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Superior Coating Systems Revolutionize Bridge Construction and Maintenance

Thanks to new coating systems, repainting bridges could become a thing of the past. The latest developments include fluoropolymer-based paints that can last more than 30 years without any need for recoating.

The leader in this new coating resin technology is LUMIFLON^®. Developed in 1982 by Asahi Glass, LUMIFLON^® is the first solvent-soluble fluoropolymer that can be cured at room temperature, enabling coatings to be applied in the field. Because of the strength of LUMIFLON’s^® Carbon-Fluorine (C-F) bonds and its unique chemical structure, coating life and weatherability can be extended for years. The fluoropolymer’s durability prevents corrosion from water, oxygen, chloride and acid rain, making it ideal for bridges in urban, industrial, commercial and residential areas.

LUMIFLON’s^® low permeability to oxygen, water and chloride is unchanged after years of exposure to the elements, significantly reducing the opportunity for corrosion to begin on bridge surfaces. In addition, the flexibility and toughness of these coatings also remain unchanged, again reducing corrosion and limiting the risk of damage to the bridge surfaces over time.

Over the years, LUMIFLON^® resins have outperformed such common coatings as alkyds, chlorinated rubber, acrylics, urethanes and even siloxanes on steel and concrete, significantly reducing total life cycle maintenance costs on major bridge projects. When coatings made from LUMIFLON^® have been subjected to accelerated weathering tests, they show five times the lifespan of acrylic urethanes and over eight times the life of alkyd coatings. Costs associated with bridge downtime, including increased traffic congestion, are also significantly reduced over the life of the coating.

LUMIFLON^® has been used internationally on bridges and other structures, with more than 150,000 applications worldwide. In 2000, Japan’s Society of Steel Construction evaluated LUMIFLON^® topcoats and found that they could last in excess of 50 years on bridges inland and over 30 years on bridges by the ocean. Five years later Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, along with several engineering organizations now require the use of LUMIFLON^® resin based topcoats on all bridges in Japan. It has been used successfully on dozens of major bridges in Japan, including the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (currently the world’s longest suspension bridge, over 4 times the length of the Brooklyn Bridge), and Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge, which spans Tokyo Bay. While solvent grade LUMIFLON^® resins are still widely used, recently, new environmentally friendly grades of the resin have been developed. These include water based resins, and solid resins, which can be used to formulate low-VOC and HAPS-free coatings.

LUMIFLON^® is able to keep its high-gloss shine even under the most brutal conditions. In the EMMAQUA accelerated weathering test, LUMIFLON^® retained 80% of its initial gloss after being exposed to radiation of 2.5 million Langleys, which is the equivalent of 25 years of sunlight exposure. It also provided outstanding gloss retention in South Florida exposure testing, making it the perfect paint additive for new bridge construction and effectively extending the life of any bridge surface by decades.

Florida exposure test on LF-200

EMMAQUA weathering test

LUMIFLON^® resins consist of fluorinated ethylene molecules alternating with vinyl ether segments in their molecular structure (FEVE structure). The fluorine-containing portion of the LUMIFLON^® resin protects the molecule from degradation by UV radiation, thus increasing its weatherability and adding substantially to the life of the coating. In addition the fluorinated part of the resin also protects against corrosion due to water, oxygen, and chloride when applied to steel, iron, aluminum and other metals.