Your February Newsletter is Now Available!

Your February Newsletter is Now Available!

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February 2020 Newsletter • Any Application, Any Color, Anywhere.

 

Check out this month’s issue to learn about the following:

  • Does Lightfastness and Weatherfastness Data Accurately Reflect the Performance of Organic Pigments for Outdoor Applications?
  • History of Colour in Plastics
  • American Coatings Show: Visit us at booth 2341

 

 

Does Lightfastness and Weatherfastness Data Accurately Reflect the Performance of Organic Pigments for Outdoor Applications?

Does Lightfastness and Weatherfastness Data Accurately Reflect the Performance of Organic Pigments for Outdoor Applications?

Jadel Baptista (Technical Director, DCC LANSCO)

We are frequently asked about the expected performance of organic pigments for use in outdoor applications. Typically, formulators refer to lightfastness and weatherfastness data and in many cases they are not even sure of the difference between the two.

Does Lightfastness and Weatherfastness Data Accurately Reflect the Performance of Organic Pigments for Outdoor Applications?

The short answer is yes; however, you must be careful. It is important to understand the difference between two concepts – Lightfastness & Weatherfastness

Lightfastness is the pigment’s resistance to change upon exposure to sunlight including outdoor environmental factors such as temperature, rain, humidity, etc. Understanding the differences between lightfastness testing and weatherfastness testing makes it clear as to why weatherfastness data is the appropriate reference for outdoor/exterior pigment selection.

“Most all pigments with a good weatherfastness rating will also have a good lightfastness rating; however, not all pigments with a good lightfastness rating will have a good weatherfastness rating.”

 

Pigments image Understanding why weatherfastness data is the appropriate reference for outdoor/exterior pigment selection, the next question typically is: Can weatherfastness data accurately predict the outdoor/exterior durability of a pigment in a given polymeric system?

The answer is to this question is no. In order to accurately determine the outdoor/exterior durability of a given pigmented system, the actual pigmented system needs to be tested under the actual conditions of use and final application. The reasoning for this is as follows:

  • There is no “bullet proof” correlation between accelerated weathering and natural exposure. A common rule of thumb is 2000 hours of Xenon Arc exposure is equivalent to 2 years outdoor exposure. This is a general reference; however, one should also consider additional variables.
  • A pigment’s weatherfastness is not a constant, it can be influenced by the processing/dispersing conditions, the polymer chemistry, additives and extenders, and the Ti02/pigment concentration levels. Other things to consider:
    1. Application elevation (higher means more UV)
    2. Application location (nearer to the equator means more UV)
    3. Application exposure to natural element levels, such as wind, moisture, and temperature.
    4. Application weather variations can cause varying degrees of degradation for the same time period at the same location.
    5. Application seasonal periods. There is significantly less short-wave UV-radiation during winter.
    6. Application angle of exposure (angle of incidence, cardinal direction)
    7. Application insulation (outdoor samples with insulated backing can degrade up to 50% faster than uninsulated samples)
    8. Equipment Program Cycle variations with respect to time, light, and moisture.
    9. The Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) of the artificial light source
    10. Cycle temperatures (increased temperature equals increased degradation)
    11. Substrate selection can influence heat and moisture retention

For the most accurate UV Performance testing, DCC LANSCO strongly encourages customers to evaluate the pigment or pigments in their polymeric system, processed under their processing conditions and tested in an environment the most closely duplicates the exposure of the finished product. DCCL is here to help you with the broadest range of pigments available for the most demanding applications.

 
 

Plastics

History of Colour in Plastics
Lucy Gibbons and Helen Skelton,
DCC LANSCO, Toronto, Canada

Colour is essential to human experience. From pre-history, through ancient civilization into the modern era, cultures have strived to create colour in the objects around them. Early peoples exploited natural resources to create images from their surroundings, such as red earth, black soot and white chalk. With time people developed more sophisticated techniques to refine minerals to generate a wider palette with blue, green, bright red and yellow. Often toxic in nature, these early inorganic pigments formed the skeleton of the pigment manufacturing industry. With the discovery of coal tar in the 1800s, and the ensuing rapid industrialization of synthetic chemistry, an explosion of colour transpired, leading to the modern chemical industry. The historic generation of plastics followed a parallel path, beginning with use of natural materials such as ivory and tortoiseshell. Progression to processing of natural materials such as rubber, cellulose and shellac to generate more functional plastics, evolved to a place where coal tar chemistry provided a natural next step. This culminated in the discovery of Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907, which ignited the imagination for plastic materials, and the widespread production of consumer and industrial items accelerated. Colour and plastic developments went hand in hand, as by the 1950s the desire for brightly coloured, functional items sky-rocketed. Pigment chemistries were re-imagined with this new era in mind and from this point colour effects were generated specifically for plastic functionality. Textile fibers, automotive parts, plastic bottles, packaging and film; all un-thinkable now, without the effect of colour.

 

Click here to read the whole article!

 

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About DCC Lansco

DCC LANSCO® is a manufacturer and supplier of pigments for our customers in the coatings, plastics, printing ink and paper industries worldwide. Our extensive range of pigments is backed by technical expertise, our commitment to service excellence, continuous improvement, environmental, health, safety and social responsibility. Please visit www.dominioncolour.com or www.pigments.com for more information on our product range.

 
 
 
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