INFIN™ Coating Technology, a new process to coat wood plastic composites in virtually any color while enabling them to resist fading, heat retention, mold, mildew, stains and abrasion, was introduced at the 2007 Wood-Plastics and Natural Fiber Composites Show in Baltimore, MD, October 8 and 9. The technology was jointly developed by Inhance/Fluoro-Seal Ltd. and Finishes Unlimited.

INFIN™ Coating Technology, a new process to coat wood plastic composites in virtually any color while enabling them to resist fading, heat retention, mold, mildew, stains and abrasion, was introduced at the 2007 Wood-Plastics and Natural Fiber Composites Show in Baltimore, MD, October 8 and 9. The technology was jointly developed by Inhance/Fluoro-Seal Ltd. and Finishes Unlimited.

The new technology provides these characteristics to the composite by changing the molecular structure of the surface and then coating it with a patent-pending UV curable coating. During the process, the extruded composite is first fed through a second chamber, where it is exposed to a reactive gas atmosphere that oxidizes the surface so it will accept the coating. It is then immediately fed through an inline vacuum coating chamber where the coating is applied and instantly cured by UV lamps. The composite can be handled immediately after the coating step.

Finished Unlimited developed the UV curable coating specifically for this application and has applied for a patent. The system to expose the composite to the reactive gas was developed byInhance/Fluoro-Seal.

The new system can coat composites at speeds of up to 200 fpm, and can be installed as the final step of a composite production line, or a manufacturer can produce boards and profiles to be coated at a later time or even at another location. WPC decks, railing, window and door profiles and trim can even be repainted by home or property owners years later.

According to Ken Burton, president of Finishes Unlimited, and Kelly Williams, business development manager of Inhance/Fluoro-Seal, the new technology is an extremely environmentally friendly procedure. The first phase of the process uses very small amounts of reactive gas at any given time and is conducted at less than atmospheric pressure, eliminating chemical emissions. All process gases are completely neutralized. The coating is a 100% solids coating containing no water or solvents. As a result it contains no VOCs or HAPs to be emitted into the manufacturing environment and contains no flammable elements.

When describing the coating portion of the process Burton commented, "we have worked with UV curable coating line designers to be able to create a coating station that will cover 100% of the surface of a composite board or profile with one pass through and any excess coating is recaptured for future application eliminating any waste. We have the ability to adjust our formulation to create any color or texture a customer might want at any gloss level. This product has undergone extensive laboratory, accelerated weather and field testing to assure that it meets the appearance and performance standards we are promising."

Burton and Williams said they are currently working with several composite and vinyl profile manufacturers to test the coating technology on specific products.

For more information, call Kelly Williams at 513.683.4667 or Ken Burton at 630-466-4881, ext. 23, or visit www.paintablecomposites.com.