Post-Addable Surface Modifiers Enhance Powder Coatings

Posted by Performance Coatings Team on 07/10/2019

Powder coating is a high-quality, durable finish found on thousands of products, from appliances and electronics to automobile parts to gardening tools and agriculture equipment to aluminum window frames and doors, and more.

 

Powder coatings typically consist of a binder and pigment, plus additives—like surface modifiers—to provide specific end-use properties. Surface modifiers can deliver a variety of properties, including a matte finish, making metal surfaces more scratch resistant or enhancing the mar resistance.

 

A Time-Consuming Process

 

The ingredients in powder coatings (binder, pigment, surface modifier) are solid, which makes the process to manufacture different than liquid paint. It’s a time-consuming process where manufacturers start with a simple blending process to premix the ingredients in a blender. This premix of ingredients are extruded where they are homogenized. The extrusion step produces solid chips that are then ground into powder.

 

Traditionally, powder coatings are made with certain surface properties, such as a low gloss finish on a computer housing. In this example, the binder, pigment and a matting agent are all blended together prior to extrusion.

 

But there is a new way to include surface modifiers in a powder coating formulation after the extrusion process. It’s a new “post-add” method with new types of surface modifiers. Now, a powder coating manufacturer can post adjust standard high gloss formulations to any gloss target. If a high gloss powder coating is already in stock, this new surface modifier technology can be blended into the pre-made powder coating just prior to the application process.

 

New Post-Addable Surface Modifying Technology

 

Lubrizol offers new post-addable technology designed for easy incorporation through simple blending techniques to provide matting to existing gloss or semi-gloss inventory.

 

The new technology is ideal for filling small or special orders, particularly when color matching is involved. If you want to make a low gloss coating, you can simply take a powder off the shelf, use the right ratio of the post-addable matting additive and voila, you have a powder coating with the desired appearance.

 

This new additive technology can help to reduce production costs and inventory requirements for small batch manufacturing. It can also be used to correct powder coatings made with insufficient gloss.

 

To learn more about reducing manufacturing complexity and achieving desired level of matting in glossy powder coatings post extrusion, contact your Lubrizol account manager.

Performance Coatings Team

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