NEI Corporation introduced UV-Protect (UVP) technology to formulate enhanced versions of its popular NANOMYTE coating products. The NANOMYTE line of protective coatings and surface treatments provide tailored functionalities, such as hydrophobicity, superhydrophobicity, oleophobicity, superoleophobicity, self-healing, fog resistance, self-cleaning (or easy-to-clean), scratch resistance, anti-corrosion, and anti-icing. They have found wide applicability in the industrial and automotive markets for their versatility and ability to be applied to a variety of surfaces – including glass, plastic, fiber-composite, metal, and ceramic. UVP technology imparts enhanced protection from the effects of sun and weather exposure to maintain the unique properties of their coating products when subjected to long-term outdoor exposure.

The newly-introduced product lineup consists of:

• NANOMYTE MEND Self-Healing Coatings
  • MEND 1000-UVP
  • MEND 2000-UVP
  • MEND 3000-UVP
• NANOMYTE Top Coats
  • TC-4001-UVP
  • TC-5001-UVP
• NANOMYTE Easy-to-clean Coating
  • SR-500EC-UVP
• NANOMYTE Anti-ice Coating
  • SuperAi-UVP

NANOMYTE coating products with UVP technology have demonstrated their ability to endure a minimum of 1,000 hours of weatherability testing per ASTM D4587, “Accelerated Weathering under Fluorescent UV-Condensation Exposure.” The testing was performed in a QUV chamber under the conditions specified in ASTM G154, Cycle 1, the most commonly used exposure cycle designed to simulate severe outdoor service conditions. The UVP functionality has been incorporated into each coating system without degrading other performance characteristics or ease of application. The cured film is both inherently resistant to the sun’s UV radiation, as well as capable of providing UV protection for the underlying surface. This, for example, allows the NANOMYTE MEND product line to maintain excellent gloss and appearance in outdoor applications, such as automotive coatings. Polymer and composite materials can be particularly sensitive to the effects of UV exposure, which can have a variety of undesirable effects, beginning at the surface and often spreading throughout the bulk of the material. Surface attack immediately begins to compromise coating adhesion, eventually resulting in cracking and peeling. UV-degraded materials may also change colors, often resulting in the familiar yellowing of plastics and lose mechanical strength, making them prone to failure. UVP coatings block UV radiation, which protects surfaces by preserving coating adhesion and aesthetics, and prevents further penetration of UV light which can compromise the material’s strength and appearance.

Outdoor exposure can present additional challenges for surfaces to resist buildup of dirt, airborne contaminants, corrosion, and even ice. NEI’s line of durable protective topcoats, formulated as one-component, ambient-cure systems for ease of use, now offer UVP technology to extend their performance and shield sensitive surfaces. NANOMYTE SR-500EC-UVP can protect a wide variety of surfaces from the effects of outdoor exposure, coupled with an easy-to-clean functionality with enhanced weatherability. For surfaces prone to icing, NANOMYTE SuperAi-UVP not only helps keep surfaces clean, but also enhances their ability to shed ice buildup, all while providing excellent protection from the elements. Both of these coatings can maintain excellent hydrophobicity, with a static water contact angle of 100-105°, even after 2,000 hours of QUV exposure, while NANOMYTE SuperAi-UVP maintains a low ice adhesion value of less than 1 psi after more than 1,000 hours of exposure. NANOMYTE TC-4001-UVP and TC-5001-UVP have been optimized for metals to form a hard, durable coating with excellent barrier properties to prevent moisture penetration and corrosion.