performance, and reputation. “There’s an ongoing requirement to get high durability for exterior fi nishes so that wooden products can compete with other materials,” said Dave Christie, technical sales manager of Remmers UK. “Customers are looking for longer guarantee periods on finished products and products that overcome the traditional problems associated with wood, such as peeling, flaking and rotting.”
Graham Buchan, Sherwin-Williams’ managing director for product finishes in the UK, agrees. For interior finishes customers wanted fast application and low film weight, with a good finish, while for exteriors the requirement was good quality and durability, he said.
Remmers is helping to enhance the durability with a wood care package comprising a cleaning material and a polish. “The polish acts like a sacrificial layer. It restores the sheen and that’s what’s eroded so the coating underneath gets virtually no wear,” said Mr Christie. This “joined-up thinking” addresses what, for some end users, can be the mystery of wood maintenance.
“People don’t know how to look after it and that’s a big problem. Even architects struggle with it so it’s not easy for the general public to understand – and that’s probably because the coatings and timber industry don’t get our information across well enough,” said Mr Christie.
He believes the two industries could work better together to achieve a common goal. “Timber supply and coatings supply look like separate channels but they’re both trying to achieve the same aim,” he said.
One focus for manufacturers’ R&D is interior finishes where, unlike exterior products, some solvent-based lines continue.
“Years ago, the ratio of water-based coatings versus solvent-based was 50-50. Nowadays it’s more like 95-5 for exterior applications, and the interior market is going in the same direction,” said Ms Alcock.
However, Mr Christie points out that solvent-based products were still favoured by smaller operations as they could produce a smooth finish more easily and they dry quickly, even in the cold or humid conditions often found in smaller factories. “Solvent-based coatings are used especially by small carpentry and furniture businesses, which are a big sector in the UK,” said Mr Christie.
“We’re really pushing good alternatives in water-based. At some point legislation could remove solvent-based coatings from the market and it’s good for companies to be ready for that.”
Mr Buchan said waterborne interior finishes were made easier by systems such as UV, which provided efficient application and fast curing.
“It means there are no issues with solvents or emissions and you can get the product off the line quickly and get it out the door,” he said.
FORMALDEHYDE-FREE LAUNCH
Last year Akzo Nobel launched a formaldehyde-free series of acid-curing products for interiors. While there were low formaldehyde coatings on the market, director Paul Brennan said the FF range was the first that was entirely formaldehyde free. “It’s a strong marketing tool for our customers,” he said.
As well as having environmental benefits, the FF range could bring production efficiency too as it reduced the drying time. The product is designed for furniture and cabinetry and Mr Brennan said it was particularly suited for hotel and bedroom furniture, children’s furniture and schools and universities. It is available from Akzo Nobel or its distribution network.
On exterior products a durable finish was vital in order for manufacturers to offer customers warranties, whereas on interior products, in addition to a good finish, manufacturers wanted fast application and low film weight.
“We aim for greater efficiency per applied square metre of paint, particularly on products such as interior doors where price is very competitive and mouldings which are high volume but a good finish is required,” said Mr Buchan.
“We’re helping our customers get the same quality of finish but with less paint.”
He added that the quest for greater efficiency can lead to more complex paint lines – up to 1km long – but coatings manufacturers provide technical support. “Using less paint is often as much about the equipment as the coating and we provide advice on equipment,” said Mr Christie.
Akzo Nobel offers customers line audits – quarterly, for larger clients – and advice on improving production efficiency “If you can improve overall production efficiency by 1-2%, especially for big producers of doors and windows, it can be a game-changer,” said Mr Brennan.
Akzo Nobel, which includes the Sikkens and Dulux brands, also prides itself on being the only company in the UK and Ireland that supplies both adhesives and finishes, ensuring they are compatible.
The LignuPro formaldehyde-free adhesive range, available for OEM clients, was launched at the same time as the FF paint. Akzo Nobel has a colour matching service and tinting machine in every one of its distributors in the UK and Ireland.
The network of Dulux Decorator Centres also offers clients advice on maintenance and a list of approved contractors.
Remmers’ competence centre in Germany houses a wide range of equipment to give customers ideas on how to improve production.
Sherwin-Williams also places a strong emphasis on technical support. In the US, the company has a store in almost every town and its paints protect some of America’s most iconic structures – the White House, the Hollywood sign and the Golden Gate bridge – but industrial wood coatings are at the heart of the business. In the UK the company owns the Ronseal brand and bought Sayerlack and Becker Acroma in 2010. “We don’t sell a tin of paint; we sell a tin of paint with back-up, with regular checks to ensure customers’ lines are working properly and with ongoing R&D,” said Mr Buchan.
CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
Coatings manufacturers also work closely with their customers to develop increasingly technically sophisticated finishes.
Sherwin-Williams recently developed a coffee-proof product – “one of the most aggressive tests you can do for a white coating”, said Mr Buchan – and this year Teknos launched Teknostain 1996, an interior water-based stain. It was shortlisted for the Elements of Innovation Award at this year’s W16 exhibition.
Remmers has worked with customers on making products more abrasion resistant or changing the gloss levels.
“Customer requirements change as trends change,” said Mr Christie.
FOLLOWERS OF COLOUR FASHION
And current trends are for colour, in a finish that covers both ends of the spectrum – super matt and super gloss.
“In kitchens the trend has been high gloss, almost mirror finishes, and that’s been combined with the trend for colour,” said Mr Buchan.
“As darker colours have become more popular we’ve also done a lot of dead matt finishes with a softer, velvety feel.”
Teknos has also seen less demand for white. “The fashion is very much ‘fifty shades of grey’,” said Ms Alcock. “Everyone wants grey or grey green. Colours are here to stay.” This trend for darker colours has also been taken up in exteriors with grey, blue and green window frames, and placed another efficiency demand on paint lines.
“Colour capability is key,” said Mr Buchan. “Five years ago people were buying enormous quantities of clear lacquer, but now with people looking for colours it’s important that customers can turn colours around with accuracy and repeatability.”
Akzo Nobel supports its colour palette with ColourFutures, an annual trends forecast. The Colour of the Year for 2017 is Denim Drift. Some have also noted a trend towards low sheen or matt exterior finishes. “Some people want gloss because they thing it’s easier to clean but others want a finish that’s not so plastic looking,” said Mr Christie.
Michelle Alcock agrees. “Flatter, less glossy finishes are popular,” she said.
The desire for a natural look maintained demand for translucent finishes, although they were more susceptible to the effects of UV. “Even a small amount of pigment can help extend the coating’s longevity,” said Mr Christie.
Architects were also interested in metallic finishes and other special effects. “They’re easy to achieve on internal products but less so on exterior,” said Mr Christie.
There’s an irony in trying to make wood look like another material but Mr Christie expects this trend will continue because of timber’s environmental strengths.
“Wood is a sustainable resource; if other materials, such as aluminium or plastic, don’t have that advantage the idea of using wood but making it look like other materials makes sense,” he said.
Timber products manufacturers are also seeing increased demand for fully-finished products.
FULLY FINISHED DEMAND RISE
At W Howard, customers’ requests for fully finished profiles, rather than just a primed moulding, have increased to such an extent that the company recently invested in a spray finishing line.
“The emphasis seems to be shifting slightly, with end users starting to pay attention to the costs involved in finishing a product on site. They’re taking into account not just the cost of the coating or the labour but also the costs associated with the time it takes to complete this process on site,” said sales director Phil Barnard.
The new line allows W Howard to offer a high-quality finishing service on any core range or bespoke prime profiles in addition to lacquering for its American white oak or American black walnut veneered profiles.
At present full finishing is a small proportion of the company’s output but Mr Barnard said interest was growing. He also pointed out that the trend would have an impact further along the chain.
“The end user will need to switch their perception of profiles from being second fix joinery, to a last fix item,” he said.
About 75% of Dresser Mouldings’ cladding production requires a finished coating and it offers a fully-finished product to all four sides, with all ends sealed. It also provides paint for end sealing and touching-up after drilling fixings on site.
“We also sent a good practice guide when we quote and give it to the contractor on site so they have the information about product fixings, storage and management,” said general manager Bill Gunn. “We try to encourage contractors and end users to use a secret nail fixing because if you use a face fixing and don’t seal, water gets underneath.”
Packages like this had helped contractors and installers gain a better understanding of coatings for external applications.
“They know how important end sealing and protecting timbers are. Long gone are the days when a coating was used to hide a multitude of problems,” said Mr Gunn. Film build coatings, which build layers and provide a gloss finish, were popular but Mr Gunn said it was quickly being recognised that non-film coatings were better for rough sawn or brushed finishes.
“They penetrate into the wood and when timber has been brushed or left rough sawn, the roughed-up fibres allow more paint to be absorbed into the timber,” he said.
EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
As to the future, while coatings producers continue to invest in R&D, developments are likely to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
“There will be refinement of existing technologies, pushing the waterborne range to do things that people didn’t expect it to do,” said Mr Buchan.
Sherwin-Williams’ recent developments include FR coatings for interiors, which it hopes to extend to exteriors; bright white exterior topcoats; scratch-resistant lacquer; and high-gloss finishes for papers. It is also working ‘cautiously’ on powder coatings for wood. The process would suit large surfaces, such as panels, and provide saving in terms of cost per applied metre of product.
“The finish will be mainly for primers and base coats, but the aim would be to achieve a finish equivalent to a decent liquid coatings finish,” said Mr Buchan.
Mr Christie said customers would like to have self-cleaning exterior finishes but they were not straightforward. “Coatings struggle because the more additives we put in, the more they can be a detriment in other areas, such as long-term flexibility,” he said.
But the stability of modified timbers provided possibilities for developing finishes which until now have only been possible for substrates such as aluminium and plastic. “They’re an opportunity to do slightly more exciting things,” said Mr Christie. “If the timber is more stable, we could probably achieve that with coatings as well.”
Making coatings more environmentally friendly was another possibility.
“If you’re considering the circular economy you’ll probably want to look at coatings formulations,” said Mr Christie. “Coatings are essentially thin layers of plastic so we could have plastics derived from renewable resources. It wouldn’t change appearance, but it would change environmental credentials.” Overall the coatings and finishings sector is expressing confidence.
“We’re going to expand our business in wood finishes and adhesives so we’re looking to strengthen our commercial and technical team in the UK and Ireland in 2017,” said Mr Brennan at Akzo Nobel. “We have a growing economy, growing population and growing demand for housing. There may be some slowdown post-Brexit, but we’re positive.”
