Coatings & Inks

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Coatings

In the coatings sector Phlex Tek focuses on applications where phenoxy and cycloaliphatic epoxy resins offer superior performance characteristics such as excellent adhesion, toughness, flexibility and chemical resistance. Coating applications include direct-to-metal, such as automotive underbody, maintenance and marine, glass and metal packaging, heat-cured coatings and laminates, and powder coatings. Roof coatings, secondary containment coatings and other exterior surfaces are also prime areas for our Phlex’s innovative polymers and additives.

Phenoxy resins are used as a system modifier or as the main resin. High pigment and mineral loading are trademarks of the phenoxy resin due the high number of hydroxyls on the polymer backbone.

• Maintenance & Marine
• Automotive
• Industrial & Construction
• Container / Packaging
• UV Rad-Cure / Solvent Borne/ Water Borne / Low VOC
• UV Cured Coatings

Packaging / Overprint Varnish

Waterborne Phenoxy resin offers superior adhesion to glass and metal substrates while also providing protection from severe chemical attack from alcohol, water, acids and other corrosive compounds. The Cycloaliphatic epoxy is also growing in demand due to it’s cationic cure capabilities in packaging coatings.

Maintenance/Marine: Bridge, ship, factory, automotive and construction coatings where adhesion to metal is the highest priority, are used to prevent weathering from extreme exterior environmental conditions. Phenoxy resin’s high molecular weight contributes to this superior performance. Phlex Tek is currently working on exempt-solvent packages for phenoxy dilution to meet new regulations and offer systems with lower environmental impact.

Zinc-Rich Coatings

The commercial usage of Phenoxy resin as vehicles for zinc-rich primers has been known for over three decades. Important factors in the wide acceptance of this resin are:

1. Performance: outstanding salt spray, chemical resistance and mechanical properties.
2. Durability: phenoxy zinc-rich primers provide long term protection, particularly in a very corrosive environment.
3. High Solid Binding Power: phenoxy resin provides very high zinc pigment loading while maintaining the required performance.
4. Simplicity: Phenoxy resins have been formulated in one package system successfully. Most of other resins were formulated in two package systems to prevent chemical reactions with zinc powder and hard settling problems.

Organic zinc-rich primers are often formulated with very high zinc pigment loading and therefore; provide excellent protection for the metal surface. A pigment level of 80-90% is required to provide pigment-pigment and pigment- substrate contacts in the primer film. Thixotropic agent (Cab-O-Sil) is also commonly added to zinc-rich primers to prevent hard settling of the pigment.

Powder Coatings

Phlex Tek's offering of a unique cationic cure cycloaliphatic epoxy has high-end applicability in powder coatings.

Outstanding Metal Coatings

Phenoxy makes outstanding metal coatings because they have excellent adhesion, chemical and salt-spray resistance, impact and abrasion resistance and flexibility. These properties, plus good overbake resistance, make them especially suitable for metal priming applications. They are also useful as lacquer coatings for wood and metal substrates.

Phenoxy resins provide a good primed surface that will tolerate strong solvents and permit the application of a wide selection of topcoats. These phenoxy resins can be alloyed with other compatible resins and plasticizers to give coatings with improved toughness, adhesion, flexibility and chemical resistance. Because phenoxy contains 6% secondary hydroxyl groups, they can be crosslinked through these hydroxyls with polyisocyanates and with melamine and urea-formaldehyde resins to improve their solvent and heat resistance. 

In amine-cured epoxy coatings, the phenoxy controls film blushing and increases cred film toughness. Similar results are achieved with thermoset phenolic systems for use as coatings, adhesives, bonding agents and molding materials.

Small amounts of phenoxy in thermoplastic polyester systems will yield compounded materials that show less creep or flow when exposed to high temperatures. In addition test run on white coatings based on PKHH resin and formulated at pigment levels of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 percent Pigment Volume Concentration (PVC) showed all systems to be unaffected by 2000 hours exposure to 5% salt-spray at 95°F (35°C), 3000 hours of fresh water immersion at 77°F (25°C) and 2000 hours of exposure to 100% humidity at 100°F (38°C). All coatings were tested over 24 gauge “Bondrite” 100-treated steel and force-dried 30 minutes at 350°F (177°C). Dry film thickness was 2.5 to 3.0 mils.