Chemical grafting is a process where one "foreign" material becomes attached to another "base" material (substrate) by means of a chemical bond and may be visualized as the growth of "whiskers" onto the substrate. Conventional coatings "sit" on the surface and adhere to the substrate by weak mechanical forces which are easily broken, (characterized as peeling, chipping, delamination). Voids, pinholes and other substrate irregularities cannot be completely protected by conventional coatings due to their molecular "bulk" and the "weak-force" attachment mechanism. This results in the accelerated failure of conventional coatings when exposed to moisture, salt, and other chemical substances in their environment.

SUBSTRATE'S chemically grafted coatings achieve complete, molecular-level monomeric surface penetration and "strong-force" covalent bonding to the substrate and can be modified to enhance desired properties such as coating thickness and resistance to corrosion, abrasion, impact and UV degradation. Unlike conventional coatings, the grafted coatings provide permanent surface modification.