ST. LOUIS — Herman J. Lanson, an expert on resin chemistry and founder of a company that supplied resins for coatings, died Aug. 4 of infirmities. He was 87 and had lived in Creve Coeur, MO, a suburb of St. Louis.

Mr. Lanson, who founded Lanson Chemical Co. in East St. Louis, IL, in 1961, was considered a pioneer in the development of resins for coatings. Lanson Chemical, a producer of alkyd and polyester resins, later became Lanchem Corp. and was sold in 1984 to Akzo. The company is now part of Akzo Nobel Resins.

Mr. Lanson worked as a consultant to chemical companies after retiring from the company, and also was an adjunct professor of polymer chemistry and coatings technology at Washington University in St. Louis and a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Missouri-Rolla and St. Louis University. He was the author of many articles for scientific journals, and was a recipient of several honors and awards for his contributions to resin chemistry.

Mr. Lanson was a past president of the St. Louis Society for Coatings Technology, and a former secretary and board member of the Paint Research Institute. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Syracuse University, and his doctorate from the Polytechnic Institute of New York. An accomplished violinist, he performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony, the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra and the University City, MO, orchestra.

Among the survivors are Mr. Lanson’s wife of 65 years, Evelyn W. Lanson; two sons, Elliott and Franklin; a daughter, Sheila Flom; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.