Waterborne wood coatings: the effects of UV absorbers and light stabilizers on color and gloss

Publishing date: 21.02.2020

Thanks to its attractive and natural appearance and its sustainability as a raw material, wood is becoming more and more popular for all sorts of applications. Coatings serve to enhance the durability of wooden articles, especially those used outdoors. Stabilizing additives are an essential component of wood-coating formulations: they protect both the coating binders and, in clear coats, the underlying wood structures from degradation caused by weathering. UV protective additives fall into two categories: absorbers and stabilizers. UV absorbers dissipate the energy in a less damaging form, while UV stabilizers act as scavengers, reducing the reactivity of any free radicals formed within the coating.

SONGWON is committed to helping improve sustainability throughout the coatings value chain and to this end works continuously on enhancing the environmental acceptability of its products. Company experts have developed new water-based additives and stabilization packages that combine the efficiency of conventional products, including easy dosing and handling, with the benefits of water miscibility, notably low-to-zero VOC generation.

In a recent study, the efficacy of a range of these additives was tested in waterborne exterior wood-coating formulations based on three different types of binder chemistry: acrylic, alkyd and polyurethane.

Discover more in the enclosed abstract.