Method for coating a cement fiberboard article

1. A method for coating a cement fiberboard article, which method comprises:

(i) providing a conveying system having a first conveyor, a second conveyer and a gap between them;

(ii) conveying a cement fiberboard article across the gap;

(iii) applying a liquid radiation-curable coating system to at least the bottom surface of the article while the article passes over the gap; and

(iv) at least partially curing the coating system to a reduced tack state with radiation before the coated surface contacts the second conveyor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system comprises one or more polyvinyl chloride dispersion resins.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the radiation is visible light, ultra violet light, electron beam, microwave, gamma radiation, infrared radiation or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the radiation is ultra violet radiation.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the radiation is electron beam.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cement fiberboard article is a siding product.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system has a volatile organic content of less than about 5% based on the total weight of the coating system.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the coating system has a volatile organic content of less than about 0.5% based on the total weight of the coating system.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system comprises a UV photoinitiator system.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system comprises one or more olefinic compounds.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the olefinic compounds comprise one or more monomers.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the olefinic compounds comprise one or more (meth)acrylate, vinyl, vinyl ether, allyl ether, vinyl ester, unsaturated oil, unsaturated fatty acid or mixture thereof.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system comprises a polyvinyl chloride dispersion resin.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a latex polymer topcoat over the coating system.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coated article can withstand at least 30 freeze-thaw cycles.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the coated article can withstand at least 75 freeze-thaw cycles.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the coated article can withstand at least 175 freeze-thaw cycles.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gap is less than 2.5 meters.

19. The method of claim 1 , comprising applying the coating system with a roll coater that helps support the article while it passes over the gap.

20. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing supporting rollers within the gap between a radiation curing unit and a downstream further coating applicator, and applying multiple coating system layers with radiation curing between layers.

21. The method of claim 1 , comprising applying the coating system by spraying.

22. The method of claim 1 , further comprising subjecting the coated article to drying within the gap to remove at least a portion of any carrier which may be present in the coating system.

23. The method of claim 1 , comprising at least partially curing the coating system without requiring drying.

24. The method of claim 1 , comprising curing the coating system to an essentially fully cured state before the coated surface contacts the second conveyor.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system contains water.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system does not contain water.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system contains solvent.

28. The method of claim 1 , comprising applying the coating system at about 75 to 100% solids by weight.

29. The method of claim 1 , comprising applying the coating system at about 85 to 100% solids by weight.

30. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating system contains 100% solids.