Many industries, such as automotive, oil, gas, aerospace and firearms need to add hardness and protection or value to their products. The ideal coating is hard, durable, and also non-toxic. A new nanocomposite coating with blended metal and diamond-based components achieves all of these and has a range of performance qualities. Abrasion resistant coatings have to withstand hard use and wear and tear. The safety and reliability of a number of industries depends on their quality.
Hard coatings and paints for a range of industries
The paint industry produces coatings for a range of uses, from traffic marking paint to architectural coatings. Industrial paints and coatings are an important U.S. export, worth $2.3 billion in 2104. This figure the highest level of exports in this industry for a decade.
- Architectural coatings are the largest sector of this industry, shipping over 720 million gallons worth a total value of $10.6 billion in 2014.
- The second largest segment is industrial maintenance coatings, valuing $1.3 billion in 2014.
- For industrial coatings, 352 million gallons were sold in 2014 for a total of $6.8 billion.
- The total value of automotive refinish coatings in 2104 was $2 billion in 2014.
- in 2014, the value of the total amount of traffic marking paint w $454 million. It is used on roadways, parking lots and airport tarmacs.
- The value of marine paints was $400 million in 2014.
These abrasion resistant coatings play an important role in the safety of these crucial industries.
Environmentally friendly industrial coatings
Industrial coatings that are Eco-friendly? That might sound like a pipe dream but in reality they already exist. They replace older coatings such as chrome plating which are a serious risk to the environment and to human health. In fact, Chromium-6, used in chrome plating, is classified as a likely carcinogen.
As hard chrome plating wears and is released into the air, soil or water, these can be seriously polluted. An affordable hard chrome replacement has to be non-toxic, inert and benign. A nanocomposite coating is friendly to people and the environment, posing no environmental or health risks. There are no waste products.
Abrasion resistant coatings that are also non-toxic are not something out of science fiction but are already being used in many industries including automotive, marine, and aerospace. Replacing hard chrome, these wear-resistant coatings post no environmental or health risks. They can be customized for different applications, emphasizing differ performance qualities.
