Comprehensive approach to prevent leaching of paints

 
Leaching of façade paints can occur when water condenses on freshly-painted walls, leaving behind shiny, vertical ?snail trails? that alter and deteriorate the façade?s optical appearance. This phenomenon happens even more often in spring or autumn, when temperatures fall below dew point more easily. It is still not fully understood which ingredients are extracted, but surfactants are suspected to be a main contributor. With this lecture, we introduce a newly developed method that tackles and identifies the source of leaching. Thanks to this analytical tool, novel additives were devised. New reactive emulsifiers can minimize surfactant leaching on the binder level. In addition, a polymeric dispersant has been synthesized and found to improve leaching on the pigment paste level. These new ingredients can aid formulators to design paints that are significantly less prone to leaching.