TutoProm® is a registered trademark of Clariant Advanced Materials and has revolutionised the railway industry by providing a unique protection against graffiti and heavy soiling. TutoProm offers unparalleled anti-graffiti and easy-to-clean coating for surfaces.

TutoProm is a permanent, transparent coating that provides a protection of lacquered and painted surfaces against weathering, which facilitates the removal of a broad range of graffiti, markers, inks, and other types of soiling. It is officially approved by Deutsche Bahn and widely used on regional and high speed trains.

In 2005, a graffiti problem cost Deutsche Bahn €50m. This urgent need for a resistance against such vandalism was addressed by the introduction of TutoProm, by Clariant Advanced Materials.

PROTECTIVE COATING AGAINST GRAFFITI AND HEAVY SOILING

This product is based on a completely new technology. TutoProm is a clear, liquid that is applied as a topcoat onto painted or lacquered substrates, as well as on metals or plastics. The highly reactive silicon / nitrogen containing polymer makes it adhere strongly to the substrate through chemical bonding.

The benefits of using TutoProm are manifold. A strong advantage is the ease of application, since it has a significantly reductive impact on the time and resources required. The exterior of a whole train, including the toilet cabinets, can be coated with TutoProm in two days, by four workers. TutoProm allows for the simple coating of a train, using wiping or rolling techniques.

TutoProm is extremely efficient, an area of 50m² to 80m² can be coated with just one litre. Clariant Advanced Materials offers two different grades of TutoProm, namely bright and matt HD. These grades have been adjusted for exterior and interior.

ANTI GRAFFITI COATING FOR TRAINS

In September 2006 Clariant Advance Materials received the official approval from Deutsche Bahn for the exterior and interior application of TutoProm. Since then numerous regional and also high speed trains have been coated with TutoProm.

The high performance of TutoProm, with regard to the removal of graffiti and heavy soiling, is based on two effects: the first of these is the low surface energy of the coating, which leads to the repelling of any kind of graffiti, markers, or ink. Another is the highly cross-linked network that is formed during curing of the coating, which prevents graffiti from penetrating into the layer. In addition, TutoProm protects the paint or lacquer underneath.

Weathering tests (3,000h) have demonstrated that TutoProm prevents the paint underneath from chalking, as without TutoProm the paint showed severe evidence of chalking.

PROTECTIVE COATING

In September 2006 Clariant Advance Materials received official approval from Deutsche Bahn for the exterior and interior application of TutoProm. Since then numerous regional and also high speed trains have been coated with TutoProm.

The most striking result of a TutoProm coating is visual, scrutiny of trains with a two year old coating have found it to be as glossy as when the train was new, regardless of its age. On a 15-year-old train that had never been repainted the paint was unsurprisingly found to be matted and dull. A simple treatment with TutoProm made the paint appear shiny for much less cost than a complete repainting of the train, further demonstration that the application saves time and money.

The use of TutoProm is certainly not restricted to trains but can also comprise shelters, ticket machines, advertisement signs and many other applications, provided that the substrate is non-porous.