We've chosen to analyse the three principle wood coating types to provide an insight into their individual properties when it comes to 'finish' and 'durability'.
Consider these pointers in relation to your business requirements to develop an understanding of the coating type that is best suited to you.
The key points based around the 3 principle coating types: Water-Based (WB), Polyurethane (PU) and Acid Catalyst (AC) are summarised below.
These coatings are often favoured since they are environmentally friendly, with very low solvent content and minimal odour, yet they are still able to produce high-performance results.
Some water-based wood coatings have a very light texture feel to them but a good quality topcoat is equal to any solvent-based option. Also, the clarity of lower-grade water-based lacquers over certain stains and/or dark timbers can provide a slightly milky look to the clarity so ensure you check this out when comparing products.
Recent advancements have meant that premium water-based coatings have a fantastic level of durability, able to achieve the highest coating accreditations, including BS6250 Severe Rating & FIRA Gold.
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PU paints and lacquers are strong contenders due to their high resistance properties in harsh environments and rapid drying/curing times.
Polyurethane coatings have an excellent 'slip’ when running your hand or cloth over the surface. The overall clarity is of polyurethane is good and the use of non-yellowing activators helps to secure long-term colour stability of the wood coatings.
Polyurethane has an excellent level of abrasion, impact and chemical resistance. However, this coating type has lower coffee stain resistance than premium water-based wood coatings.
AC Coatings are suited to certain industries or specific criteria, where they offer an extremely durable and effective solution.
Acid Catalysed coatings provide a smooth ‘slip’ feel that is much similar to that of Polyurethane. The initial clarity of lacquers and colour stability for acid catalyst is classed as fairly reasonable, however, this wood coating type is likely to yellow over time due to the limited UV resistance and reaction to some substrates.
Acid Catalysed coatings are durable in the sense that they have good scratch resistance and protect well against certain chemicals such as cosmetics. However, this coating type falls short in other markets such as kitchen furniture manufacturing as it is not so resistant to hot and cold drink stains.
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Water-Based, Polyurethane and Acid Catalyst all have their own unique coating benefits to offer a quality finish and long-term durability.
After considering the pros and cons for all 3 of these coating types, the opinion of the expert team here at Kortec is that Water-Based or Polyurethane are superior to Acid Catalysed but any final choice is going to be based on your specific criteria and application /curing facilities
Water-based wood coatings would certainly be a clear winner where factors such as durability, simplicity of use, health & safety and sustainability are important factors but if rapid drying in average conditions is what you need, then polyurethane coatings will work better for you.
Please contact us for further advice!
