Messages from the Painting Site (Part 17): Painting to Enhance Weather Resistance
Fluorine, Silicone, and Ceramic Painting
In this column, Mr. Yuki Miyamoto, Representative Director of Giken Co., Ltd., a specialized painting manufacturer in Ami-machi, Inashiki-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture, with a wealth of experience and a proven track record, shares tips for solving various challenges at painting sites.
Weather Resistance in Painting
Weather resistance in painting refers to the performance of a paint film to withstand climate and environmental changes. It refers to the resistance to stress received in the natural environment, such as ultraviolet rays and sunlight when the paint film is exposed to the outdoor environment, seasonal temperature changes, changes in daylight hours, and rain and wind.
A paint film capable of responding to such environmental conditions is described as having high weather resistance. There is also an evaluation item called light resistance, which focuses on light (ultraviolet rays) and has similar performance, but it is different, so caution is required.
Problems with Paint Films with Weak Weather Resistance
As examples of cases where weather resistance is insufficient, I think everyone has experienced items left by a window fading or clothes pegs used for a long time becoming crumbly.
When painting is performed with paint that has weak weather resistance, although it differs depending on the resin used, the paint film deteriorates quickly when used outdoors, and whitening, chalking (generation of white powder like chalk), and cracking occur in a short period of time.
There is a problem that the life of the paint film is short, and furthermore, the life of the product itself that was painted at the same time also becomes short.
Purpose and Benefits of Enhancing Weather Resistance
Contrary to the above problems, the merit of enhancing weather resistance lies in the point that the life of the paint film and the product can be kept long. The following two points can be cited as the purpose of high weather resistance painting.
Longer life of appearance: The life of the paint film can be kept long, and it is possible to maintain beauty and performance for a long period of time.
Protection of materials: Even for materials with weak weather resistance, it is possible to protect the material from ultraviolet rays and acid rain by painting.
Painting Methods to Enhance High Weather Resistance
As representative painting with high weather resistance, it is possible to create a paint film with high weather resistance by using painting mainly using pigments with little chemical change such as fluorine, silicone, and ceramic or by using paint containing ultraviolet absorbers.
Fluorine, silicone, and ceramic-based paints have various functionalities in addition to weather resistance, such as water repellency, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, oil resistance, moisture resistance, stain resistance, and slip resistance. It also has the feature of being able to protect the paint film over a long period of time.
Weather Resistance + Alpha Required in Various Places
The weather resistance performance of paint films is required in various industries and places, and it is required in every conceivable industry, including building material parts such as housing parts and housing equipment parts, as well as ships, machinery, automobiles, and electronic equipment.
In addition to high weather resistance, housing parts and ship-related items require water resistance and stain resistance, and automobile-related items require corrosion resistance, etc., and in all cases, in addition to high weather resistance, necessary paint film performance is required, and complex high paint film performance is required.
Role as a Painting Contractor
We receive inquiries about various projects, such as consultations regarding painting and requests for paint selection.
Since the intended use differs for each product, the environment used and the required performance differ. Therefore, there are many cases where various performances are required, not limited to weather resistance.
Paints have various characteristics depending on the color, pigment, and type of resin. Some include those with weaknesses, such as pigments that are weak to ultraviolet rays and pigments or resins that are weak to chemicals. It is the duty of a painting company to increase knowledge to select appropriate paint suitable for the application according to the required specifications and the environment used, and to propose it to customers.
Giken Co., Ltd... Founded in January 1985. Handles silicone processing, Teflon processing, painting/printing/assembly of metal and plastic parts, and other general processing. Handled items include baking sheets for confectionery and bread, housing-related parts, automobile parts, light electrical parts, watch parts, and other related products and various parts.