Champion choice

Tuesday, 8 May 2007, 1:25 pm
Press Release: Resene

8 May 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Champion choice

A little Kiwi ingenuity goes a long way when it comes to the paint finish on the America’s Cup series yachts.

Durepox, made by Resene Automotive & Performance Coatings in New Zealand, has figured strongly on the hull and deck of contestants in the Whitbread and previous America’s Cups. The pinnacle of the product’s fame is undoubtedly this year’s America’s Cup where seven of the twelve challengers in the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup defender have all used Durepox.

When Pete de Roo made his first lab sample of Durepox in November 1983 tucked away in a dilapidated Auckland laboratory, little did he realise that his new development would one day become world famous. The first batch made at the Resene factory in April 1984 was just 100 litres.

Since those humble beginnings, Durepox has fulfilled the demanding needs of painters in the signage, trucking, industrial coatings and floor covering markets for many years, but nobody would ever have dreamt of its success among the international racing boat fraternity.

Durepox is an epoxy urethane with superb adhesion to carbon fibre, fibreglass and wood, which can be applied without sanding between coats. While developed as a primer, Durepox is used as a topcoat on racing boats as it has excellent water barrier properties and exceptional weather stability. Durepox was tested by the Otago Flume Laboratory and results showed that its satin finish gave a 15% less drag coefficient than a high gloss surface on rowing skulls.

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Resene staff matched each hue on the Spanish entry to exacting Pantone standards in Durepox. Each sample was then sprayed out and flown to Valencia for approval before the careful task of hull painting could begin. The Spanish shore crew are rapt with their colourful boat that stands out from the crowd.

Emirates Team New Zealand required a custom made version of Durepox on their carbon fibre mat hull as they wanted the finish to be clear and glossy. Resene Automotive and Performance Coatings reformulated the product while keeping to the strict requirements laid down by the Measurement Committee. The result is a striking finish, which adds depth of colour to the ‘Black Boat’.

The demanding America’s Cup rules has required Resene Automotive and Performance Coatings to analyse paint samples from all the boats using Durepox to ensure that the product formulation is consistent with the original shipment and that no additives have been used to gain any speed advantage. Recently 26 samples from seven boats were sent to the ESR forensics laboratory for forensic analysis.

With the boats now coated and on the water, the America’s Cup is a Kiwi success story for Resene Automotive and Performance Coatings.

Note to Editor:

Resene Automotive & Performance Coatings is part of the Resene Group of paints and coatings manufacturers.

For more information on Resene Automotive & Performance Coatings,

see www.resene.co.nz/automotive.htm

ENDS

Resene

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