MIDDLE EAST COATINGS SHOW 2012: WACKER Showcases Innovative Binders and Silicone Applications for Sophisticated Coatings Applications

At the Middle East Coatings Show (MECS) in Dubai from March 12 to 14, 2012, the Munich-based WACKER Group will be presenting a broad range of inno-vative polymer and silicone products for paint and coatings ap-plications. WACKER will be debuting two products in particular on the Arabic market: its SILRES® IC 368 intermediate, a liquid, solvent-free silicone resin for highly weather-resistant coatings, as well as VINNOL® H 30/48 M, specially developed for pharma-ceutical and food packaging. Further highlights are novel sili-cone additives for interior paints, polymer dispersions for low-odor or highly flame-resistant coatings and for demanding pack-aging applications, plus silicone resin paints for effective facade protection.

WACKER is taking the opportunity of this year’s Middle East Coatings Show to introduce the region to a solvent-free silicone resin interme-diate that significantly improves the long-lasting protection offered by surface coatings. The intermediate, marketed under the name SILRES® IC 368, has been formulated so that an addition of only 15 percent is sufficient to improve the UV and weathering resistance of the organic binder in a coating system – without detracting from its mechanical properties. Weathering and lab tests have shown that SILRES® IC 368 provides for substantially improved gloss retention,greater protection against weathering and an extended useful life. In addition, it also improves the thermal resistance of the coating system.
SILRES® IC 368 is a low-viscosity liquid and can be processed with-out organic solvents. Cooking equal proportions of alkyd and silicone resins reduces the viscosity by up to a factor of three compared with silicone solid resins. Thus, with SILRES® IC 368, blended resins can also be produced with an extremely high solid content and sufficiently low viscosity, for example for low-solvent, high-solid top coats.
The new intermediate has a variety of applications. It is suitable for modifying alkyd resins, hydroxyl functional acrylic resins and hydroxyl functional polyesters, which are typically used for the industrial coat-ing of wood or metal or coil coating. This new intermediate also sets new standards in effectiveness: when dispensed in the same amounts, binder manufacturers can use SILRES® IC 368 far more effectively than has previously been possible with other silicone in-termediates.

VINNOL® Surface Coating Resins: Versatile and Economical
WACKER’s VINNOL® product line offers a broad range of vinyl chlo-ride and vinyl acetate copolymers, both with and without functional groups, enabling a wide variety of uses. VINNOL® H 30/48 M, a surface coating resin containing carboxyl groups, will be in the spotlight at the Middle East Coatings Show. The resin’s superb solubility in pure ester is particularly impressive, resulting in a clear, color-free solution without having to use any ketones. Alongside the resulting application flexibility, savings are derived from the reduction in raw-material costs. This product can already be heat-sealed at lower temperatures, thanks to its higher vinyl acetate content in the polymer backbone. VINNOL® H 30/48 M is therefore perfectly suited for pack-aging thermosensitive pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs, such as cheese or yogurt, thus adding to WACKER’s extensive portfolio for inks, paints and coatings.

Versatile and Environmentally Friendly: VINNAPAS® VAE dispersions
VINNAPAS® dispersions based on vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE) co-polymers are ideal binders for high-quality paint applications. The product range comprises dispersions that are manufactured without using alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) or formaldehyde donors. De-pending on the grade, the innovative dispersions also allow paint for-mulations without plasticizers and additional solvents and with an extremely low level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), making them especially suitable for formulating low-odor indoor paints. VINNAPAS® dispersions developed specifically for outdoor use stand out due to their high wet-scrub resistance, abrasion resistance and resistance to dirt pick-up and water. Moreover, depending on where they are used, customized VINNAPAS® polymer dispersions are flame-retardant, highly water-resistant, act as functional moisture bar-riers or are especially suitable as binders for intumescent coatings.

New Silicone Additives for Interiors
WACKER is introducing the region to its new silicone additives for interior use, recently launched as the SILRES® BS 300 product line. Interior paints that have been modified with these additives are espe-cially easy to process, offer a homogeneous application appearance – even in unfavorable light – and (provided they have an optimum paint formulation) are easy to clean, because waterborne dirt cannot easily penetrate the paint film.
Silicone additives can alter the surface energy of a prime coat in such a manner that the second coat has a significantly longer open time. Just one or two percent of the weight of the new additives are suffi-cient to attain open times that are up to three times as long, depend-ing on the prevailing ambient factors. This benefits both users in southern climes, where generally higher temperatures prevail, and users in northern regions in which rooms are more strongly heated. Paints formulated with the SILRES® BS 300 range can be mixed with less effort and are thus easier to apply. The silicone additive also pro-vides for an improved wetting of the surface with paint, ensuring smooth, even drying. The new additives can thus contribute to a smoother surface of the paint coat – an effect that can even be felt when touched. The coating feels comparably finer than that of con-ventional paints, which also lends walls an almost silky tactile property.
Furthermore, WACKER has developed a new additive to increase the wet-scrub resistance of interior paints. Due to its high alkalinity (pH 13), SILRES® BS 168 supports the high binding power of the disper-sion, significantly increasing the wet-scrub resistance of the paint. The alkali additive serves to control the pH, thus facilitating the formu-lation of paints with long shelf-lives. SILRES® BS 168 itself contains no volatile organic compounds (VOC) and therefore does not influ-ence the VOC content of the paint.

Further WACKER Product Highlights at MECS 2012
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SILRES® HP 2000 for Weather-Resistant Coatings
SILRES® HP 2000 is an amino-functional silicone resin for highly weather resistant and high-value coatings. As a curing agent, SILRES® HP 2000 provides epoxy coatings with the UV and weather-ing resistance of a polyurethane top coat. In many cases, one coat is sufficient instead of two, while a further feature is durable gloss reten-tion. The silicone resin cures quickly with cycloaliphatic epoxy resins at room temperature, and allows the formulation of finished paints with a very low VOC content (100-250 g/l). SILRES® HP 2000 is therefore eminently suitable for use in weather-resistant industrial coatings, marine and protective coatings, or infrastructure applica-tions.
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VINNAPAS® VAE Dispersions for Packaging Adhesives
For formulating water-based adhesives in demanding paper and packaging applications, WACKER is presenting a wide range of VINNAPAS® VAE dispersions that offer an ideal range of properties. The use of VAE technology in adhesives for paper and packaging leads to a balance between cohesion and adhesion, as well as to high thermal stability. VINNAPAS® VAE dispersions also boast fast setting behavior, excellent machine running properties for both disc and nozzle application, and easy cleaning. Thanks to the copolymer composition, adhesives can be formulated without additional additives such as plasticizers – reducing migration potential in the end product.
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SILRES® MSE 100 for Heat-Resistant Coatings
SILRES® MSE 100 is a liquid methoxyfunctional methyl polysiloxane resin for coating flues, chimney stacks and firing systems. This prod-uct offers heat-resistance in combination with the ability to cure in less than 15 minutes, even at room temperature. SILRES® MSE 100 is an excellent binder for use in heat-resistant coatings such as indus-trial coatings, domestic appliances and automotive applications.
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Silicone Resin Emulsion Paints for Effective Facade Protec-tion
SILRES® BS silicone resin emulsion paints rank among the most ad-vanced facade coating systems, offering an effectual combination of outstanding properties of mineral and synthetic-resin-bound paints. These include very high water-vapor permeability, extremely low wa-ter uptake and tremendous durability. SILRES® BS products are in-novative, environmentally-compatible raw materials for the production of water-repellent masonry coatings, and construction chemicals and materials.
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HDK® – Specialist for Perfect Flow
WACKER’s HDK® pyrogenic silicas are ideal for imparting thixotropy to coating materials and printing inks and for controlling powder flow. In the formulation of low-solvent coatings (high solids), such as for automotive coatings, and of solvent-free and water-based systems, HDK® permits reliable control over coating thickness and leveling. It also improves the systems’ storage stability by effectively preventing pigment and filler sedimentation. In clear coats, HDK® ensures high transparency.