Today, acrylic latex binders are found in coatings designed for use in both architectural and industrial applications. The first waterborne acrylic architectural paints were introduced in 1953. At that time, solventborne drying oils and alkyds were the dominant type of coatings used for house paints. Nearly all house paints are now based on waterborne latex technology. In industrial painting, solventborne coatings are still dominant, but waterborne acrylics are gaining increasing acceptance and market share for these applications. The first waterborne acrylics for industrial maintenance painting were developed in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, and were based on traditional architectural binders. Today’s industrial binders are designed to higher standards and have improved performance properties.

Some of the contrasts that can be made between the architectural and industrial coatings are based on differences in:

BINDERS
Architectural binders are typically softer and designed for more “in can” stability, whereas industrial binders are typically harder and designed to higher performance standards.

Waterborne acrylic industrial maintenance paints designed for corrosion protection are generally based on more hydrophobic binders than the typical architectural binders. The hydrophobic binders provide better water and corrosion resistance.

Hydrophilic additives used in binder synthesis, such as surfactants (soaps), are kept to a minimum to also impart better water resistance.

PAINT FORMULATION
Industrial paint formulations tend to use less hydrophilic additives such as pigment dispersants and surfactants, which can cause problems with water and corrosion resistance.

Solvents such as ethylene and propylene glycol, which are used as freeze thaw and open time additives, can also lead to water resistance problems, and should be kept to a minimum in industrial formulations.

Architectural paints need to be formulated for more foolproof application, as many homeowners are not skilled in painting techniques. Therefore, they rely on higher levels of rheology modifiers and other additives such as the glycol co-solvents. Industrial paints are applied by skilled professionals, and less of these additives, which are often detrimental to performance, need to be used in the formulation.

APPLICATION METHODS
Architectural coatings are usually applied by brush or roller, while industrial coatings are applied by a variety of methods in both factory and field settings. The application methods used by industrial coatings include spray, brush, roller, curtain coater, dip tank, electrodeposition and various others.

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS
The typical top quality acrylic house paint is designed with maximum exterior durability and dirt pickup resistance. Along with exterior durability, quality industrial acrylic paints must also have hardness, chemical and solvent resistance, metal adhesion, corrosion resistance, and in some cases significantly higher gloss than the architectural coatings.

Based on the above, it should be obvious that there are important differences between today’s waterborne architectural and industrial coatings. These differences involve the types of binders used and the manner in which the binders are formulated into the finished coating. The application methods and performance expectations for these two classes of waterborne coating vary from one another in some significant ways. While chemically in the same class of coatings, waterborne acrylic industrial coatings should not be confused with house paints.