Coating Types

Switching to Water-Based coatings has long been a problem for companies. Finishing Lines used to Air-Drying or using a Gas-Convection Oven have had issues with "Printing" on the product because curing Outside-In leads to water being trapped beneath the surface--so the coating does not fully cure. Prime Heat's Halogen Infrared cures Inside-Out to force the water out. Water-Based loves Short-Wave IR and requires less Flash-Off Time before heat is applied. This means the cure schedule of a Water-Based coating is typically HALF the Time of an equivalent Solvent--typically ~5 minutes for a Top Coat. They are easy to spray and make Sanding/Scuffing and Touchups a breeze. Water-Based coatings will stand toe to toe with a Solvent in quality, but increase production due to being so much faster and easier to use. The process advantages of Water-Based combined with being friendlier to workers make it the obvious choice.

Solvents have long been the preferred coating type--especially for woodworking companies such as cabinets. Solvents often require ~5 minutes of Flash-Off Time via Air-Only and then Heated-Air, then a few minutes of Medium-Wave IR to pull the Solvents to the surface, until Short-Wave IR fully cures the coating. A typical cycle time for a Solvent is ~10 minutes. Trying to move too quickly by cutting down Flash-Off Time with Solvents will often lead to Solvent-Pop, which requires rework. Being too aggressive with Temperature will also lead to issues.

To Mitigate Solvent-Pop: Air-Flash should be 2-3 Min, then Heated-Air Flash for 2-3 Min, then Medium-Wave IR for 3-4 Min @120-130F, then finally Short-Wave IR for 3-5 Mins @ 135-145F. Adequate Flash-Time is Crucial to preventing popping.

Prime Heat's Halogen IR Ovens will cure any paint-supplier's Solvent and Water-Based coatings, for any step of the process such as: Stain/Color, Sealer, & Top Coat. It makes finishing easy and fast no matter which coating is chosen.