Film formers

Film formers

• Organic-borne acrylic copolymers
  
• Intermediate alkyd varnishes and resins
  
• Urea-melamine-cyclohexanone-formaldehyde resins

   Film formers – are high-molecular synthetic or natural substances and mixtures thereof which are capable to form coating on a substrate together with other paintwork material components being applied in a thin layer as a solution, dispersion or melt, as a result of physical and mechanical or chemical transformations. Main component of any paintwork material which determines properties of the coating is a film forming substance.

   Film former can be a single-phase or two-phase system. Single-phase system is a 100% film former (e.g. natural drying oil) or film former solution (e.g. intermediate varnish). Two-phase systems are film former suspensions (dispersions) in water or organic solvent. For example, acrylic dispersions. There are natural and synthetic film forming substances. Natural film formers are specially treated plant oils; natural origin resins (amber, rosin), specially treated cellulose.  Alkyd, phenolformaldehyde, melamine – and urea formaldehyde, perchlorovinyl, acrylic, epoxy film formers, etc.  belong to synthetic group of film formers.

   Synthetic film forming substances are often called resins in paint-and-varnish industry.