The DoD decision to begin using powder in its CARC coatings has been news that many manufacturers have been waiting for.
TIGER Drylac Powder Coatings (Reading, PA), for example, began development of new CARC products 2009.
“Tiger has started working on CARC powder coatings two ago, even before there were clear MIL-specs available for powder coatings,” says Montaha Hidefi, marketing and business development manager in North America for Tiger Drylac Powder Coatings. “This opens a brand new market application to the powder coatings industry in the U.S.”
Since the fall of 2010, Tiger Drylac Powder Coatings has been in contact with ARL for testing and approvals. Other manufacturers have been working on CARC coatings since 2009 and beyond.
“The ARL showed great interest in the development of these CARC powder coatings and has been very helpful and supportive in fine-tuning the development,” Hidefi says.
But the manufacturers know that getting DoD approval is a long and winding road. The topcoat must be highly chemical resistant and below 1.5 units of gloss luster, plus it can not be detected by infrared.
“To achieve the camouflage requirements, the powder coating industry is facing a challenge, as the readings go above and beyond what the typical in-house color measurement equipment used today in the industry can provide,” Hidefi says.
EPOXY PRIMERS TESTED
A Tiger epoxy primer that the company hopes meets the requirements of Types I and II CARC coatings is undergoing testing at the ARL. They are undergoing QUV review at the ARL for final product approvals, Hidefi says.
But some manufacturers have broken through on the approval process for primers.
AkzoNobel Chemicals Inc. says its Interpon M1000 - AA0037 epoxy powder primer was recently approved by ARL. It says the primer meets all the requirements of MIL-PRF-32348 Class 1 Type I and is compatible with CARC liquid topcoats for all tactical and combat vehicles.
Mike Cash, general manager of AkzoNobel Powder Coatings Americas, says the primer was approved following “a series of the most rigorous tests imaginable.”
“Powder CARC has been requested by the market for some time,” Cash says. “We are proud to be one of the first companies to break through with this advanced primer technology.”
PPG Industries (Pittsburgh, PA) also says that its MLP80000 primer coating meets the new Type I specification for CARC powder primers.n
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