When life gives you lemons – make lemonade

During unstable times we all need something that will give us that extra boost. People spend more time at home and with the bright spring light shining in it is easy to detect places that would benefit from a touch of decoration. The Painting Season 2020 is starting, so go out and buy (or, actually, please order online) a can of paint. Painting is easy and also something that the whole family can participate in. You see the results immediately and the small improvements or the real masterpieces can be enjoyed by family and friends in all the coming years. Do-It-Yourself!

There are a few things to keep in mind though:

paint at correct temperature, read the instructions on the paint can
do not paint in direct sunlight
paint on dry substrate

Even if you do everything right, your paint should also be up to the task. Waterborne polymers used as binders in exterior paints give your painting project long time protection.

When we are developing our binders, we monitor:

flexibility
liquid water permeability
wet adhesion
exterior durability
water vapour transmission i.e. “breathing” of the paint

…and many other features like dirt-pick-up resistance, all essential for the success of your painting project. As a polymer producer in Finland we aim to have products that will suit our local conditions. We who live here know how conditions can vary from a glorious sunny and warm spring day to the best (that is, coldest and snowiest) winter day this year, and all in just 24 hours! At our exposure station in Raisio these conditions are standard and the exposure results are used to confirm the performance of our polymers in real life.

See how much difference in weather resistance you can have depending on the type and quality of the polymer used in the paint:

Panels painted with paint formulations featuring different polymer binders showing the change in outdoor durability

Maximizing durability of Outdoor paints in harsh Nordic climate exposure tests.

The difference is not just visual though – it is also measurable!

To see the difference in numbers, enter your e-mail below and download a comparison of the measured properties of some leading Nordic paints.

Maybe it would be safest to open the Painting Season 2020 with a focus on interior decoration. To get inspired: see what our technician Anna did at home, after having tested paints all day!