look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

Six Summer Favorites Made with Polyurethane

Whether you choose to drift lazily down a river in a tube or rule the pool atop a giant swan, your conveyance is probably made with polyurethane. Polyurethane is great for floats because it’s lightweight and flexible enough to form almost any shape, but durable enough to last all summer long.

Before they were made with lightweight polyurethane foam cores, surfboards were manufactured with heavy plywood, weighing up to 10 lbs.

Polyurethane coatings help protect your favorite lawn chair or beach recliner from the wear and tear of summer weather. Just don’t...

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Polyurethane’s Valentine’s Day Gift List

If you’re still looking for a present for that special someone, allow polyurethane to provide a few options.

Electronics — Give your Valentine a gift that keeps him or her connected. From the latest smartphone or watch to personal fitness trackers, polyurethane compounds help protect high-tech devices from moisture, thermal shock and vibrations.

Active Wear — If your Valentine is the sporty type, go for a new long-sleeved top, hoodie or jacket made from polyurethane fibers. You’ll keep your honey warm and comfortable on cold workout days.

Pillows — What’s better than the gift of a good night’s sleep? Memory...

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Head South for the Winter with Polyurethane

If chilly weather has you dreaming of the sunshine, there’s no better way to escape than to head south on the water. Today’s high-performance boats rely on polyurethane in a number of ways. First, polyurethane coatings and sealants help seal hulls and resist water, weather and other maritime damages. Maintaining a smooth and well-sealed exterior helps keep boats more hydrodynamic, allowing them to move through the water faster.

On board, polyurethane can make a boat as comfortable as home with flexible polyurethane foams used in components ranging from seat cushions and carpet padding to bedding materials. Best of all,...

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Secrets of the Perfect Piecrust

It’s National Pastry Day, and incredible polyurethane holds the key to making your next pastry crust the envy of any baker. The secret is in your refrigerator. In fact, it IS your refrigerator! Cold ingredients are key to great pie crusts. And of course, polyurethane is great for keeping your refrigerator and freezer sealed and insulated so ingredients stay their coldest.

After you’ve rolled out your crust and placed it in a pie dish, place it in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes which allows the gluten in the flour to relax (settle?).  This will help keep your...

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Polycarbonate Diols Help Make Leather Tough and Soft

Leather jackets, shoes and furniture are often coated with a layer of polyurethane in order to protect the fabric from stains and give it a glossy shine. However, manufacturers often struggle to find a balance between providing stain resistance to things like creams and beverages and creating the supple feel and fabric flexibility that consumers want. Polycarbonate diol technology helps producers perform this balancing act.

Polycarbonate diols supply flexibility and softness to polyurethane leather finishes and artificial leather coatings. In addition, these polycarbonate diols make polyurethane coatings highly resistant to heat, UV rays, water, chemicals, stains, abrasions and solvents, and...

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Catch Some Z’s with Polyurethane

November is National Sleep Comfort Month. But according to the National Sleep Foundation, 35 percent of Americans report their sleep quality as “poor” or “only fair.” Comfort may be part of the issue. In that same survey, only 57 percent of respondents reported sleeping on a very comfortable mattress or surface.

Polyurethane can help. Memory foam and other mattresses made from polyurethane materials have innovated beyond the traditional mattress springs in favor of materials that better conform to and support the body. Recent technologies have also helped to increase the cooling properties of these materials, for a more comfortable...

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Polyurethane Foam Transform Fabrics into Functional Works of Art

Industrial designer Idan Moskona experiments with materials including polyurethane, different textiles and wood to create sturdy and unique inflated furniture. As part of his project, Moskona injected polyurethane into an array of different fabrics, some loosely woven, and some tightly woven.

Playing with dyes, dimensions, and saturation, Moskona was able to create a wide variety of designs that look like a kind of free-form sculpture. For the bench shown above, a spandex fiber fabric was first set into a beech wood frame. Then, the polyurethane was pumped in and allowed to expand. The final result is functional, comfortable and...

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Building a Better Mattress

It’s been nearly 30 years since viscoelastic polyurethane foam — better known as memory foam —first shook up the mattress industry. Along the way, there have been a number of evolutions and innovations. In 2003, the first compressed “bed in a box” mattress was sold, packaged in a cardboard container and designed for the consumer to unpack and expand at home.

Today, some estimate that as many as one-third of the mattresses sold in North America are made of memory foam or some combination of memory foam and traditional innersprings.

While consumers flocked to the personalized comfort of memory foam,...

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Celebrate 4th of July with Polyurethane

This 4^th of July marks the 241^st birthday of the United States! Invite your friends and family over for a cookout and enjoy refreshing drinks, entrées hot off the grill, tasty sides and festive desserts.

Don’t forget to invite polyurethane to the party! Wood or metal outdoor furniture may benefit from protective top-coat finishes to help prevent damaging effects from moisture or ultraviolet light on warm summer days. Polyurethane can be brushed or sprayed on decks and furniture to provide great aesthetic appeal and long-lasting protection. You may also find polyurethane in the seat cushions of your patio furniture for...

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