UV technology has been used to decorate and protect wooden components since the early 1980s. The growth of this market has resulted in the development of a series of innovative coating products suitable for cross-linking with UV radiation. The new products are either 100% solid (no VOCs) or water-based, and together with the undisputed benefits of this technology, they have helped to significantly reduce environmental emissions. UV coatings for wood – transparent, opaque or glossy – can be used to give a highly protective and aesthetic finish to wooden flooring, doors, furniture and frames.
In recent years the introduction of vacuum or physical vapour deposition (PVD) technology, in combination with UV primers and top coats, has enabled the development of new types of chrome-like decoration processes. These innovative chrome and gold-plating effects are particularly interesting for shower cabin aluminium frames, bathroom plastic and metal components, taps and fittings. The UV/PVD chroming technology enables the production of 100% recyclable products with improved technical characteristics, and the products are easier to clean and more resistant to moisture, corrosion and aggressive modern detergents. As for other applications (such as the automotive and consumer electronics sectors), the UV/PVD process releases no harmful substances into the environment or the workplace. This results in a sustainable and greener process than the baths of hex or trivalent chromium used in the conventional, but highly-polluting chrome plating process.