Sherwin-Williams Expands Global Core Product Offering for Customers

Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine is delivering superior coating system consistency and specification efficiency with an expanded line of Global Core products that are available at the same quality and performance standards anywhere in the world. These universal products offer asset owners, engineers, specifiers and applicators peace of mind in ensuring compatibility, color matching and performance on projects spanning multiple regions.

The new Global Core coatings include an inorganic zinc primer, epoxy primer, epoxy intermediate coat and urethane topcoat. These versatile coatings can be used in various combinations and with other products to create multi-layer coating systems for corrosion protection and aesthetics for a wide range of applications in the commercial infrastructure, bridge and highway, energy, manufacturing and processing, water and wastewater, and other markets. Each product is easy to apply while meeting the requirements of local, regional and global customers who expect consistency no matter the location.

The four additions to the Sherwin-Williams Global Core product line each meet the strict requirements of the ISO 12944:2018 and NORSOK M501 standards. These global standards define the minimum performance characteristics of coatings in an array of service environments, including the most severe C5 and higher conditions noted in ISO 12944:2018. Adhering to these international standards enables the third-party validated coatings to be specified and used around the world, as they will feature the same chemistry, technical data sheet information, coating performance data, standard colors and application characteristics regardless of where they are manufactured or sold. These characteristics make the Global Core coatings particularly advantageous for use in multiregional projects.

“Consistency enables uniformity – which are both key characteristics customers look for in coating systems when operating around the globe,” said Sean Grady, Senior Global Product Director, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine. “For example, a project featuring structural steel may be engineered in one region with the steel fabricated and coated in another region before being shipped elsewhere to be erected. Along the way, the initial specifiers, original coating applicators and final touchup crew must be able to select the same coatings regardless of their location. Our Global Core products offer the same formulations and performance characteristics worldwide, allowing us to service projects wherever materials are needed.”

The new coatings offer enhanced productivity and greater ease of application. On the productivity front, the coatings all have fast drying times, enabling the prompt application of subsequent coats and rapid handling of assets for delivery to job sites. This faster job throughput is further enhanced by application ease, including easy sprayability and tolerance, as well as standard mixing ratios, which minimize the potential for errors. The coatings’ broad performance versatility also enables applicators to stock fewer additional products, helping optimize their inventory operations.

The new Sherwin-Williams Global Core high-performance coatings can be written into specifications or maintenance programs throughout the world without concern for formulation quality or consistency, and include the following products:

• Zinc Clad 2500 – Inorganic Zinc Primer: Faster priming, handling and delivery of new construction assets is possible with Zinc Clad 2500. The inorganic zinc primer is heavily loaded with zinc silicate and is applied to bare-blasted steel in a fabrication shop environment. It provides excellent protection against corrosion (all the way up to ISO 12944 CX environments) and also meets the requirements of slip B for bolted connections. Superior application characteristics provide greater transfer efficiency, less waste and less time spent cleaning up dry spray. The thin-film coating cures quickly, with a 45-minute dry-to-handle time and a dry-to-recoat time of as little as four hours, both of which enable shops to accelerate throughput, maximize productivity and rapidly ship coated assets. This fast delivery pace also helps to accelerate construction schedules for enhanced builder productivity.
• Macropoxy 4600 – Corrosion Inhibitive Epoxy Primer: Approved for ISO 12944 service environments of up to C5, Macropoxy 4600 offers a cost-effective anti-corrosion primer option for protecting carbon steel. The high-solids, multi-functional epoxy zinc phosphate coating enables fast applications, cures and asset handling – with no sweat-in time, dry-to-handle times of just three hours and a minimum recoat window of two hours – to enhance productivity. It also features a low-temperature cure, which means the product will dry faster at lower temperatures and will continue to cure even if it is moved outside during the winter months.
• Macropoxy 2600 – Epoxy: In a traditional three-coat system, a high-build intermediate coat is a necessity to build film thickness as a barrier to protect the anti-corrosive layer below. Macropoxy 2600 offers just that, along with notable application efficiencies. The high-solids epoxy has a simple 4:1 mix ratio with no sweat-in time; it also dries fast, cures at low temperatures and has a rapid minimum recoat time of two hours, enabling applicators to move quickly to the final topcoating step. Adding to the ease of application, both Macropoxy 2600 and Macropoxy 4600 share the same catalyst, enabling applicator inventory efficiencies, as shops only need to stock one hardener. Designed to withstand the most aggressive ISO 12944 C5 environments and higher in its original form, Macropoxy 2600 is also available in a formulation featuring micaceous iron oxide flakes for enhanced overcoating properties and barrier protection.
• Acrolon 7700 – Urethane Topcoat: A durable finish coat of Acrolon 7700 over a high-performance anti-corrosion system offers both enhanced aesthetics and additional protection for steel assets. This two-component, high-solids acrylic polyurethane has excellent resistance to atmospheric exposures and maintains gloss and color, even in highly corrosive environments. With reduced dry times, Acrolon 7700 allows applicators to rapidly move assets through shops for accelerated throughput. Acrolon 7700 also offers applicators ease of application with lower operating pressures, a wider range of film build requirements with no reduction needed and a simple 4:1 mix ratio to minimize opportunities for errors.