Polyurethane domestic appliances

Rigid polyurethane foam applications are centered in building and construction, refrigerated transport and domestic appliances. 

The polyurethane rigid foam usage will total about 223 million pounds in 1980 and is expected to increase to about 551 million pounds in 1990. Building and construction and domestic appliance applications account for the bulk of the usage. Construction... 

Sobral. [Scott Bader] Alkyd, acrylic, acrylamide, or polyurethane blends for mdusttial fmishes, domestic appliances, laboratory furniture, inks, plasticizing. 

The choice of binders for the topcoat depends on the end use of the coil-coated metals. Acrylic topcoats were developed earliest, and are widely used indoors for surfaces that are not exposed to water, chemicals, or mechanical stress. Polyester coil coatings provide a good general-purpose finish, and can be used for a wide range of applications (e.g., car interiors and accessories, caravan exteriors, domestic appliances). Tough, abrasion-resistant, and durable general-purpose finishes can be formulated with polyurethane and polyester resins in combination. 

Certain components of domestic appliances are also coated with electrodeposition paints. Two-pack polyurethanes are applied if the dimensions of the parts are too large for the electrodeposition bath. These paints dry at ambient temperature to give films with similar properties to stoving acrylic enamels. Solvent-free powder coatings are also used to coat domestic appliances. Nowadays powder coatings and precoated metal (coil coating) are gaining more importance. 

The most interesting development in rigid polyurethane foams recently has been the advent of integral-skin rigid foams. These foams are formed in a similar way to integral-skin semi-flexible foams (discussed earlier) and are finding application in decorative mouldings, furniture pieces, domestic appliance cabinets and the like. In future they may even find application in the automotive industry. 

---