IR-reflective Opaque Water-based Acrylic Coatings on White Pine Wood Substrates

Two sets of opaque water-based acrylic coatings were prepared with IR-reflective pigments and conventional pigments. The objective of this work was to determine the efficiency of IR-reflective pigments in limiting the heat buildup of opaque coating formulations. Experiments performed on PVC substrates revealed that IR-reflective pigments significantly decreased the temperature increase above room temperature. A similar behavior was observed for coating formulations applied onto white pine substrates. The temperature increase difference between the two sets of pigments was found to be lower with white pine, which is a better insulator than PVC.