Excalibur Paint

Research & Development

Historical Summary

In today’s global society, “green” is a term used to describe the movement toward the development of environmentally friendly goods and services for world wide usage. To the paint industry, “green” is a term that has not been well received. Strict federal, state and local regulations regarding VOC (volatile organic compounds) and HAPS (hazardous air pollutant) emissions have actually forced many original equipment manufacturers and commercial painting operations to relocate to other geographical areas in order to comply with these regulations. This practice has allowed the continued use of illegal coatings in the short term by skirting the State & Federal Government’s mandate to reduce VOC. For many companies, VOC compliance has unfortunately forced some companies to close their doors.

Recognizing the specific need for low VOC, HAPS free products in the paint and coatings industry, Mr. Randy Funston assembled a team of professional developmental chemists, with over 120 years of industry experience, and founded Excalibur Paint & Coatings Ltd. in April 2000. The company’s primary focus was the development of “green” coatings that would meet or exceed the performance qualities of traditional solvent-borne coatings without the associated health and safety hazards.

In today’s market, the majority of paint manufactures both large and small are not willing to invest the time or money to develop “green compliant” industrial coatings. Most companies are modifying their existing solvent- borne formulas by reducing solvent, introducing low-viscosity reactive diluents, adding exempt solvents (those not classified as air pollutants by the EPA), pigment modification and moving to lower oil-absorption materials. These re-formulated solvent-based coatings (while technically compliant) are only a short term cure for environmental standards are becoming more rigid every year. In many instances these diluted products may also be inferior.

After years of research and development Aqua-Thane™, patent pending, became a reality. This water-borne acrylic polyurethane maintains a low VOC and is HAPS free. Performance qualities include excellent gloss retention, corrosion resistance, solvent and chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, exceptional hardness and flexibility. It also offers excellent adhesion to a wide variety of surfaces including steel aluminum, plastics, galvanized metal (both electroplated and hot dipped), PVC, polypropylene and fiberglass composites. To the best of our knowledge there are no coatings equal to Aqua-Thane™ available in the United States or the world. Some companies do have what they call thin film versions; however they are not commercially usable due to their inability to be applied at a normal film thickness without gassing or bubbling, nor can their performance qualities sustain the proven attributes of Aqua-Thane™.

With the introduction of Aqua-Thane™, Excalibur is positioned to become the leader in the environmentally friendly and heavy duty industrial coatings technology. Excalibur offers a complete range of problem-solving technology for all types of industry whether it is environmental compliance or new product formulations to meet specific performance and application requirements.

In addition to Aqua-Thane™, Excalibur also manufactures a complete line of environmentally friendly water-borne systems that include Aqua-Gloss, an acrylic alkyd maintenance enamel, corrosive-inhibitive primers and Epoxy Systems for the most corrosive environments.

When environmental compliance is not an issue, Excalibur also manufactures a proven and competitive line of solvent-borne paints and coatings including enamels, epoxies, polyurethanes, primers, chemical resistant tank linings and special purpose coatings. With the wealth of technical knowledge and varied experience of the company’s technical staff, Excalibur Paint & Coatings, Ltd. is ready and willing to help our customers find the easiest solution to every conceivable coatings challenge.