Quality Decoral
The origin of QualityDecoral
In 2012 there was still no kind of certification dealing with the durability of surfaces.
We therefore decided to set up QualityDecoral®, a self-certification system that proves with concrete data that our products have an excellent durability and are suitable for outdoor use.
What happens in Florida?
After a business travel to Florida, one of our R&D managers told us a very bizarre story…at that time nobody thought that event was the beginning of a new era for Decoral.
In 2000, during his travel in Florida, he noticed that the sun had loosen the colour of many cars. The proximity to the Tropic of Cancer and to the Atlantic Ocean actually makes the climate of this land particularly severe. And this has clearly an impact on surfaces.
Why we chose Florida
This fact immediately raised a question: if cars lost colour in such a visible way, how would our finishes react?
Later on, we decided to test finishes right there in Florida to see how the colour and gloss of surfaces change when they are exposed to aggressive weather conditions.
After one year of exposure the results were stunning.
We never thought that finishes could have such a high resistance to weathering, even after a 5-year test.
The right protection for your finishes
We test finishes durability and then we certify them
QualityDecoral® Platinum
QualityDecoral® Platinum is our brand-new series of finishes tested for 5 years in Florida. These decorative effects showed the highest weather resistance ever seen before, keeping a high quality even after a long exposure period to one of the harshest climates in the world.
We combined Class 2.5 powder coatings and hyper-durable heat-transfer films to get finishes that raise the bar of weather resistance.
These combinations have been exposed for five years in Florida.
We formulated Class 2.5 powder coatings using new resins and special UV inhibitors. Then, we combined them with hyper-durable films to get finishes with the highest durability ever. This brand-new collection already has 52 certified combinations but the number is constantly increasing.
QualityDecoral® Gold
QualityDecoral® Gold is our self-certification for finishes with a very high weather resistance. Such finishes successfully passed 2500-hour accelerated weathering test and 3-year natural exposure to the aggressive weather conditions of Florida.
Decoral® System super-durable powder coatings combined with hyper-durable heat-transfer films give long-lasting decorative patterns as proved by the natural exposure test. Decorated metal sheets that got back from Florida after 3 years fully met the requirements of colour and gloss set by Qualicoat specifications.
Qualitydecoral® Gold series products drew a great deal of interest among customers whose main concern was outdoor durability. As the demand strongly increased, Decoral® Lab began to test hundreds of new combinations that were sent to ATLAS Weathering Service Exposure Site in Florida. Nowadays finishes that successfully passed the natural exposure are 97.
Before sending our samples to Florida we make a preliminary assessment of their durability in our Lab. Finishes are subject to accelerated weathering test simulating the damages eventually caused by weather conditions (sunlight, humidity, rain). 2500-hour test almost equals a 3-year natural exposure.
Available certifications
Choosing specific combinations of powder coatings and heat-transfer films tested for 3 years in Florida and that passed 2500-hour AWT you can get the QualityDecoral® Gold certificate. This kind of certification equals the so-called Class 2 set by Qualideco.
QualityDecoral® Silver
QualityDecoral® Silver is our self-certification for finishes with a high weather resistance. Such finishes successfully passed 1000-hour accelerated weathering test and 1-year natural exposure to the aggressive weather conditions of Florida.
QualityDecoral® Silver is our first self-certification for specific combinations of Decoral® System powder coatings and heat-transfer films tested for 1 year in Florida.
During the last decade Decoral® Lab sent thousands of combinations to Florida. This resulted in a collection of more than 1300 finishes labelled QualityDecoral® Silver.
Finishes certified QualityDecoral® Silver successfully passed 1000-hour accelerated weathering test in our Decoral LAB in Verona, Italy.
Available certifications
Choosing specific combinations of powder coatings and heat-transfer films tested for 1 year in Florida and that passed 1000-hour AWT you can get the QualityDecoral® Silver certificate. This kind of certification equals the so-called Class 1 set by Qualideco.
