Primer

The adhesive technology has to meet constantly rising demands. More and more, the range of materials is expanded to include products that will not allow bonding without additional surface pretreatment. Often the application of a special primer is the most suitable - and often the only - method of achieving optimum adhesion on the respective substrate. This is a challenge which Jowat SE has met successfully for many years. Primers represent an important partner in adhesive bonding, and require a substantial measure of developing know-how and proficiency from the processor. The utilisation of a primer leads to a major improvement of the bonding capacity of a surface. And this on the basis of a primer coating which a thickness of only a few micrometres.

Primers usually are employed when other pretreatments fail to reach the desired success, do not remain effective over an extended period of time, or cannot be integrated into an industrial bonding process. Primers mainly improve the adhesion between the surface of the bonding partners and the adhesive itself. Often they also serve to delay ageing processes, and in consequence clearly improve the durability of a bond, for instance due to the fact that a migration of water or other media into the adhesive is made substantially more difficult or even prevented entirely.

In a finishing process, the primer is often an almost invisible, but still unavoidable auxiliary agent. It allows processing of difficult substrates and a huge variety of materials on the same machine, but does not require a change of adhesive specific for the material. To sum up the advantages: A primer application makes the manufacturing processes more stable and efficient. In consequence, primers may offset the additional costs for their application.

Selecting the correct primer requires a wide technical knowledge on the adhesives in the specific case (whether water-based dispersions, reactive or non-reactive hot melt adhesives etc.). Apart from extensive information concerning the large variety of materials processed (like PVC, ABS, PP, PET, PMMA, aluminium, stainless steel), the application technology in use is a factor of equal importance for the optimum efficiency of a primer.  Jowat provides a wide range of solvent- and water-based primers for edgebands and foils used in the wood and plastics processing industry. Following the changed classification of raw materials according to Reach and the resulting labelling requirements, Jowat supplies primers which are free of e.g. NMP, NEP, THF and toluene. Modern primer systems meet the  demands of customers and processors such as for instance IKEA.