Wood coatings: “Trend toward safer alternatives”
David Vanaken, global technical and marketing director at Hexion Research, identifies opportunities and risks in the wood coatings market segment. Interview by Bettina Hoffmann
What technologies do you see improving in wood coatings?
David Vanaken: The latest progress in wood coatings technology has been largely centered around the creation of resins that enable the production of sustainable, low-VOC coatings with superior quality and high-performance attributes. The performance and long-term outdoor durability of waterborne systems have been continually enhanced, often exceeding that of solvent-borne coatings. Wood protective coatings need to possess qualities such as resistance to water, weathering, and UV radiation. Therefore, they must be sufficiently fortified with a range of components like UV stabilizers, biocides, and fire retardants. Moreover, a wood coating should limit the leaching of these components upon weathering. For instance, the incorporation of highly hydrophobic neoacid-derived monomers in high-performance wood coatings has elevated the performance of wood stains in terms of outdoor durability, while also minimizing the leach-out of active materials.
What novel developments are particularly exciting?
Vanaken: The industry has shifted focus from reducing volatile organic compounds to sustainability and safer products. The ongoing development of moisture-curing, isocyanate-free polyurethane coatings is particularly noteworthy. UV photopolymerizable polyurethanes, acrylics, and epoxies are well-established, but their growth is constrained by the toxicity of conventional acrylic reactive diluents, with formulators seeking safer, less toxic substitutes. The demand for intumescent coatings for weathered wooden facades is expected to increase. Manufacturers are currently working on the development of efficient, aesthetically pleasing, transparent, and thin intumescent coatings for such substrates.
Efforts are being intensified to provide effective solutions for sustainable wood protection. Recent trends in this area include the use of bio-based building materials, including bio-based monomers and biopolymers. The massbalance approach (e.g. ISCC PLUS) together with Life Cycle Analysis data, allows for tracking, transparency and claiming sustainability.
What are your expectations for the wood coatings market?
Vanaken: Environmental concerns are driving the use of sustainable wood and coatings in construction and furniture industries. The trend toward safer alternatives like waterborne coatings and UV curable systems is growing, especially in Europe. However, issues with raw materials, inflation, geopolitical unrest, and energy costs have slowed growth. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in DIY projects in previous years and is now seeing a slowdown. The availability of cheaper alternatives such as wood composites and the use of other materials such as PVC and aluminum for window and door frames may further hamper growth of the wood coatings market.
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