Preparation and Performance Characterization of Melamine Resin-Coated Water-Based Primer Microcapsule–Brass Powder–Water-Based Acrylic Coating

The method of how microcapsules and brass powder are added significantly affects the overall effectiveness of decorative coatings. An innovative self-repairing decorative coating for Basswood surfaces was created using melamine resin-coated water-based primer microcapsules as the repair agent under the coating process of “three coats of primer, two coats of topcoat, and introducing brass powder and microcapsules into the primer”. The optical and mechanical properties of this coating were significantly impacted by the curing temperature and brass powder content, respectively. The optical qualities, mechanical properties, liquid resistance, aging resistance, and self-repairing performance of the coating improved at higher curing temperatures under varying brass powder contents. The water-based acrylic wood coating obtained at 60 °C with 3% brass powder and 3% primer microcapsules, featuring a core-wall ratio of 0.58:1, provided the best overall qualities. It has a gloss of 34.1 GU, color difference of 0.00, visible light reflectance of 0.6038, visible light transmittance of 76.20%, color main wavelength of 589.79 nm, hardness of HB, impact resistance of 2 kg·cm, adhesion of grade 1, roughness of 1.125 µm, excellent aging and liquid resistance, and repair rate of 22.93%. This study provides an effective and new strategy for simultaneously improving the decorative, mechanical, and self-repairing properties of water-based wood coatings.