Wood paints are going through an extremely important moment, they are currently going through a stage of consolidation of new methods in terms of formulation and application processes, which, in large part, seek to change the habit of using traditional varnishes and caring for the environment. by Santiago Jaramillo H.
When we talk about coatings for wood and its application, many times we tend to think of difficulties, but this is not always the case. Many times what happens is that the chosen solution is not the most favorable for that specific, which does not mean that the product is not the right one, but that possibly there was a bad process of choosing an additive or a failure in the application.
To obtain the highest quality, a careful evaluation of three fundamental parameters is therefore necessary: the substrate and its properties, the behavior of the paint during application and the method of application as such. Precisely towards there, towards modernizing the industry and its processes, the efforts of the latter point.
Thus, we must highlight the evolution of the industry in this regard, because as Miguel Naveira, commercial manager of Akzo Nobel Argentina, recognizes, "the culture in painting or in the protection of woods with transparent paints was basically, until eight or ten years ago, oriented to the consumption of what we call varnishes, which in general are closed plot films. In recent years what has occurred is a fairly big change, which to put it in some way, has been led by our company through a well-known product in Argentina such as Cetol, which is basically a different coating because it allows the wood to breathe, and allows it to exude, that is, that exchanges humidity with the environment, a situation that means that the film does not peel or crack," he stressed.
In the same way, Naveira stressed that "if ten years ago, varnishes represented 60 or 70% of the market for wood paints, today it does not reach 40%. All that market has been won by impregnants or protectors as we call them, which are a microporous and flexible film that allows the movement of contraction and expansion of the wood and, at the same time, exchange moisture with the environment. "
Meanwhile, Héctor Rendón, chemical manager of the company Sayer Lack Mexicana S.A., considered in this sense that "given the universal problems of global warming on the planet, this segment of the industry has been evolving to systems based on water and ultraviolet radiation especially".
For his part, Albino Serna, member of the Research and Development team of the Peruvian company CPPQ, said that in the market they serve "what has originated most in recent years is the consumption of lacquers based on nitrocellulose, due to the fact that they are cheaper and quick drying. The second point that can be highlighted is the use of melanin in wood, because there are already many woods that come with that type of materials so they do not need much paint, which has reduced their use, "he emphasized.
Likewise, he stressed that in his country "there is a sector that is demanding water-based products, which have entered the foreign market, from countries such as Brazil, the United States or even from Europe, but they are still very small, although there is a very good demand," he accepted.
Industrial development
One of the most significant advances that the wood paint industry seeks to develop is the issue of environmental care. Despite this, some Latin American companies still have many gaps in this regard, this is mainly due to the fact that local legislation, in most cases, is not very severe.
In the case of Peru, for example, as Serna acknowledges, "environmentally there is no type of regulation beyond the care of the workshops themselves, and that in itself this is quite small, since even in what concerns personal safety there is no concern on their part."
Something very different happens in Argentina, as Miguel Naveira acknowledges, "in my country people use paints a lot, but at the same time they are very reluctant to change, and the reality is that companies like ours have tried to introduce, and in fact we have products that are more friendly to the human being, that is, water-based products that do not have as much solvent content, but professionals in general are quite reluctant to use this type of paints. Notwithstanding the above, our company and the industry in general have been carrying out environmental care programs for many years. For example, our paints have ceased to have lead a long time ago, work has been done on the issue of non-volatiles, and although in many countries the regulations are not so severe, large business groups like ours self-regulate and, at the same time, produce certain technological changes to have a more environmentally friendly situation in Europe, it is replicated in all the countries in which we have a presence. This does not mean that all companies do, because there are small companies, especially national ones, that do not. What I can say is that in large companies there is enormous environmental awareness," he said.
In the case of Mexico, as mentioned by the representative of the company Sayer Lack, "years ago the norm existed, but it had not been implemented. Now, with the problems that have been presented to us by the emission of solvents, pollution and all that, it has evolved drastically. In a few years we have been required to paint companies to comply with these standards almost immediately, which in my opinion is very positive."
Raw materials and their restrictions
Obviously, any change that occurs in the process of formulation of the paint, especially when it is due to regulation in its raw materials, often implies some type of overcost, especially in terms of research, development and positioning of the product, but at the same time allows to improve in quality, technology and final result, which in the end is positive for the modernization of the industry, and more if it is the segment of paints for wood, which has this initiative in full.
In this regard, Miguel Naveira emphasized that "obviously this situation implies an increase in costs, to mention just one case, the paints use an additive called a dryer, which allows, obviously, that the coating dries at a higher speed and, until about eight or ten years ago, these had lead or zirconium content and that has been changed, and therefore, as was more than evident, it brought about an increase in the final price of the product."
Already with regard to the challenges that are presented to this industry in the future, our guests expressed, from their particular perspective, the initiatives in which they are working from their companies.
In the case of the company Sayer Lack Mexicana S.A., Héctor Rendón, said that "the main challenge I see is to face the increase in prices. As for the technical, it would be the new technologies, in our case we have in full development a new project based on nanotechnology, which seeks to give greater resistance to wood products, especially in the issue of resistance to abrasion and scratching. We estimate this project to be completed by the end of next year," he said.
The representative of Akzo Nobel Argentina, meanwhile, stressed that "for us it is still the varnish market and we continue working to communicate to people that there are better products than traditional varnishes, products of greater technology and, precisely there goes our greatest challenge which is to seek the greatest friendliness of products with man, and although at present large companies are already doing so, there is still great resistance from the market either because of the price or cultural issue," he said.
For his part, the representative of the Research and Development team of the Peruvian company CPPQ, stressed that "we are currently in the process of development. We are advancing field tests on everything that is water-based acrylic, water-based polyurethane a single component and two components as well," he emphasized.
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