Bayer MaterialScience's raw materials for soft-touch coatings used in the Sports Car of the Year 2007
Audi uses “soft-touch” coatings formulated with raw materials from Bayer MaterialScience in its R8 sports car, named “Sports Car of the Year 2007” by a panel of experts at the “AutoBild” monthly. Other car makers also use them to coat such things as consoles, door handles, door trims, arm rests and glove box covers to lend a feel of quality to their cars’ interiors. Customers consider these cars to be of high quality and feel good when sitting in them – often without really knowing why.
That feel plays a decisive role in “buy or don’t buy” decisions for consumer goods such as mobile phones or MP3 players is obvious. But car makers have long known that it is not just technology or appearance that determines how well a vehicle model is received. One prominent example: In its R8 sports car, named “Sports Car of the Year 2007” by a panel of experts at the “AutoBild” monthly, Audi uses “soft-touch” coatings" formulated with raw materials from Bayer MaterialScience. Other car makers also use them to coat such things as consoles, door handles, door trims, arm rests and glove box covers to lend a feel of quality to their cars’ interiors. Customers consider these cars to be of high quality and feel good when sitting in them – often without really knowing why.
But pleasant tactile sensations – particularly in a car interior – are only worth something if combined with an equally pleasant “atmosphere”. “Waterborne soft-touch coatings formulated with Bayer raw materials have very low emissions. In addition, they are applied only in thin coats and, unlike some plastic skins, they contain no plasticizers,” adds Irle.
Today’s soft-touch coatings based on raw materials from Bayer MaterialScience stand out in comparison with the first generation introduced to the market in the 1990s by the fact that they hardly age at all. Their haptic characteristics and their resistance to cleaning agents change only minimally after years of exposure to moist, hot air. Light and contact with hand creams or sunscreens also have a much reduced impact compared with previous soft-touch coatings. “Thanks to intensive development work by our Business Unit, we can now offer raw materials for waterborne soft-touch coatings that satisfy even stringent requirements for resistance to moisture, yellowing and chemicals,” adds Irle. Good news for not just the fingers, but also the eyes and brain of every car buff.
