MUENSTER, Germany/LEVERKUSEN, Germany — BASF's Coatings division, a supplier of refinish coatings, is using a broad range of hardeners, including Covestro Desmodur^® Ultra activators. This allows BASF to upgrade its refinish coatings portfolio to meet higher occupational safety standards on the use of isocyanates. The hardeners contain very low residual amounts of monomeric diisocyanates of less than 0.1% by weight. BASF and Covestro report that this sets an entirely new standard in occupational hygiene.

"Thanks to the use of these raw materials, our refinish coatings satisfy the highest safety requirements while offering constant premium quality," said Fabien Boschetti, Director Global Marketing at BASF Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions. "This allows us to minimize the impact of new EU regulations on collision centers."

The Ultra products are below the limit of 0.1% by weight of residual monomers set in the new REACH regulation on the restricted use of diisocyanates. Therefore, painters at the body shops supplied by BASF avoid additional efforts to comply with the new REACH regulation. This continues the BASF philosophy of steadily improving the occupational health and safety of its coating solutions.

BASF's Coatings division also benefits. "Since this involves a 1:1 replacement, our customer was able to retain its coating formulations. This significantly simplifies the conversion to Ultra products," explained coatings expert Dr. Markus Mechtel from Covestro. "Collision centers therefore benefit from the performance of two-component polyurethane coatings while meeting the highest occupational hygiene requirements."

The solution is also in line with three UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs): Number 3: Good health and well-being, Number 8: Decent work and economic growth, and Number 12: Responsible consumption and production.

Additional information is available at www.basf-coatings.com and www.covestro.com.