FTC Announces Updated Guidelines for VOC-Free-Claims

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Last week, after announcing a long anticipated settlement with PPG and Sherwin-Williams, the FTC released a new enforcement policy regarding VOC-free claims for all architectural coatings.

The Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, also known as “Green Guides“, is aimed at helping advertisers avoid making unfair or deceptive claims under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”).

Specifically, manufacturers and retailers must follow three main points with regard to free-of or does-not contain claims, which may be appropriate even for a product, package, or service that contains or uses trace amount of a substance if:

  1. the level of the specified substance is no more than that which would be found as an acknowledged trace contaminant or background level;
  2. the substance’s presence does not cause material harm that consumers typically associate with that substance; and
  3. the substance has not been added intentionally to the product. 16 C.F.R. § 260.9(c) (hereinafter “trace amount test”)

The orders “prohibit the companies from claiming that their paints, Sherwin-Williams’ Dutch Boy Refresh and PPG’s Pure Performance interior paints, contain ‘zero VOCs,’ unless, after tinting, they have a VOC level of zero grams per liter, or the companies have competent and reliable scientific evidence that the paint contains no more than trace levels of VOCs,” according to the FTC.

The fact of the matter is that different colorants have varying amounts of VOCs, depending what the consumer chooses, and this regulation seems to be a step in educating consumers about that issue.

EonCoat has zero VOCs when used on its own, which is normally the case for industrial corrosion resistance where aesthetics are not a driving factor. Where EonCoat needs to be colored we add powdered oxides designed for ceramics, which also have no VOC’s, making EonCoat a truly VOC free coating.

 

Eco-Friendly Surface Engineering – Peeling the Stigma of Polymers

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(The author, Joe Cucci, is the CEO of Corrosion Solutions Unlimited)

Polymer coating technologies (alkyd oils, epoxies, urethanes…) have long been the standard choice for providing corrosion protection to steel and concrete structures We would like to change that concept by categorizing EonCoat® Flexible Ceramic Coating as a Surface Engineered Treatment.

Surface treatments like, thermal spraying, plating, and laser alloying are usually not a viable option for large scale applications. The size of the articles and transportation costs makes most surface treatments impractical as large objects, like tanks, cannot easily be transported to a new site. And as we know, surface treatments, like thermal spraying cannot be field applied.

Galvanizing (Zinc) has proven toxic in the welding process, has a toxic chemical reaction with organics (highly problematic for food industry), and the waste water is strictly monitored at the process site.

This is why EonCoat has been accepted as the new standard and is the more “sustainable choice.”

EonCoat Alloys the surface of the steel 20 Microns deep, in the range of a gold plated ring.

EonCoat’s regimen of testing has demonstrated this alloyed passivation layer is amorphous (continuous), permanently separating the steel surface from corrosion promoting elements in the atmosphere. EonCoat will protect the steel beyond that of a polymer coating as alloying the surface is more effective than coating it. With an alloyed surface, there is no “green-house effect” or spot migration. Because the coating cannot peel away from the surface, it’s not possible for water to get trapped under the coating. And repeated tests have shown that with EonCoat, there is no spot migration, meaning that a spot of rust will not grow and spread.

This alloyed layer is protected by a chemically bonded inorganic ceramic. Because EonCoat does not have carbon atoms and is totally inorganic, it lasts longer. It ages much slower than organic materials, and does not break down the way carbon atoms do. Because it’s an inorganic, there is no off-gassing or noxious fume released as a result of grinding or cutting steel coated with EonCoat making it much safer for workers, especially those working in confined spaces.

Typically self- fired ceramics fall short on impact and aesthetics as compared to polymers, but good wear resistance, fireproofing and zero flame spread ceramics provide needed benefits. As a paint ready surface, EonCoat®, a one-coat primer/finish, can be top coated with any color or gloss to satisfy your needs, allowing you to get the look you desire with the durability and fireproofing needed.

EonCoat has put its product to the test in accredited labs and testing facilities and backs its performance with a 5 year warranty.

Eco-Friendly Surface Engineering, EonCoat’s paving the way with Self-Fired Ceramics!

Joe Cucci
Corrosion Solutions Unlimited

EonCoat vs. Polymeric Coatings – The Good and the Bad

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For this comparison we’ve lumped all polymeric coatings together. Many are going to say that there is a huge difference between epoxies, polyesters, vinyl esters, polyurethanes and polyureas. And they are right. But all of them are polymers and as such they are more alike than different. The analogy is that there are many breeds of dogs, but they are still all dogs and thus very different as compared to cats.

EonCoat is the first product in a fundamentally different type of coating technology – self fired ceramics.

No doubt there will be other self-fired ceramics to come and it is likely that this technology will substantially replace polymeric coatings because of better substrate protection, longer life and lower environmental impact.

But polymers will never go away completely because there are some things polymers can do that self-fired ceramics cannot. Some examples are:

  • Polymers can attain a very high gloss that gives the high shine we all like on our cars. Self-fired ceramics cannot achieve this.
  • Polymers can stretch, sometimes as much as twice their own length. This is called ductility. Self-fired ceramics cannot ever be as ductile, though EonCoat is generally more ductile than most of the substrates it is applied to.

Bond strength isn’t a factor with EonCoat since the alloyed layer becomes part of the substrate.

Polymers often have very high bond strength compared to self-fired ceramics which are around 400 psi. This is needed because polymers protect surfaces by bonding to them mechanically. To offer good protection that bond must be very tight.

At first glance it would appear that since the ceramic layer will pull off at 400 psi, that polymers would be preferred. But EonCoat protects a metal surface by alloying it with a chemical reaction. The ceramic layer which sits atop the EonCoat alloyed layer is only there for appearance and protection of the alloyed layer. Although the ceramic layer will pull off at around 400 psi, the alloyed layer does not pull off because it cannot. It is part of the substrate. The alloyed layer is what provides corrosion protection.

Polymers are organic and will age. EonCoat is inorganic and won’t change over time like polymers do.

The main limitation of polymers is that they are all organic, meaning they contain carbon atoms, the stuff of life. Self-fired ceramics are inorganic. Polymers, like living things, age and weather relatively quickly. Inorganic things do not age rapidly. The rocks in your yard, because they are inorganic, will look pretty much the same 100 years from now. You and I will not. So EonCoat and self-fired ceramics will last much longer when compared to the polymers of today.

The greatest strength of EonCoat compared to all polymers is corrosion protection.

The alloyed layer created by the chemical reaction with steel is an insoluble iron phosphate. Iron phosphate conversion coatings are known to slow the corrosion rate of steel by a factor of 10,000 to 1 at the exact location of the iron phosphate crystal. But iron phosphate conversion coatings are crystalline and thus porous. The magnesium iron phosphate layer created by the chemical reaction between EonCoat and the substrate is amorphous – and thus non porous.

Other inherent weaknesses of polymers relative to EonCoat self-fired ceramics include re-coating, cure rate, abrasion resistance, durability and flammability.

  • Polymers don’t tend to bond to themselves in the cured state, so re-coating is often a problem. EonCoat chemically bonds to itself, whether cured or not, so there is no limit to the re-coat window. This makes repair of damaged coatings much easier with self-fired ceramics.
  • Most polymers also cure slowly which means return to service is generally long. There are a few that cure rapidly, but none cure as rapidly as EonCoat, which is dry to the touch in five minutes and ready to go into service in 2 hours.
  • Self-fired ceramics are typically more abrasion resistant than polymers (yes, some floor epoxies are as abrasion resistant as EonCoat). Most polymer coatings used for walls and other substrates scuff when something bumps against them. EonCoat is hard, abrasion resistant and stands up to tougher treatment than most polymers will take.
  • Self-fired ceramics are also flame barriers where all polymers will actually burn. Sometimes additives are put into polymers to reduce their flammability. Regrettably many of the additives are carcinogens and most will ultimately be banned.

EonCoat is hands-down better for the environment: Needs less energy to produce it, doesn’t have VOCs, and does not have hazardous chemical properties that can be harmful to people.

The environmental comparison between Polymers and EonCoat is striking. Polymeric coatings take a fair amount of energy to produce. Generally a gallon of polymer paint represents about 30 lbs. of Greenhouse gas emissions where a gallon of EonCoat is less than 3 lbs. Polymeric coatings also generally use volatile organic compounds to keep the components from reacting with each other in the can. These VOC’s are then released into the environment when polymer coatings are applied. EonCoat is applied in a two component spray and neither component contains any VOC’s.

And finally the hazardous chemicals found in many polymers contrast sharply with the contents of EonCoat. Many polymer coatings contain long chain molecules which have been found hazardous to human health in so many ways. Many of the components in polymer paints are there to provide properties that polymers do not naturally provide, like corrosion or flame resistance. And many of these additives have been determined to be hazardous and have been banned. Lead in paint was banned many years ago. More recently it has been Chromium and Zinc that have been identified as harmful. Conversely, the components in EonCoat are all things you find in either your multi-vitamin or your sports drink. So you don’t need to worry about painting with EonCoat around people, even mothers and small children.