Coatings Innovation and Initiative in the UK

Once again the UK has been cresting something of a coatings high with a wave of innovative and eco-conscious products being launched recently. Also launched and mentioned at the end of this article is a new initiative from the British Coatings Federation (BCF) and Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) which seeks to help DIY paint users become more sustainable in their paint use.

Unique floor coating for light-traffic areas

The UK's largest independent paintmaker, the Manchester-based HMG Paints, recently launched an innovative floor paint that combines a water-based formulation with crosslinking technology. The new product, HydroPro Floor Paint, delivers outstanding durability and a superior finish for both interior and exterior floors. This unique formulation furnishes floor coatings that are tough and hard-wearing and ideally suited to low-traffic areas such as garages, workshops and light industrial settings.

The cured floor paint boasts resistance to oils and greases and dries to give a mid-sheen finish. For professional users, the fast drying times provide the possibility of being able to lay down multiple coats throughout the day, which cuts downtime and heightens project efficiency, expediting project completion. The product is sold in 5-litre containers and is available to DIY enthusiasts as well as professional appliers. It is supplied in six stock colors.

“We’re very excited by the launch of our new HydroPro Floor Paint with its superior drying and recoat times, this offers so many possibilities for the professional decorator and maintenance teams.  A real alternative for solvent-based floor paints,” commented James Burton of HMG Paints. “This is the first product that is part of a new portfolio we’ve been putting together for the professional decorator and light industrial market and we’re excited to reveal even more in the coming months."

Superior aerosol paint for line-marking

Aerosol paint leader ROCOL has improved its market-leading Easyline® Edge product by reformulating it to give twice as much solids content while reducing its touch-drying time to as little as eight minutes. Easyline Edge has a long history as a top performer in the traffic (marking) paint sector and its epoxy base confers exceptional resistance to cleaning products and chemicals, ensuring that once applied, integrity of the line is not compromised even under the most demanding of situations.

The main advantage of quicker drying time means shorter downtimes and less disruption for surface users. Furthermore, ROCOL's Easyline Edge can capacity has also been increased and that makes for superior efficiency in terms of reducing repeat purchases and packaging use.

Phillip Clarkson, Senior Development Chemist at ROCOL said, “Line marking inevitably causes disruption. From factory floors to playgrounds, staff car parks to interior waymarking - maintenance teams need to work quickly, accurately and be confident that the job will be right, first time and downtime can be kept to a minimum. Easyline Edge has always been the best - but our team continues to strive to make it even better. Its creation is testament to the relentless dedication our innovation team places into solving real-world problems for our customers.”

Clean Air formulation new from Crown Paints

Moving from floors and the ground to carpets and walls, Crown Paints –  the UK's second-largest paintmaker – has pioneered a new Breatheasy® formulation for professional use. Called Crown Trade Clean ExtremeTM Clean Air® paint.

Crown's Breatheasy formulations are 99% solvent-free and this new scrubbable matt paint goes an additional mile in reducing residual formaldehyde in the air, particularly where newbuilds are concerned. The coating works in two ways, firstly through the routine coating action itself stopping the release of residual formaldehyde from building materials by absorption, and secondly through the neutralization of aerial formaldehyde content. The product is sold as 'protecting the climate inside and the planet outside'. 

Indoor air quality is considered to be ten times more polluted than outdoor air, which serves as the raison d'être for Crown Trade Clean Extreme Clean Air. Because newbuilds often suffer poor ventilation, atmospheric levels of formaldehyde build up from building materials and freshly laid carpets. This product, designed for professional application in newbuild environments, is a sure way of achieving better air quality for everyone.

Furthermore, Crown has gone the extra mile with its eco-credentials for this product; it is packaged in 100% recycled materials that will further enhance its sustainability profile. The product has  already been BREEAM® and LEED accredited.

Targeting consumers with the sustainability message

Also in the UK and with a strong environmental message for consumers and homeowners, the British Coatings Federation has partnered with the Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) to produce a video that educates consumers on how they can save time, money and resources when painting.

With sustainability being very high on the BCF's agenda, taking the initiative to inform consumers on how to improve their own sustainable approach to paint use seems like a natural fit. The video plays to how DIY consumers waste paint, water and time by unnecessarily cleaning brushes and rollers before the end of a project. It also explains how to recover paint from painting tools before washing them. The main savings on resources that can be achieved include:

• Recovery of up to 75% of paint lost by cleaning paint brushes and rollers correctly after use
• Spending four times less time cleaning painting tools
• Using 10 litres less water

Tom Bowtell, CEO of the BCF, commented, “Sustainability is core to BCF’s work. This new video is a great example of how small changes can make a big difference. If every household followed these guidelines, we could collectively save approximately 2.5 million litres of decorative paint per year, the equivalent of 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools!”

PDA chief executive Neil Ogilvie said, “This new video fits perfectly with our Paint Green’s campaign aim to help PDA Members create systemic change to protect the environment. We are initially focusing on waste and taking up existing schemes for paint and container recycling – however, we are already getting feedback from Members on further steps towards sustainable working practices that we can introduce in the future.”

The video produced by the two associations can be found on YouTube at https://youtu.be/5lZ8pK9rTsw?