Brief history of acrylic coatings

The following is a brief timeline which describes the use of acrylic polymers, both solventborne and waterborne, in paints and coatings during the 20th and 21st centuries:

1930’s - Solventborne thermoplastic acrylics find their first use in coatings

1940’s - Solvent-based oil and alkyd paints dominate the architectural market

1950’s - Commercial use of solventborne acrylics grows significantly.

1955 – 1971, solventborne thermoplastic acrylics are used on all U.S. made GM automobiles.

1948 - First waterborne latex paint based on SBR (styrene butadiene rubber)

1953 - First WB acrylic latex introduced for interior architectural coatings and masonry.

1961 - First WB acrylic specifically for exterior architectural coatings

1970’s - WB acrylics find use in industrial maintenance painting of steel.

1984 - improved WB acrylics introduced for metal and masonry substrates

Present - WB acrylics dominate the architectural market, and are heavily utilized in industrial painting

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