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WATER-REDUCIBLE PAINTS

This term has come into wider use in the paint business within the past few years. These products are also called "water-base" or "water-borne" paints. They include the well-known latex products, as well as products based on new synthetic polymers. While both groups employ water as the reducing agent, the chemistry of each is different.

For example, most latex coatings dry by solvent evaporation or coalescence. The new synthetic polymeric paints dry by a combination of solvent evaporation and chemical cross- linking.

Chemical cross-linking frequently requires the blending of two materials (these products are called "two-component" coatings) and a "digestion" time before the coating can be applied. The blending of specific materials results in chemical cross-linking and outstanding performance features, such as mar resistance, scratch resistance, washability and stain resistance.