Commercial Paint Manufacturers Knowledge Base
Everything You Need To Know About Efficient Coating Systems
A dedicated learning portal hosting helpful advice, tips and guidance provided by our experts, all in one space. Expand your knowledge on efficient coating systems.
Knowledge Articles
Develop Your Knowledge On Efficient Coating Systems
General Coating Knowledge
Consistent paint colour is essential for virtually every painting process – the two main scenarios are: mass production where items from different runs may end up being mixed in a final unit e.g. kitchen doors and bespoke production where the paint requirement can be hard to estimate (or the original size is extended) meaning extra paint is required.
P3X is what we see as the key elements we provide to you: Productivity, Profitability and Performance.
Traditionally the industry has talked about paint in terms of litres, but more and more are coming to realise that this is an unhelpful method, and inaccurate by almost any measure.
The key to understanding this is that all paint is made up of two main parts – liquid and solid.
As you might expect, the answer is “It depends”! There are several factors that affect this time, which mean it can vary between 5 minutes and several days.
Key things to be aware of and look out for when considering a change from solvent to water-based coatings. Solvent base coatings offer a durable and high-quality finish however, their downfall is that they are oil-based paints and therefore release strong odours and toxic fumes.
Wood Coatings
Precat and water-based paints actually have several characteristics in common – making a choice between them depends on several factors, including your specific project requirements, health and safety, application method, and drying conditions.
If you’re coating a timber substrate, thorough preparation is absolutely crucial to achieving a great result. Whether you are dealing with hardwoods, softwoods, MDF or other materials, there are some general guidelines you should follow to achieve the best finish and adhesion.
It's no surprise that the furniture industry is making the significant switch to water-based coatings. But the real question lies in which water-based coating system proves to be the best...
Comparing three leading coating options to determine the most durable and cost-effective for internal wood finishing. Some paint types are considerably cheaper per litre/kg than others, but they may not prove to be the most economic in the long-term.
Many companies are keen to find a coating that produces the best overall finish and durability. We've chosen to analyse the three principle coating types to provide an insight into their individual properties when it comes to 'finish' and 'durability'.
Understanding the approximate cost for water-based coating systems and how you can minimise them. To provide an approximate outline for expected costs, see our breakdown below that provides typical price ranges and an explanation of why there are variations in price for these coatings.
Are you aware that AC Coating Systems pose risks to longevity, durability, usage & health? To ensure you're fully aware, we're sharing our expert knowledge and providing you with a list of the top 4 things that can cause issues with this system...
Consider factors such as pot life, polishing, odour, sheen levels and more when deciding on the correct AC Coating System. Selecting the best one for your business can be a difficult decision, but there are a few important factors that must be considered.
2-Pack Polyurethane Coatings provide a very durable and attractive finish - however, you MUST be aware of these common problems. These coating materials are made up of a base resin (polymer) and an activator (hardener). When these two parts are mixed together the chemical reaction forms very strong bonds between the polymer chains.
Water-based coatings are cost-effective, durable and eco-friendly, however, many do have concerns. Due to historical limitations affecting these systems, there are widespread concerns around them across our clients’ industries.
Metal Coatings
Thickness = Protection. Stating that the thickness of your paint film determines the protection offered by the coating doesn’t give the whole picture – but it is a major part of it in almost all circumstances.
Comparing the performance advantages and disadvantages of Epoxy, Polyurethane and Acrylic metal protection coatings...you may not be aware of the degree to which the basic level of performance is strongly affected by the resin type used.
Specialist Coatings
Articles coming soon...
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Success Stories
Transforming Business Bottleneck Into Endless Growth
Wood Case Studies
We decided it was time to move from 2-pack Polyurethane to 1-pack Water-based coatings, and we did this starting with the lacquer
“The aim was to find a Fire Rated system that provided the correct accreditation, without compromising the finish quality”
“We managed to seal and prime 8 hours’ worth of spraying in just 45 minutes!” When we first met Harvey George, they were using 2-pack polyurethane coatings throughout.
Finding a fire-rated lacquer system suitable for the specification and tight production. From the analysis stage conducted by Kortec it became apparent that our client Bespoke Building & Joinery were working on projects requiring a Class 1 Spread of Flame Specification.
Fine Rooms had historically used a 2-pack AC Solvent based paint for 10+ years and had always been very reluctant to change this due to the finish they were achieving. Due to their high-end work and clientele, Fine Rooms were aware of water-based coatings and the market pressure to move over.
High-quality kitchen manufacturer eliminating lengthy processes using hazardous chemicals and fixing adhesion struggles.
From dealing with adhesion & durability struggles to zero issues for 365 days and counting... Specialists in producing bespoke handcrafted kitchen, bedroom & bathroom furniture.
An initial desire to reduce VOC emissions resulted in a successful reduction, whilst developing a more user-friendly process.
Previously facing issues of batch-to-batch colour consistency causing too many production disruptions. With approximately 20 standard colours (in addition to customer bespoke colours) deVOL required batch-to-batch consistency.
Delivering industry-leading finish & shorter lead times. As a result, production is increasing and Marpatt has now installed an automatic polishing machine to meet demand.
Metal Case Studies
“We have worked with Kortec for just over 15 years now and can safely say that we feel complete trust in the relationship and service we continue to grow”
Fowler & Gilbert already had a system that provided them with the correct durability and accreditation in the field. Their biggest headache was slow drying times, particularly in winter, which reduced the number of items per day that could go through the spray shop.
Optimising processes to eliminate a business bottleneck and increase productivity and profitability. It is highly important that Everquip are able to achieve a high gloss white finish for optimum light reflectance as this aids their inspection work.
A universal coating system causing failures and not meeting production rate requirements. With the help of Kortec, they have now implemented the correct procedures and increased production output by a fantastic 50%!
Production frustrations and company growth limitations turned into exceeding growth goals and building confidence in their projects.
Latest News
March has flown by, with focuses on training our new starter, exhibition preparation, supporting our staff in charitable events, a new office fit out and some internal training.
February has been a productive month, with focus on training our new starter, Lee, coinciding with the start of our external training programme, reviewing our current systems with the potential use of AI….and a new abrasives partner.
A busy start to the year, with a focus on training our new starter Becky, the 2024 Launch event, plus training plans and much more.
Another busy one heading up to the end of year, with focuses on: development/role changes within the team, more Jotun Training and our end of year review. Also please note the update on our opening times over the upcoming holiday season!
It’s been an interesting month, with a particular focus on our team development: a new people advisor, promoting team success stories and the latest set of prize-winners!
September has been a busy and educational month, including an introduction to our new Finance Controller, team product training sessions, and some role changes!
August’s company insights include an introduction to our new logistics driver, Missions, Vision and Values focus and our heroes of the month.
What a month we have had! – A new apprentice joined, Furniture + open day, Strategy Re-launch, plus the official release of the VARLAQ Brochure.
It’s been an eventful month here at Kortec – a mid-year teambuilding event, the release of our new VARLAQ can design, and some changes within the team.
It’s been a busy few weeks with plans being made for our Open Day, numerous changes within the team and a new preparation equipment partner.
It has been a great first quarter here at Kortec – adding to the team, new marketing developments and setting some records (more details below)! We are hoping that you are as excited as we are to see what the rest of the year will bring.
It’s been an interesting few weeks, with a lot of research going into developing existing systems as well as testing out new products, which should continue to expand the range of coating systems we can bring to the table.
We’re very glad to say it’s been a great start to 2023. We’re hearing the same from a lot of our clients, and hope it is the case for you. At Kortec we have had new colleagues come on board, new products in development and January targets hit!
After a great year in 2022, we're heading into 2023 in full force. We have many exciting things to share here; including progress on our product development programme and potential new industry collaborations.
We are delighted to receive delivery of our brand new Cefla Prima line for product development & offsite testing. The team worked together to carefully position this onto our first-floor mezzanine, and as you can see it fits like a glove!
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Technical Data
Valuable Industry & Product Advice
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Theoretical Coverage & Paint Usage Formulas
View InfoCollated to help you calculate the paint volume required for your porjects, this report provides formulas and ratios from metal weight:surface area to spreading rate and price per m2 calculations.
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Wet Film Thickness - Effect of Dilution
View InfoDetermining the wet film thickness required, after thinning. The 1st table shows Paint Solids Content after Thinning, the 2nd table shows wet film thickness required to achieve dry film thickeness.
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Essential ISO 12944 Category Information
View InfoCategories for industry standard including typical internal/external examples, the related expected service life & amount of salt spray testing the coating system has to resist to meet category specification.
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Surface Preparation Standards for Metal
View InfoThe tables presented in this written report provides a detailed cross-reference between the major standards for surface preparation, including the following: Swedish (Sa), SSPC, NACE, CGSB and BS.
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