After launching a new hiding technology for paints and coatings, Dow Coating Materials (DCM) called upon volunteers and donated 1,000 gallons of paint to help the city of Philadelphia hide graffiti, paint curbs and refresh fences at various city recreation centers. The daylong painting project took place on Saturday, April 2, in conjunction with Philadelphia’s annual Philly Spring Cleanup and Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup campaign.

Much of the high-hiding exterior paint was used to cover graffiti-filled walls and make room for new artwork through Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, a grass roots organization that has produced over 3,000 exterior murals in Philadelphia since its founding in 1984.

“Through Dow’s participation in the Great American Cleanup and the Mural Arts Program, we’re not only cleaning up our neighborhood streets, we’re also creating a new canvas for tomorrow’s artists,” said Joan Schuller, general manager, DCM North America, speaking at the April 2 event.

In addition to several hundred volunteers, Schuller was joined by Debbie Zimmer, director of the Paint Quality Institute; John Calderaio, manager of DCM’s Paint Exposure Testing Station; Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter; and reigning Miss America Teresa Scanlan to paint over graffiti on the exterior walls of Philadelphia’s C.B. Moore Recreation Center and create a base for the new mural.

“At Dow, we know paint and we know that any paint project, whether it’s on exterior concrete or interior drywall, has to include effective hiding,” said Schuller. “In fact, Dow Coating Materials has been working to improve the science of hiding in paints for almost 50 years, and the technology in the paint we’re using today is a Delaware Valley innovation.”

Originally located in Newtown, PA, and later moved to Spring House, PA, Dow’s paint and coatings research farm has operated continuously since 1953. Scientists there developed Ropaque Opaque Polymers, an alternative light scattering pigment for supplementing the hiding performance of TiO2. In March, DCM unveiled three new hiding technologies also invented at Spring House: Evoque Pre-Composite Polymer Technology, Ropaque Dual Opaque Polymers and Fastrack HE-2706 Acrylic Binders.

“The first step was all about hiding, but ultimately we’re glad to be giving back to the Philadelphia community in a very visible way,” said Schuller. “Philadelphians will be enjoying the benefits of this Great American Cleanup every time they see one of the beautiful murals made possible by hiding technology from Dow Coating Materials.”

Dow has been a national sponsor of the Great American Cleanup since 2008, in keeping with its 2015 Sustainability Goals of contributing to community success, environmental stewardship and encouraging employee volunteerism. Nationwide, hundreds of Dow volunteers will participate in more than 40 Great American Cleanup events this year. CW