In the next few months the long-established Finnish wood finish producer Tikkurila is launching an industrial range of ‘robust’ water-borne coatings for exterior joinery in the UK. It’s been through an awful lot to get here.
Tikkurila, widely known in the Nordic and eastern European markets for its Pinja and Akvi ranges of primers, stains and pigmented finishes, subjects its products to what must be one of the harshest industrial testing regimes around, and the new BS EN 927-compliant industrial range, initially called Pinja Protect Plus is no exception.
Before bringing its coatings to market, the company hands them over to the Swedish Corrosion Institute (SCI) for an extremely thorough evaluation. The SCI has six permanent testing stations, each selected for its different climactic conditions. The toughest of all, described by David McCulley, business manager of Tikkurila’s UK operation Pinja Surfacing Ltd, as providing an “outstandingly corrosive” environment, is Kvarnik. This is sited on Bohus-Malmon Island which lies off the east coast of Sweden near the fishing centres of Kungshamn and Smogen.
The weather here can be severe, with a unique cocktail of strong winds, driving rain, humidity, extreme temperatures and salt-laden air. “The station is located just a few metres from the open sea,” said Mr McCulley. “The climate is truly tough on people and test panels alike.”
The Kvarnik field station has been used since 1963 and, further highlighting just how remote and desolate it is, it has only been accessible by land vehicles since 2002. “Prior to this, all equipment and material had to be carried over the rocks,” said Mr McCulley.
The Kvarnik environment is clearly a serious test for any kind of product and valued by manufacturers across a spread of industries. Besides wood products, the landscape is dotted with test beds for everything from metal panels to bicycles and hinges to electrical components.
For putting timber and coatings through their paces, the field station has 650 “test frame” units. It evaluates products to ISO standards, so products are assessed to a set range of environmental parameters; temperature and relative humidity over time, plus time of wetness (ToW) which is the total time when relative humidity is over 80%, measured in conjunction with temperature.
Precipitation is also monitored, and this is recorded not just in terms of volume but pH and concentration of chloride, nitrate, sulphate and ammonia. Finally the tests evaluate levels of solar radiation across the spectrum.
“Products have to endure the actual temperatures all year round,” said Mr McCulley. “It’s a unique testing environment. No two days, months or years are the same and the weathering conditions are recorded daily and published annually.”
For comparison Tikkurila tests its products alongside a selection of commercially available industry standard finishes. “In this climate, not surprisingly, a significant percentage of exterior coatings tend to break down,” said Mr McCulley. “Even some of the best-known ‘benchmark’ products succumb after a year or two.”
However, he said, the latest addition to the company’s range has so far withstood the elements well.
“Remarkably, the test panels are showing little, or minimal wear, even after four years’ exposure to these extreme conditions.”
Pinja Protect Plus comprises preservatives, water-borne primer and topcoat, a clear lacquer and a “broad pallet” of stains and opaque topcoats. It will, maintains Tikkurila, allow joinery manufacturers to produce fully-finished windows, doors and conservatories capable of matching the performance of PVCu.
Tikkurila makes coatings for a wide spectrum of industries and substrates and has a programme of testing products made for one sector on other materials to adapt ranges to new markets.
The aim in the development of Pinja Protect Plus, said Mr McCulley, was “a high performance product combining finish durability, speedy production, cost-effectiveness, environmental and user friendliness”.
Such is Tikkurila’s confidence in the new product, it will support UK business-to-business joinery manufacturers’ product guarantees up to 10 years after authorisation and subject to periodic inspection and approval of coating application systems.
Tikkurila is planning a full product launch and marketing campaign for 2007 and is now inviting UK manufacturers to have the range tested on their products and joinery components.
“This is an active project where we are looking for partners who are prepared to break new boundaries, with the aim of improving productivity, cost-effectiveness and ultimately long-term coatings durability,” said Mr McCulley. “The trials could be undertaken in Sweden or in conjunction with UK independent testing centres.”
