Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine September/October 2021 - 21

INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: ARCHITECTURAL COATINGS
Coatings Trends in an
Evolving Architectural
Landscape
BY GARY EDGAR
I
t doesn't take long to look up at the local city skyline to
recognize the aesthetic impact that architectural coatings
are making on buildings and skyscrapers of all types. New
shades of copper and bronze, along with mineral-tones and
deep sparkling micas, can be captivating even from miles away.
But it's also the environmental impact - or lack thereof -
of architectural coatings that is driving specification. As the
discussion around sustainability and a carbon-neutral future
continues to get louder, building owners are increasingly looking
for sustainable building products that help to achieve LEED
certification and coatings are no exception.
It's these primary factors - along with the age-old importance of
being able to avoid corrosion in even the harshest environmental
conditions - that come into account in today's architectural
coatings industry. Yet, it's not as simple as just simply checking
off a set of boxes. The scrutiny and innovation placed on each
aspect is greater than ever before.
Coatings are Going Green
Before specifying coatings for what they bring to a building's
exterior, building owners are making sure they know what they
don't have as well. For starters, anything listed on the Living
Building Challenge Red List of substances is a deal-breaker, as
these represent materials, chemicals and elements known to
pose serious risks to human health.
More specifically, building owners are now specifying
architectural coatings formulated without harmful substances
like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Triglycidyl isocyanurate
(TGIC), Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and more.
This has led to an uptick in powder coatings specification
for architectural applications. By and large, powder coatings
have become the building owner's solution to the sustainability
challenge. Select powder coatings feature a minimum 85 percent
transfer efficiency and 70 percent less e-cap, while overspray
from most powder coat colors can be reclaimed and recycled.
With reduced emissions compared to other coatings that use
solvents, powder coatings make for a smart specification for
architects and designers as these sustainable properties are more
publicly transparent than ever thanks to Environmental Product
Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs).
The Wide World of Coatings Colors
Building owners want their facility's exterior facade to make
a statement as a longstanding expression of their brand. And
architectural coatings are providing more flexibility than ever to
enable buildings to make their mark.
Powder coatings are becoming increasingly available in a
wide range of FGIA/AAMA 2606-compliant colors, finishes and
effects. But it's more than just an evolving color wheel and the
formulation of signature colors that pop and sparkle. Rather, it's
the effects they're able to simulate for an added sense of depth
and visual dimension that are gaining steam. Natural surfaces
like stone, granite, wood and terracotta tend to be expensive,
but powder coatings are picking up the slack by providing multiwww.cfcm.ca
21
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Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing Magazine September/October 2021
