It is important to consider many other factors besides just the price per litre/kg.
Does the product require an activator/hardener or cross-linker? How many coats are required to achieve the necessary durability and/or finish quality. What will it cost to dispose of any waste? What application/drying/curing facilities are required?
Make sure you assess the cost of the whole coating process, not just the direct material price.
Refer to articles:
What Coating Type Is The Cheapest For Internal Wood Finishing?
Save £1000's, How Much Does A Water-Based Coatings System Cost?
Performance is best to be evaluated according to industry standards that quantify specific durability values such as BS6250/BS6222 for internal coatings, or CATAS for external joinery protection.
Application properties also affect “production” performance so please refer to What Coating Type Gives The Best Overall Finish & Durability?
Coating a natural or absorbent/fibrous substrate such as timber or engineered wood substrates such as MDF or plywood presents multiple challenges.
Check out whether some coatings may react with oils/tanins in your specific substrate. Test to see which coating raises the least fibres.
Balance your drying processes to avoid bubbling/fizzing on the surface.
More factors are mentioned in 4 Things You Must Be Aware Of When Using An AC Coatings System and 4 Most Common Problems With 2-Pack Polyurethane Paint & Lacquer and 5 Most Common Concerns With A Water-Based Coating System.
The timber coating industry is making a big shift to using water-based coatings. The majority of external joinery coatings have been water-based for quite a few years, but the internal furniture market is still going through this migration.
There are a number of factors to consider but it doesn’t need to feel daunting as Kortec have taken many of our clients through this process. Some of these are covered here 5 Things You Should Know About The Transition From Solvent To Water-Based Coatings and a basic spray equipment changeover process can be found here WB to SB Instructions.
We typically deliver goods ordered in 1-2 days. However, for clients that require our optimum level of colour matching accuracy within Delta E 0.3, this can require 3-4 days to ensure the colour has completely stabilised within these parameters.
