Paint is getting clever, according to Shurtape’s Jason Burns. He writes why this is and how FrogTape is rising to meet new challenges
It’s not just about colour anymore. Although the wealth of shades available to consumers is vast. And it’s not just about gloss or matt finish, although the standard of those finishes continues to improve, providing longer lasting, more professional-looking surfaces.
What’s really exciting, for anyone working in the paint and finishes industry, is the way in which advanced technology is continuing to push paint further into the future – and in turn, that’s driving development in the supporting accessories and tools.
As well as colour and texture, paints are now offering cooling, gripping, and protecting qualities that were never included in the past. Magnetic paint, self-cleaning paint, chalkboard paint – even Smart paint, which has the ability to turn your wall into a touchscreen – talk about futuristic.
It’s not just about being clever, of course. The research and development teams of our global paints and finishes companies have spent years trialling and testing new abilities and we are delighted to see them start to come to market, as they do all genuinely have the future in mind.
Take self-cleaning paint. At first, this sounds like a simple, nice idea, something to save us all time on cleaning and maintenance. But this clever development in paint has massive repercussions and is great news for a more sustainable approach to painting. Self-cleaning paint uses nanotechnology – tiny particles of titanium dioxide add new properties to the paint and these actively react to light and water, reducing friction on the surface so that dirt cannot get a purchase, it simply slides off. This paint has much longer staying power. This is great news for the environment, and a fantastic development for the whole sector.
FrogTape
We are delighted to be responding to this kind of development – as the leading producer of masking and decorating tape, we need to make sure our products complement these future-looking paints and finishes.
Enter our new FrogTape High Bond Exterior Painter’s Tape. An exterior masking tape that can work with more modern, technically advanced self-cleaning paint. Our research team in the US has created this tape for use on a range of painted surfaces such as wood, metal, vinyl, aluminium, brick, stucco and concrete, and engineered it to consistently adhere to self-cleaning paint technology. The fact that the new self-cleaning paint can shed dirt upon contact with water, does make adhesion difficult for masking tapes. So we needed to rethink the status quo.
With very high adhesion and a crepe paper backing, our new tape is ideal for smooth and rough surfaces and can hold poly paper in place for spray painting. It is easy to mask around exterior surfaces, such as doorways and windows, and offers 3-day clean removal without shredding or residue.
Creating cleverer products is a business choice – consumers are looking for convenience and sustainability wherever they can. Global packaging companies admit to using paper where possible, plastic where useful – and paint companies are all racing towards the minimum amount of emissions possible. Producing long lasting paints – ones that even work outdoors – that retain their colour, clean themselves, thereby only needing to repaint less frequently, is a great step. Other exciting developments include self-healing paint (it wraps and mends the wall!) and solar paint, which can infuse light particles, absorbing sunlight to provide power.
As surfaces and paint products improve, all of our building products need to evolve and adapt to work alongside them. It’s a challenge we are delighted to meet!
For further information on Shurtape visit Shurtape UK | Cloth, Masking and Packaging Tapes UK.
