Architects today have a wide range of options for specifying coatings that stand up to the harshest conditions. Powder coatings are rising to the top due to the enhanced sustainability and visual appeal that allow designers to create projects that leave a lasting legacy.
New architectural opportunities with sustainable and aesthetic innovations
Whether it’s due to their visual impact that supports custom multicolor aesthetics, environmental benefits that contribute to LEED certification, or a combination of both, powder coating innovations are driving specifications.
Architectural Aesthetics
The ability for architects to customize colors and finish effects for signature building projects has become paramount. Earth-like tones that mimic natural materials and blend into urban landscapes are growing in popularity for exteriors with specially formulated three-dimensional tints. Powder coatings provide the ability to add mica, metallic and other special effects to expand an architect’s freedom of design for window frames, building panels, storefronts and curtainwall components.
Durable products such as stone, granite and other natural surfaces are also in vogue for high-end building facades. Unfortunately, their cost and physical weight make them expensive and impractical for many building projects. New powder technologies are helping architects and specifiers overcome that challenge.
Ultra-high gloss and matte finishes not obtainable with traditional fluoroethylene vinyl ether (FEVE) coatings give next-generation powders the capability to replicate the look of terra cotta, stone, granite, cement and other finishes at a lower cost than those materials. Architects can also now achieve the look of anodized aluminum when specified in a matte finish, all while providing corrosion resistance and long-term colorfastness not possible with the traditional anodized process.
Eco Advantage
The breakthrough in powder coatings technology fundamentally alters what is possible with metal building coatings, not just in terms of how they look, but also their application and environmental performance.
Powder coatings—and new powder coating innovations in particular—offer significant sustainability advantages over liquid architectural metal coatings. Select powder coatings feature a minimum 85% transfer efficiency and 70% less e-cap, while overspray from most powder coat colors can be reclaimed and recycled.
Building owners and architects alike strive to achieve LEED ratings, and powder coatings help to make this effort a reality. New powder coating innovations are often developed without any hazardous waste or volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Additionally, these powder coatings are formulated without many of the world’s most commonly designated materials of concern, such as triglycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC), bisphenol A (BPA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), fluorosurfactants, hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and multiple other substances on the Living Building Challenge (LBC) Red List of harmful materials, chemicals and elements.
With its new aesthetic offerings of innovative powder coatings, PPG is helping architects across the world create lasting legacies with their projects—all without the harmful environmental impact.
New PPG CORAFLON Platinum powder coating features an efficiency rate 20% higher than standard FEVE powders with an extended gloss range from 5-85, plus a cost-effective, low-waste technology that meets FGIA/AAMA 2605 specifications, the industry’s highest standards for weathering and corrosion protection.
Gary Edgar is the national coil and extrusion specification manager for Pittsburgh-based PPG Building Products. To learn more, call (800) 258-6398 or visit ppgindustrialcoatings.com.