Effect of Coating Process on Performance of Reversible Thermochromic Waterborne Coatings for Chinese Fir

Abstract

The effect of the coating process on the properties of reversible thermochromic waterborne coating on the surface of Chinese fir was examined. The results demonstrated that the most critical process parameter affecting the color difference and gloss of the coating was the way of adding thermochromic ink. The coating process had little influence on the adhesion, impact resistance adding, liquid resistance, and original properties of the coating. There was no obvious gloss variation in the coating under different coating processes. For the (3+3) layered coatings, when the thermochromic ink was added to the topcoats, the discoloration performance was the most obvious and the comprehensive performance of coating was better. Meanwhile, the gloss was 55.6%, the adhesion grade was grade 0, the impact resistance was 5.0 kg·cm, the liquid resistance grade of the coating to sodium chloride, ethanol and detergent was grade 1, and the liquid resistance grade to red ink was grade 3. The discoloration performance of the coating was stable under the conditions of aging and time change. This study provides new insight into preparing thermochromic intelligent waterborne wood coatings with potential practical applications on Chinese fir wood surfaces, and also lays a foundation for its application in furniture engineering.