Technology broadens horizons for acrylic powder coatings
Acrylic powder coatings have been available for a number of years. In general acrylics are acknowledged to offer the end user hard, durable coatings, with good resistance properties. However acrylics are also considered expensive, brittle, and prone to application problems.
Researchers are developing generations of acrylic powders that will not only improve the performance of existing acrylic technologies, but also provide the user with products that offer expanded performance to meet the requirements of many more coating applications. This article explains acrylic resin technology and applications. It then discusses the issues that need to be resolved before the use of acrylics can become more widespread. Finally the article gives an overview of opportunities for acrylic powder coatings that have been formulated with advanced technologies.