Under the established standards, special functional coatings are exempt from the content limitation of VOCs. To make clear the specific list or identification criteria for special functional coatings, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China has approved some projects on formulating relevant standards for special functional coatings on May 13, 2022, including anti-fogging coatings and anti-fingerprint coatings.
Recently, the draft group standard ‘HG/T xxxx-xxxx Anti-fingerprint coatings’ (hereinafter referred to as the Draft), which specifies the terms and definitions, test methods, inspection rules, marks, packaging and storage, etc. of anti-fingerprint coatings, has completed the internal discussions. According to the timeline set for formulating this standard (CL news), in the following months, the Draft will be issued for public comments and a review meeting will be held by the National Technical Committee on Paints & Pigments of Standardization Administration of China. It is expected to be finalized and published by the end of 2022.
What are anti-fingerprint coatings?
Anti-fingerprint coatings refer to coatings with function of reducing fingerprint residue, and fingerprint generated on such coatings can be cleaned easily. They are mainly used for the decoration and protection of various screen surfaces, as well as material surfaces with high decorative requirements, such as mobile phones, laptops, watches and vehicle center controls, packaging materials, automotive glass (e.g., windscreens, side and rear windows), etc.
The Draft classifies the anti-coatings into two types, i.e.,
Type I anti-fingerprint coatings for transparent materials (e.g., transparent glass and transparent plastic);
Type II anti-fingerprint coatings for non-transparent materials (e.g., metal and non-transparent plastic).
According to the Draft, the required indicators for anti-fingerprint coatings covers contact angle, cleanliness, film hardness by pencil test, cross-cut test level, haze, stain removal performance, etc. Test methods for the corresponding indicators of each type of anti-fingerprint coatings are also specified in the Draft.
ChemLinked will keep an eye on the updates of more standards for special functional coatings. Please feel free to contact us (chemical@chemlinked.com) if you are interested in getting a copy of English translation of the standard.
