Closely allied to the general line business is that of tubes and aerosols.
The majority of aerosols are made from welded tinplate. The coatings used are very similar to those alkyd, acrylic and polyesters from the general line section. Varnishes used need to have additional properties of product resistance from spillages during filling. This is gained from use of epoxy ester varnishes or, more commonly, from highly crosslinked alkyd varnishes, using high levels of amino resins.
FORMULATION 4-18: ALKYD VARNISH
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Properties
50 ± 5" F4 @ 25°C
53.0 ± 2.0%
5-6 gm/m2
160°C for 10 minutes peak metal temperature
Higher lubricant levels are used for aerosols than for general line varnishes, in order to accommodate mobility requirements for high speed filling lines. The use of these high levels of lubricant require an addition of DC 200 antifoam to suppress foaming during varnish manufacture and application. Again, the combination of butanol and Solvesso 100 is used for viscosity stability and wet ink varnishing properties.
The high flexibility requirements for external coatings for collapsible tubes were originally achieved through the use of vinyl coatings. These coatings, however, showed high applied cost on account of their low solid content and poor opacity. The dominant technology today is that of polyester.