A novel line of sustainable, bio-based, air drying resins has recently been introduced that will help solventborne coatings formulators to meet increasingly restrictive VOC regulations. Known as oxidizable phenolic urethanes, or OPUs, these products can be used to modify and improve upon the properties obtained from conventional solventborne systems, including reduced dry time, enhanced toughness, mar resistance, high gloss and improved chemical resistance.
This article will briefly review the chemistry of traditional oxidizable vehicles, phenolic resins and urethanes to appreciate how this novel resin technology transforms all three to produce improved results in the application and performance of VOC-compliant paints and coatings.