Coating spinning wheels with one-component water-based paint

A manufacturer of spinning wheels and craft accessories has been using 1K water-based paint for several years. As part of the switch to machine spraying in the paint shop, the paint supplier was also changed.

If you don't know any better, you could drive past it in a heartbeat: Lochem in the Netherlands is home to one of the largest manufacturers of spinning wheels, looms and carding machines in the world, Louët BV. The high-quality craft accessories are machine-painted with Bluefin Unistar water-based paint from the Austrian paint and varnish manufacturer Adler.

In addition to kitchens and interior design, Louët BV has been producing authentic craft tools for more than fifty years. Louët's spinning wheels, looms, carding machines and matching accessories are sold to tens of thousands of enthusiastic users worldwide: from Japan and the United States to Australia and New Zealand. "With around thirty employees, we do almost everything in-house on a production area of around 2,000 m². This includes the entire production process, from tree to product, as well as assembly, warehousing and sales," says Paul Vervoorn, Managing Director of Louët. "We also coat our craft products with clear lacquer ourselves." The company used to spray the products by hand, including with water-based paint - a few years ago, a machine painting line helped with this. The coating that is now used for this is the water-based all-round varnish Bluefin Unistar from Adler.

How did this change come about? "Our paint supplier at the time did not sell the right paint for machine spraying in our paint shop," says Vervoorn. For this reason, the company carried out tests with water-based paints from various paint and varnish suppliers after purchasing the paint shop. In the end, Adler came out on top. "We were very satisfied with the price-performance ratio. Adler also scored highly in terms of speed, quality and delivery reliability. Our customers seem to agree with us, as we have not received any complaints to date."

The technical support provided by the Adler Benelux team in Heeze played an important role in the entire process. In consultation with the employees in the paint shop, the experts advised Louët on the suitability of the various Adler paints for handcrafted products. How does Vervoorn look back on this? "The process went pretty smoothly. It was a bit of an adjustment at first and we had to coordinate some things a little better." For example, the company has now made a conscious decision to spray the craft equipment with a single component. The reason for this is that 1K paint can be easily reused: "We first spray our products with primer, then with paint. We collect the residue and then reuse it as a primer," says Vervoorn. This is difficult with 2K paints due to the limited open pot life. The disadvantage of 1K, however, is that the drying time is somewhat longer. "Adler then gave us good advice on what to do - the company has a lot of knowledge in the field," says Vervoorn. "It's also great that our contacts are always easy to reach and always think along with us to further optimize our processes."

The Adler Benelux team is also pleased with the contact: "In addition to the personal approach, it was great that Louët was very open to our various tests. In the end, we were able to find and supply the most suitable product for the application - and that is Bluefin Unistar." According to Vervoorn, the next step will also be to purchase the coatings for kitchen and interior fittings from Adler Benelux. "In the future, we as a company want to switch completely to water-based coatings." (OM-11/25)