Colour – more than just a coil coating - Millennium SteelTo d a y, in nearly all industry sectors,...

To d a y, in nearly all industry sectors, colour isbecoming an increasingly important aspect fordecision makers – whether for a new cooker, a newcar or a new building. Colour is more than a systemthat absorbs various wavelengths of light whilereflecting others. It is functional, and can work at asubconscious level within everyone, affecting mood.For instance yellow, orange and red are energy andfire colours, whereas soft grey and green hues arepeaceful colours.

New colours do not arise by chance. They arecarefully developed and managed, and the adoptionof colour trends is shaped, in part, by general trendphenomena which require continual monitoring.Within the BASF Coatings organisation, designerspredict colour trends many years in advance. This is done by a combination of knowing whatpigmentations are currently available and what arein development, but predominantly it is the skill anddepth of knowledge of the designer who can predictfuture trends. In the automotive sector, for instance,the planning horizon can be up to five years ahead.

Many different factors play roles in developing acolour strategy, including innovation, product design,target groups, branding, positioning and product lifecycle. Trends often manifest themselves in productswith quite short life cycles, and this helps explain whythe construction industry has been one of the last touse colour as a key element of a project.

As trends develop, thousands of diverse products aremonitored continuously, including new technologiesand cultural changes which impact on both colour anddesign. The skill for coatings producers like BASF isbeing able to separate the few relevant trends from themass of unimportant information.

The metallic effect look is enormously popular andis used in many different applications. Through the

1990s the use of metallic finishes for cars increaseds i g n i f i c a n t l y, particularly silver, an indicator of qualityand style, and today even some car show rooms arenow metallic silver in colour, reflecting the strongcolour themes of the merchandise inside.

Coil coatingBASF is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the coilcoating market for the production of precoated sheetmetals such as galvanised steel and aluminium. Thesematerials are widely used for kitchen appliances, suchas cookers and fridges as well as roofing and claddingof industrial and commercial steel-framed buildings,which have to be both decorative and with highperformance to protect a building and its looks fromthe weather for many years.

Use of coloured kitchen appliances has expandedrapidly in recent years and, increasingly, metalliceffects are proving attractive in the constructionmarket and offer a special look for the architect whoneeds eye-catching appeal for a prestige office,factory or showroom. BASF draws on its expertise inthe various paint and coatings markets, particularlyautomotive, for use in construction products.

This requirement in the past has been met bypremium fluorocarbon finishes such as BASF’ sFluoroceram, combined with metallic or pearlescentpigments. Today, there is more than one solution toa coating requirement and several coil coaters havebeen successful with new products based on newpigments by working closely with BASF to solve theirproblems.

Unlike in the automotive industry, the industrialmarket has generally limited itself to subtle colours,such as shades of grey, even though an extensivecolour range is available from both steel andaluminium coil coaters. However, with the help ofthese coaters, colours are becoming more popularand attractive to architects, and increasing numberscan be seen in office/school buildings, industrialunits and sports facilities (see Figure 1).

BASF Coatings is aiming to raise the interest incolour in the constructive industry through itsComplete Colour Competence (C3) concept whichcombines knowledge of colour and colour trends,sophisticated in-house developed measuringmethods, practical solutions for delivering newcolours rapidly, and inventory management. It allowsour customers to be at the forefront of colour trendswithout having to worry about holding additionalstock of different coloured coatings. This last pointrelates to the Pevicoat Technical Service Centre which

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Colour – more than just a coil coating

The use and preferences of new colours

is affected by socio-economic trends,

as well as development of new coating

technologies. BASF predict increased use of

automotive-type colours, particularly

metallics for use in the construction industry.

Nick BrownBASF Coatings

is a computerised colour matching and dispensingservice for very rapid manufacture and delivery ofeither new or existing colours. The centre alsoprovides the ability to rework excess paints so thatinventory levels are kept to a minimum.

BASF Coil Coatings has developed bespokemetallic finishes in a variety of coating systemsincluding plastisols, polyurethanes, polyesters, alongwith the traditional polyvinyl di-fluoride (PVdF). Theexceptional weathering characteristics of PVdF madethis the resin system of choice for metallic effects oncoated coils, however, with the development ofincreased durability of the other resin types and thedevelopment work done by BASF with plastisolformulations, the lifespan of metallic finishes issignificantly improved. Most recently with thedevelopment of Hyper Cross linking Technology(HCT) and hydrophilic additives, BASF has beenable to change the nature of the surface, allowingdirt to run off the building keeping it looking pristinefor longer.

Variocrom The BASF pigments division has developed the Variocrom range of pigments, which uses

interference effects to produce coatings that appearto change colour, depending on the viewpoint of theo b s e r v e r. At present, this type of pigment is used in coatings in a specialised segment of theautomotive paint market, with iridescent purple orgold changing to shimmering metallic green or blue. Although not presently used in theconstruction market, as architects have an eye forthe spectacular, it may not be too long before theyare used.

Concluding remarksBASF will continue to utilise its expertise in otherpainting and coating disciplines such as automotiveand pigments and assist its coil coating partners todevelop and produce new and innovative colours forcoated coils, and to be of practical assistance inmeeting customer requirements.

Pevicoat®, Variocrom® and Fluoroceram® areregistered trademarks of BASF.

Nick Brown is Sales Director for Northern EuropeanCoil Coatings BASF Coatings Ltd, Deeside, NorthWales.

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● Figure 1Carrington sportsbuilding (courtesyCorus Colors UK)