Excimer water-based coating from Adler

Extremely matt appearance, extremely high chemical and mechanical resistance, insensitive to scratches, glossing up or fingerprints, pleasant feel: if you want to reconcile all these requirements, excimer technology is the right choice. This process uses special excimer radiation to give the freshly applied, gel-coated lacquer a microscopic wrinkle structure that gives it an extremely matt appearance. The lacquer is then hardened by UV radiation and thus achieves the desired surface quality within a very short time. Leading Austrian paint manufacturer Adler has been working intensively with this pioneering technology for many years. "The trend towards extremely matt surfaces will certainly continue in the future. For industrial processors, the excimer process is definitely the best option for achieving gloss levels in the G05 range or even lower, while avoiding problems with scratch sensitivity or glossing up," explains Daniel Pesserer, Adler division manager for the furniture industry. In addition to excimer lacquers for the rolling and casting process, Adler's research department has now also developed a coating structure for spray application - water-based and therefore virtually emission-free.

"For the spraying process, paints need to be somewhat thinner, which is why most manufacturers use solvents. However, as experts in environmentally friendly water-based coatings, we wanted to prove that excimer spray coatings of the highest quality can also be produced on a water basis - and our success proves us right!" says a delighted Pesserer. For transparent coatings, the Bluefin Multilux water-based UV system was adapted for the excimer process. Most opaque structures can also be realized in this way: The coloring is done using the classic UV coating Bluefin Pigmolux, then the surface is top-coated with Bluefin Multilux Top EXC. "For selected shades, our team has also developed the opaque Bluefin Pigmolux EXC excimer coating - this allows the optimum color depth and a perfect color tone to be achieved even with white or black shades, for example," says Pesserer. Both paint systems can be adapted to the specific requirements of each processor. The advantages of spray application are obvious: while only flat surfaces can be coated using the casting or rolling process, all-round painting with a zero joint is possible using the spraying process. Profiled parts, such as drawers, can also be coated. As the jets cure the paint on all sides and in depth under the inert conditions in the excimer system, a perfect surface quality is achieved all round, even on the edges: with a deep matt look and velvety feel, resistant to shining or fingerprints and hard-wearing.