At the Middle East Coatings Show taking place in Dubai from March 14 to 16, WACKER is presenting high-performance polymer binders and silicones for challenging coatings applications: The novel binder PRIMIS AF 1000 combines organic and inorganic components, enabling the formulation of brilliant, highly durable exterior paints with reduced dirt and sand pick-up. Wood impregnated with the silicone resin emulsion SILRES WH is protected against damp, moisture and damage caused by swelling and shrinkage for an exceedingly long time. Further highlights are VINNAPAS EF8300 for environmentally-friendly interior coatings and VINNAPAS 5005 for versatile dry-mix applications.

WACKER is taking the opportunity of this year’s Middle East Coatings Show to introduce the region to the new PRIMIS® line, comprising binders and additives for advanced, high-value paints and architectural coatings. PRIMIS AF 1000, the new line’s first product for outdoor applications, combines organic and mineral components to deliver a binder with a completely novel property profile. The elastic, acrylic-ester-based, organic component performs a binder’s traditional role, offering strong adhesion and cohesion, good mechanical properties and enhanced processability. The solid mineral components, on the other hand, have outstanding protective properties and ensure long-lasting, bright colors and reduced dirt and sand pick-up.

PRIMIS AF 1000 offers improved scratch and abrasion resistance, optimized thermal conductivity and water-vapor permeability, simple processing and even distribution. Additionally, the dispersion is characterized by excellent film formation, even at low outdoor temperatures, and by its elasticity while the polymer surface exhibits maximum blocking resistance. The dispersion’s good pigment compatibility and color consistency keep exterior paints bright for longer – extending renovation cycles and, in turn, positively impacting overall costs. What is more, PRIMIS AF 1000 has low flammability due to its mineral content. Additionally, WACKER can further customize this technology to offer different levels of flame retardancy based on various acrylic or vinyl chloride polymers incorporating inorganic components.

The silicone resin emulsion SILRES WH possesses hydrophobic properties that reliably protect outdoor wood against wet and damp and the damage that these cause. It is flexible enough to adhere strongly to wood surfaces, and imbues them with the water-repellent properties typical of silicones. Weathering tests show that the product still protects impregnated wood against moisture and damp after more than 15 years.

The 40-percent emulsion is based on a functional silicone resin and can serve as a water-repellent impregnating agent or as an additive for formulating film-forming wood stains. Due to its hydrophobic properties, SILRES® WH reduces the water uptake of wood and keeps its water content low. Consequently, the wood is better protected against typical damage such as cracks caused by swelling and shrinking. The water repellency is clearly revealed by the beading effect the emulsion produces on wood surfaces after weathering. The new product greatly reduces the frequency of renovation compared with conventional wood preservatives.
VINNAPAS EF8300 for High-Quality Decorative Paints

Further new to the region is VINNAPAS EF8300: The binder was developed specifically for high performance interior architectural coating formulations and is particularly suited for silk through semi-gloss applications. The vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer dispersion demonstrates excellent performance properties such as good block resistance, scrub resistance, and wet adhesion to alkyd substrates. It has a low glass transition temperature and minimum film formation temperature which provide the polymer with a very low to no cosolvent demand for proper film formation.

With the ever-tightening restrictions on the permissible level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in coatings, it is becoming more important that the polymers used can be formulated at lower solvent levels without sacrificing performance. VINNAPAS EF8300 requires little to no coalescing solvent in the paint formulation, which allow formulators to develop high performance low VOC (< 5 g/l) coatings. VINNAPAS EF8300 is further produced without the use of alkylphenol ethoxylates surfactants, defoamers or formaldehyde donors and, in addition to that, is very low in residual vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) at less than 200 ppm.

Another debut for the construction sector at the MECS is WACKER’s new binder VINNAPAS 5005. The polyvinyl alcohol-stabilized dispersible powder based on ethylene and vinyl acetate has been developed specifically for cost-sensitive markets where a wide range of applications is required. Thus, what makes the new product special is the fact of its being a versatile “all-rounder” for dry-mix mortars, ranging from cementitious tile adhesives and renders to self-leveling compounds and External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS). Even gypsum applications such as gypsum plasters or joint fillers can be enhanced with the novel dispersible polymer powder.

The rather hard powder exhibits increased bond strength even after heat storage, which makes it ideal as a binder in tile adhesives. At the same time, it offers a good open time and thus a good workability. Additionally, the new VINNAPAS 5005 allows for lower polymer dosage in the formulations, which enables cost-efficient dry-mix mortar applications.