Polyester powder coatings without declaration: Conversion has positive effect on numerous quality parameters

A few years ago, the European chemicals regulation REACH classified PT910/912 hardeners with “reproductive toxicity category 2”, making powder coatings containing these ingredients subject to mandatory labeling. To ensure maximum safety for users, Brillux Industrial Coatings has switched its entire range of powder coatings to recipes with alternative hardeners. Brüggen GmbH has been using Brillux Universal Polyester Powder 5910 for many years to coat around 5,000 trailers, assemblies and interchangeable bodies every year. “The changeover to the new product Universal Polyester Powder 5940 went extremely smoothly for us and met our strict technical requirements,” recalls Martin Korte, Head of Surface Coating at Brüggen GmbH. “I was pleased that we were even able to achieve significant improvements in important criteria with this powder coating.”

In terms of weather resistance and color stability, corrosion protection and chemical resistance, the tests carried out at Brüggen and Brillux confirmed that the label-free polyester powder coating met the commercial vehicle manufacturer’s strict specifications. Martin Korte was interested in the adhesion of adhesives and sealants to the modified powder coating. “This aspect is extremely important to us,” explains the 59-year-old. “We don't just apply lettering to the vehicle elements. Instead of welding, we assemble various fully-coated units entirely by adhesive bonding, so we naturally rely on absolutely secure adhesive bonds.” The powder coating also passed this test with flying colors – “although I was critical at first,” says Martin Korte: The adhesion of the new powder coating is better than the previous product.

UV-transmission stable colors

Together with Brüggen GmbH, Brillux Industrial Paint has also developed UV-stable coating thicknesses for the powder top coats for each color used. They prevent the underlying, non-UV-resistant cathodic dip primer from being damaged. Careful testing ensures maximum protection with the thinnest possible coating thickness and accordingly economical powder coating consumption. And Martin Korte points out another improvement: “With Brillux label-free powder coating, we can produce a glossy surface with virtually no gloss haze. This elegant look is becoming more and more important for our customers.”

The Head of Surface Coating at Brüggen GmbH has closely observed how the new powder coating formulation behaves from a processing point of view. The improved chargeability of the product with less overspray, faster coating with very good coverage of welds and a larger curing window for greater process reliability optimize powder coating at the company. Martin Korte: "All in all, we have benefited by switching to Brillux powder coating with label-free hardeners – in terms of sustainability, environmental protection and efficiency. And, of course, in terms of the absolutely first-class surface properties that are crucial for the quality of our products.”