New Waterborne Paint: Alien Technology?
It didn't make headlines, but something extraterrestrial arrived in Minnesota during 2001. It had to be from another world, according to Ed Raschke.
"When I first saw it, I called it alien technology," he says. "It just didn't seem real . . . it could not have come from here!"
Raschke works for the Production Services Division of VEE Entertainment Corporation, based in Minneapolis. You may not have heard of VEE but you've probably seen their work. The company specializes in creating displays, attractions and special events for a wide variety of venues: theater, sports, museums, amusement parks, and others worldwide. Clients include Disney, the NFL (Super Bowl halftime), New England Aquarium, Columbia Pictures, and a
"When I first saw it, I called it alien technology," he says. "It just didn't seem real . . . it could not have come from here!"
Raschke works for the Production Services Division of VEE Entertainment Corporation, based in Minneapolis. You may not have heard of VEE but you've probably seen their work. The company specializes in creating displays, attractions and special events for a wide variety of venues: theater, sports, museums, amusement parks, and others worldwide. Clients include Disney, the NFL (Super Bowl halftime), New England Aquarium, Columbia Pictures, and a
host of other well-known operations.
As "lead finisher", it's Raschke's job to evaluate and select the coatings that are applied to VEE's creations, which are made from all types of materials and may be subjected to rather rough handling.
"What we build needs to look good and right, and be incredibly strong and durable," Raschke notes. "Whether it's from thousands of children crawling on a museum piece or stage hands loading in a show, our work is torture-tested. The coatings we use must be up to the challenge."
To make sure they are, he's always researching and testing new paint products. Which brings us back to E.T.
That day in '01, Tom Kluver, the local rep for DuPont Industrial Coatings, delivered a sample of a new paint for Raschke to test, at no cost. "All Tom told me was that the paint was developed for railroad cars and he thought I might be able to use it," Raschke recalls.
"I did a few tests and found it really too good to believe," he adds. "That's why I called it alien technology . . . it truly was unlike any paint I'd seen before."
As it turned out, the paint, though very different, was very much of this world and would soon be released by DuPont Industrial Coatings as part of a new coatings line called Imron Waterborne Polyurethane Copolymers. Raschke was among the first to get to try it.
The single-component products fill an important void: water-based polyurethanes that are free of hazardous air pollutants and, at 1.2 to 1.8 lbs. per gallon, very low in volatile organic compounds. Yet they deliver performance comparable to two-component epoxy and polyurethane systems!
The line includes primers, satin-gloss DTM (direct-to-metal), high-gloss topcoats (including clear), and a flat clear topcoat.
They are also practically odorless and easy to work with. And they claim superior durability, chemical resistance, salt fog resistance, and long-term gloss and color retention.
Another key feature of the product line is quick dry-time. Imron Copolymers reach hard dry in two hours and can be re-coated in 30 minutes. They may be force-cured in 15 to 20 minutes at 120ºF to 160ºF. And, unlike other waterborne products, Imron Copolymers will cure in 90% relative humidity and can be combined with other DuPont Industrial Coatings to achieve even higher performance.
What was it that Raschke found so otherworldly about the paint? "For starters, it was hard to believe that something so thick could actually be applied by spray," he reports. Plus, upon further testing, he found that this water-based product cured to an incredible hardness, worthy of some intergalactic travel craft.
"We coat a lot of our sculptures with polyurea," he notes. Polyurea is a sprayable isocyanate copolymer that cures within minutes . . . "turns into plastic," as Raschke puts it . . . and is commonly used in movie set designs. "I sprayed the Imron waterborne on a polyurea sculpture and after it dried I found that I could strike it with a piece of metal and not make a scratch. The finish was that hard."
Raschke's team also works a lot with MDF (medium density fiberboard), a wood product that has a smooth finish and is easily cut and shaped. But, as with plywood, the edges of an MDF piece will soak up paint like a sponge. "With other paints, it would take us six, eight, ten coats to seal the edges on MDF," he reports. "But in testing the DuPont waterborne, I was amazed to see that I could do it with just one or two coats."
After a few more tests, Raschke presented the paint to his management. It was quickly accepted. "In fact, we tried to order it before it was even available to the public."
A few months later it was on the market, but not in a particular color that Raschke needed to complete a project for the National Basketball Assn. That didn't stop him.
"We were pushing the envelope on them," he recalls. "They didn't have a code for the color I wanted, but I phoned the 1-800-3dupont support number and they got me close. Then I went to my local DuPont paint distributor and we spent late hours together, working on the formula so I could get the project done on time. It took a little extra work at the time just because the waterborne paint was so new."
That eager-to-please distributor is GT Parts Company in St. Paul, MN, an automotive body shop supplier that had been Raschke's source of DuPont's automotive and industrial products for several years. Their extra effort and special expertise in DuPont coating systems expedited Raschke's experiment with the waterborne paint.
Raschke agrees: "Our relationship with GT Parts has just been fantastic. They're always helpful with advice. And I can usually get paint delivered by them within an hour."
Michelle Diestler, president & partner at GT Parts, says it's just the way they try to satisfy customers. "We always look to recommend the best procedure for the customer, so they won't have any issues with the products we sell. We're a 100% DuPont jobber, so we're highly trained on their different products. We also have two full time paint technicians who are available to help at any project site."
Now, almost a year later, VEE Production Services has switched over to the Imron Waterborne Copolymer line for many applications, including using it as a primer coat for other types of topcoats.
"The Imron waterborne has such great adhesion that we use it as a basecoat over various substrates for latex topcoats or our scenic paints," he adds. "Being a water-based paint, it's easy to touch-up, both here and in the field, not that there's been that much to touch-up. It's also easy to clean-up.
"And we can apply it in a number of ways. Generally, we use airless sprayer pressure pot, but we have also used roller and brush. We don't have to add accelerators or reducers or what-have-you. We can usually go right from the can, or maybe add a little water first to thin it ,if we're spraying. It's so easy to work with that lesser trained personnel can handle it."
In a busy company where pushing to meet tight deadlines is the modus operandi, the new Imron Waterborne Copolymer's greatest benefit may be its ability to reach a hard cure so quickly. Raschke concurs: "I can get a paint that is wonderful and very hard, but if after a week it's not dry and I still cant handle it, it's really of no use to me. The DuPont waterborne I can handle within an hour!"
Raschke's positive experience with this "alien" paint technology has him anticipating future close encounters.
"I'm looking forward to other new DuPont products coming along, and to working with them," he agrees.
As "lead finisher", it's Raschke's job to evaluate and select the coatings that are applied to VEE's creations, which are made from all types of materials and may be subjected to rather rough handling.
"What we build needs to look good and right, and be incredibly strong and durable," Raschke notes. "Whether it's from thousands of children crawling on a museum piece or stage hands loading in a show, our work is torture-tested. The coatings we use must be up to the challenge."
To make sure they are, he's always researching and testing new paint products. Which brings us back to E.T.
That day in '01, Tom Kluver, the local rep for DuPont Industrial Coatings, delivered a sample of a new paint for Raschke to test, at no cost. "All Tom told me was that the paint was developed for railroad cars and he thought I might be able to use it," Raschke recalls.
"I did a few tests and found it really too good to believe," he adds. "That's why I called it alien technology . . . it truly was unlike any paint I'd seen before."
As it turned out, the paint, though very different, was very much of this world and would soon be released by DuPont Industrial Coatings as part of a new coatings line called Imron Waterborne Polyurethane Copolymers. Raschke was among the first to get to try it.
The single-component products fill an important void: water-based polyurethanes that are free of hazardous air pollutants and, at 1.2 to 1.8 lbs. per gallon, very low in volatile organic compounds. Yet they deliver performance comparable to two-component epoxy and polyurethane systems!
The line includes primers, satin-gloss DTM (direct-to-metal), high-gloss topcoats (including clear), and a flat clear topcoat.
They are also practically odorless and easy to work with. And they claim superior durability, chemical resistance, salt fog resistance, and long-term gloss and color retention.
Another key feature of the product line is quick dry-time. Imron Copolymers reach hard dry in two hours and can be re-coated in 30 minutes. They may be force-cured in 15 to 20 minutes at 120ºF to 160ºF. And, unlike other waterborne products, Imron Copolymers will cure in 90% relative humidity and can be combined with other DuPont Industrial Coatings to achieve even higher performance.
What was it that Raschke found so otherworldly about the paint? "For starters, it was hard to believe that something so thick could actually be applied by spray," he reports. Plus, upon further testing, he found that this water-based product cured to an incredible hardness, worthy of some intergalactic travel craft.
"We coat a lot of our sculptures with polyurea," he notes. Polyurea is a sprayable isocyanate copolymer that cures within minutes . . . "turns into plastic," as Raschke puts it . . . and is commonly used in movie set designs. "I sprayed the Imron waterborne on a polyurea sculpture and after it dried I found that I could strike it with a piece of metal and not make a scratch. The finish was that hard."
Raschke's team also works a lot with MDF (medium density fiberboard), a wood product that has a smooth finish and is easily cut and shaped. But, as with plywood, the edges of an MDF piece will soak up paint like a sponge. "With other paints, it would take us six, eight, ten coats to seal the edges on MDF," he reports. "But in testing the DuPont waterborne, I was amazed to see that I could do it with just one or two coats."
After a few more tests, Raschke presented the paint to his management. It was quickly accepted. "In fact, we tried to order it before it was even available to the public."
A few months later it was on the market, but not in a particular color that Raschke needed to complete a project for the National Basketball Assn. That didn't stop him.
"We were pushing the envelope on them," he recalls. "They didn't have a code for the color I wanted, but I phoned the 1-800-3dupont support number and they got me close. Then I went to my local DuPont paint distributor and we spent late hours together, working on the formula so I could get the project done on time. It took a little extra work at the time just because the waterborne paint was so new."
That eager-to-please distributor is GT Parts Company in St. Paul, MN, an automotive body shop supplier that had been Raschke's source of DuPont's automotive and industrial products for several years. Their extra effort and special expertise in DuPont coating systems expedited Raschke's experiment with the waterborne paint.
Raschke agrees: "Our relationship with GT Parts has just been fantastic. They're always helpful with advice. And I can usually get paint delivered by them within an hour."
Michelle Diestler, president & partner at GT Parts, says it's just the way they try to satisfy customers. "We always look to recommend the best procedure for the customer, so they won't have any issues with the products we sell. We're a 100% DuPont jobber, so we're highly trained on their different products. We also have two full time paint technicians who are available to help at any project site."
Now, almost a year later, VEE Production Services has switched over to the Imron Waterborne Copolymer line for many applications, including using it as a primer coat for other types of topcoats.
"The Imron waterborne has such great adhesion that we use it as a basecoat over various substrates for latex topcoats or our scenic paints," he adds. "Being a water-based paint, it's easy to touch-up, both here and in the field, not that there's been that much to touch-up. It's also easy to clean-up.
"And we can apply it in a number of ways. Generally, we use airless sprayer pressure pot, but we have also used roller and brush. We don't have to add accelerators or reducers or what-have-you. We can usually go right from the can, or maybe add a little water first to thin it ,if we're spraying. It's so easy to work with that lesser trained personnel can handle it."
In a busy company where pushing to meet tight deadlines is the modus operandi, the new Imron Waterborne Copolymer's greatest benefit may be its ability to reach a hard cure so quickly. Raschke concurs: "I can get a paint that is wonderful and very hard, but if after a week it's not dry and I still cant handle it, it's really of no use to me. The DuPont waterborne I can handle within an hour!"
Raschke's positive experience with this "alien" paint technology has him anticipating future close encounters.
"I'm looking forward to other new DuPont products coming along, and to working with them," he agrees.