COATINGS
AXALTA
Axalta is a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings with over 150 years of experience. With an ethos of always putting its customers first, Axalta provides innovative, colourful, beautiful and sustainable solutions, everything from light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and above-the- waterline marine coatings, to electric motors, buildings and pipelines. Axalta’s ImronTM Marine Coatings are available in a virtually unlimited and brilliant colour choice, even finishes with special effects. ImronTM Marine Coatings are known for durability and easy maintenance, which ensure yachts, sail boats and powerboats retain their glossy mirror-like finish for longer. For more details Tel : +32 475 75 8004 or visit
www.axalta.com
We are continuously investing to develop new and better performing products, while also maintaining a strong focus on our environmental impact
Malcolm Kerr at Storm highlights the move towards electrostatic painting as another major step forward. He says, “This still needs a lot of work and expectations on the resultant ‘finish’ need to be managed as they are different to the standard ‘conventional’ finish. In our experience, environmental control and replication of atmospheric conditions is fundamental with electrostatic painting.”
Kerr adds, “We are currently working on two innovative projects ourselves when it comes to R&D. One being a custom app for management and quality control, thanks to a successful European funding grant. The second being an environmental control system which can also monitor emissions - the objective being to subsequently reduce emissions.”
Like both the aviation and motor industries, weight is a factor and in this regard R&D in this field is important. Christopher Rothe says, “On some high speed light weight projects it can be very important. If we can fair and paint yachts using fewer and lighter products, then this has considerable benefits both environmentally and in terms of reduced running costs.” Generally the fillers used by Storm are lightweight so the weight
of the filler is negligible considering the other products on a yacht,” says Malcolm Kerr. “A pallet of filler could weigh less than a marble worktop so I would say that weight isn’t particularly an issue in regard to coatings.” Ewan Clark from Aquarius Marine Coatings says, “It is easy to be side-tracked with the notion of ‘weight’. Of greater importance is the efficacy of the anti-foul itself and the amount of drag it creates.” Conventional anti-foul paints absorb water when launched, so swell, increase in weight and roughen at the surface, which causes an increase in drag (leading to reduced fuel efficiency and hull performance). Coppercoat-Superyacht, on the other hand, is a non-absorbent epoxy resin. When launched it does not swell, increase in weight or roughen, and instead provides a smooth and lasting resinous surface, ideal for maintaining both boat speed and efficiency.
VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) Because of ever stringent environmental regulations and concerns, for those manufacturing paint products the reduction of VOCs carbon-based chemicals which evaporate easily at room temperature is an absolute priority. But as Christopher Rothe at Wrede points out these are less
of a priority for the yachts and owners who are primarily concerned with the appearance and longevity.
The reduction of VOCs in our products is a huge priority for Axalta says Inge De Jonge. “However, reducing VOCs while still maintaining the outstanding performance of coatings is a challenge, and this is particularly true of marine coatings, which are exposed to extreme conditions. This is why we continue to invest in our research and development of lower VOC coatings that still offer a virtually unlimited choice of brilliant colours and that last a lifetime.”
Malcolm Kerr at Storm, points out, “We live in a world that is no longer willing to accept pollution to the levels we have been producing in recent times. We believe that the coatings’ manufacturers have a massive role to play here in developing greener products … and the industry as a whole needs to perhaps accept the subsequent ‘finish’.”
Ewan Clark at Aquarius Marine Coatings who make Coppercoat the anti fouling bottom paint used by a great many superyachts believes, “The reduction of VOCs in coatings is
vital. Indeed, all our anti-fouls are
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