Coatings update: new raw materials

Just as the flow of new proprietary products has decreased so is there a lessening in announcements of new raw materials. More and more, paint companies are making do with the raw materials that they have known for the last few years. This is not to say that the coatings industry does not have an extensive armoury from which to formulate new products. It does mean however that the ingenuity of the coatings chemist will be tested as he tries to meet the exacting demands of industry without a continual flow of new polymeric materials or the other components he needs for protective coating formulation. It is an interesting point that the last three years have not produced a truly new polymer which could be useful for coatings. On the other hand numerous modifications have been proposed which are intended to facilitate the formulation of water‐borne coatings and other materials which are nonpolluting and nontoxic.