Discussion on the application of water-based coatings instead of solvent based coatings in customized furniture for wood-based panels!
In recent years, furniture coatings represented by water-based coatings have emerged in China, and more and more wood-based panel furniture companies are choosing water-based coatings to reduce VOC emissions during production and the total volatile organic compound (TVOC) content of products.
This article takes water-based UV as an example to explore the process characteristics of water-based coatings replacing traditional solvent based coatings in the production of customized furniture for artificial panels.
Current Situation and Problems of 01 Waterborne Paint Application
There are still some gaps in the comprehensive performance of water-based coatings compared to traditional solvent based coatings, such as insufficient film fullness, low hardness, high price, and slow drying speed. In terms of production technology and practical applications, enterprises still need to solve the following problems:
① Wooden products are sensitive to water, and direct contact with water can easily cause poor surface quality;
② At present, the cost of water-based coatings is relatively high, and the production cost of enterprises will increase;
③ The drying speed of water-based coatings is slow, and the drying environment has strict requirements for humidity and temperature. Moreover, due to slow drying, the cleanliness requirements for the drying room are higher.
At present, there are three common types of water-based coatings in the customized furniture industry for wood-based panels: ① single component water-based coatings with low cost, but poor film fullness and hardness; ② Two component water-based coating, with good film-forming effect but slow drying; ③ Waterborne UV coatings are expensive and require equipment construction. The water removal process before UV curing requires high requirements, resulting in high overall production efficiency.
Discussion on the application of water-based coatings instead of solvent based coatings in customized furniture for wood-based panels!
Painting Process Design of 02 Waterborne Coatings
Taking water-based UV technology as an example, this article introduces the application process of water-based coatings in the customized furniture industry of artificial panels. The following table compares the process flow of water-based UV and traditional polyurethane (PU) coatings.
Process comparison
Traditional PU process
Aqueous UV process
Substrate section
Base material polishing
Base material polishing
Primary primer
UV primer roller coating
UV primer roller coating
Secondary polishing
Ash filling and polishing
Ash filling and polishing
Secondary primer
PE primer spraying
UV reciprocating primer spraying
Triple polishing
Secondary ash filling and polishing
Secondary ash filling and polishing
Color correction
Manual color correction
Manual color correction and polishing
Topcoat
PU transparent topcoat manual spraying
Waterborne UV topcoat reciprocating spraying
Taking the closed coating process of decorative thin wood products as an example, the main difference between water-based UV process and traditional PU process lies in the secondary primer process and topcoat process, while the primary primer process is the same. The main reasons are as follows:
02-1 Avoid direct contact with wood products due to moisture
The moisture in water-based coatings has a significant impact on wood or thin wood during painting. If the moisture in water-based coatings comes into direct contact with thin wood, it may cause mold and whitening of the thin wood, blistering on the surface of the finished product, and poor sealing of the primer, resulting in problems such as color and oil leakage.
In the design of water-based UV technology, the first primer process is consistent with the traditional PU process, using solvent based UV as the first primer and improved solvent based UV (sprayable) as the second primer. Both primers use solvent based UV, effectively avoiding direct contact between water and thin wood, and achieving good sealing effect, especially for wood species with larger pipe holes.
02-2 Improving Coating Efficiency and Reducing Comprehensive Costs
Compared with the traditional PU process, the water-based UV process is optimized from PE spraying to improved solvent based UV spraying in the second primer process. The improved solvent based UV itself belongs to environmentally friendly coatings. Due to the lower cost of solvent based UV compared to water-based UV, using it in conjunction with water-based coatings can reduce the overall cost.
In addition, the construction method has been changed from traditional manual watering can construction to equipment spraying, which is suitable for flat panel shaped products (such as shaped products), with improved automation, efficiency, and reduced labor costs. In addition, traditional PE primers require 6-10 hours of drying after spraying, while UV primers use an infrared+ultraviolet curing drying method to form a complete production line from spraying to drying, further improving production efficiency.
02-3 Reduce pollution, suitable for mass production
The topcoat process has been optimized from PU topcoat spraying to water-based UV spraying, which is a key focus of water-based UV process optimization. It significantly reduces VOC emissions and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) content in the coating production process, and improves environmental friendliness.
The construction method has been changed from traditional manual watering can construction to equipment spraying, and the drying method has been optimized from the traditional PU drying room with natural drying for 8-24 hours to a constant temperature and humidity drying room+UV curing drying method. Therefore, the automation level of water-based UV process is higher than that of PU process, which is more suitable for mass production.
Discussion on the application of water-based coatings instead of solvent based coatings in customized furniture for wood-based panels!
03 Application Example Reference for Waterborne Coatings
Taking the painting process of conventional composite shaped door panels in my company as an example, this article explores the application of water-based UV technology in the manufacturing of customized furniture for artificial panels. The following table shows the coating process of UV primer and water-based UV topcoat for composite shaped door panels. This process is a high gloss coating process of transparent sealing paint for thin wood veneer, suitable for door panels with a length ≤ 2400 mm, a width ≤ 1100 mm, and a thickness ≤ 60 mm.
Discussion on the application of water-based coatings instead of solvent based coatings in customized furniture for wood-based panels!
UV primer+water-based UV topcoat coating process
For the coating process of UV primer and water-based UV topcoat, the key points lie in the formulation and concentration control of the coating, the control of the coating amount, and the drying process before UV curing. Among them, drying is the key process to ensure coating quality. Regardless of the drying method used, it is necessary to ensure that the moisture in the coating is completely dry, but it is necessary to control the transition from drying to abnormal product quality.
04 water-based coatings used in panel furniture are systems engineering
Environmental protection and health are important aspects of the upgrading and transformation of manufacturing enterprises. The coatings used and products produced are more environmentally friendly, making enterprises more competitive.
In summary, it can be seen that the application of water-based coatings in the production of customized furniture for artificial boards is a comprehensive system engineering that requires close communication and common progress and upgrading among furniture enterprises, coating enterprises, and equipment enterprises to solve.
For customized furniture manufacturing enterprises based on artificial panels, the focus of water-based coating application is to comprehensively consider quality, efficiency, and cost, and achieve a balance among these three elements.
Discussion on the application of water-based coatings instead of solvent based coatings in customized furniture for wood-based panels!
In the application case of water-based coatings in my company, by optimizing production equipment and workshop environment, solvent based UV was added to avoid contact between water and thin wood products, ensuring product quality;
By transforming traditional manual spraying to automated equipment coating, production efficiency has been improved; Realize the assembly line operation of the coating process, reduce the configuration of operators, and add solvent UV to save the cost of water-based coatings.
From this, it can be seen that the application of water-based coatings in artificial panel customized furniture not only improves the environmental friendliness of the production process and products, but also improves production efficiency, meeting the production requirements of automation, batch production, and lean production for artificial panel customized furniture production enterprises.
