Robert Sandoval
R&D Technical Manager
EPS
Dr. Robert Sandoval is an R&D Technical Manager at EPS, leading the Industrial and Construction Coatings group. His industrial research has focused on polymer design as it relates to improving coating performance. His technical contributions have helped to commercially launch several platform technologies at EPS, including resins for architectural coatings, industrial direct-to-metal coatings, and roof coatings. Robert earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University.
Improving Adhesion to TPO and Low Surface Energy Substrates
Adhesion to low surface energy substrates, such as thermoplastic olefin (TPO) or ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, is notoriously difficult to achieve due to the low chemical functionality of the substrate. Historically, roof coatings have used solventborne technologies, surface treatment and weathering for these low surface energy substrates, despite the disadvantages of having higher VOCs, higher costs, increased application times and still the possibility of poor adhesion. Current low-VOC waterborne products also struggle in adhering to these membranes, achieving 180° wet peel adhesions well below 1.0 pound per linear inch (pli) with adhesive failure. A newly developed waterborne all-acrylic resin has overcome this challenge. This solution exceeds both current solventborne and waterborne options, with wet peel adhesions in excess of 2.0 pli with cohesive failure when formulated into primers and basecoats. This presentation will give an overview of these methods, exhibit adhesion data and discuss formulation strategies that can be employed with the new resin.