New Self-Crosslinking Emulsion Polymer for Interior Automotive Rigid Plastic Substrates
Emulsion polymers have been used in coatings for automotive interior plastics. However, to provide the required performance, they typically must be crosslinked, which can increase costs, handling problems and toxicity. These problems can be avoided by using a self-crosslinking system, but such systems usually do not provide the required chemical resistance.
A new waterborne self-crosslinking acrylic polymer has been developed to improve the performance of these systems in automotive interior plastics. The polymer exhibits outstanding adhesion to a variety of rigid plastic substrates and demonstrates excellent chemical resistance. It also provides the flexibility and wear resistance required for interior automotive plastics coatings. The chemical resistance is equivalent to that of crosslinked systems, and the polymer shows improved adhesion and metallic pigment compatibility.