Advantages and disadvantages of polymer coatings

Nano coatings based on silicone

Essentially, it is important to distinguish two major groups: products polymer-based and products mineral-based. The first are the kind of products that have long been present in the market. They are the kind of products that can be purchased in various forms, for example, in shops for car accessories. They are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and, as an essential point, very easy to use for the consumer. You need less care in preparing the surfaces to be coated and the effects are relatively impressive. Water or oil repells perfectly on this coating. First, the benefits overweight.

However, the substances used cause also disadvantages which are not obvious at first glance. The key factors here are two points: the coating is not resistant to mechanical stress, so it is only a conditional, temporary abrasion resistance and the products can not be UV resistant. This is due to the use polymers that decompose under sunlight. A fact which is generally known.
Plastic loses its plasticizer, on the one hand over many years, on the other hand in a short time under sunlight. It decomposes. It is obvious, that this must be accompanied by changes in the product properties
Similar to plastic bottles, it is with a polymer-based nano coating. The components that ensure the interlacing, are destroyed by UV radiation and thus decomposes the coating. The nano effect is gone. Depending on the application, it takes three to six months until the effect is completely lost.
While especially outside this point is understandable, it is not so abvious for example in the bathroom. Here comes the drawback to light that this coating is not resistant to abrasion. So once wiped with a cloth or a towel, the effect is already reduced. In addition, the coatings are unstable to soaps or surfactants, they are attacked superficially. Thus, the positive effect is short-lived.


Sensible areas of use

We would like to point out that these types of products have their place in the market because they can be useful in certain cases. Some effects can be even only achievd with this kind of technology, for example, when a mirror or window should no longer fogged. Defogging or "anti fog" is the keyword. Very handy, but after at least four weeks, the effect has been diminished so significantly that a reapplication is inevitable. Therefore it is always a need to weigh the pros and cons.